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answers and not believing they exist is one that faculty, stu- dents, and managers all struggle to understand. To help educators prepare students to speak up on ethi- cal issues, The Aspen Institute Business & Society Program in New York City and the Yale School of Management in New Haven, Connecticut, have collaborated on a research and curriculum development initiative called Giving Voice to Values (GVV). Students hear from business practitioners who have acted on their values; they learn strategies to com- municate values-based arguments in the workplace; and they develop "scripts" to help them articulate their values not only in front of their peers, but also in the real world. A Practical Approach Traditional ethics classes are best at illuminating students' options in situations where the ethical boundaries are unclear. The goal with GVV, on the other hand, is to help students determine a course of action when they believe they know what they should do but feel disempowered, unsure, or unable to find a way to act on that knowledge. "So many students struggle with the question: How can I act on what I know is right?" says Jerry Goodstein, a pro- fessor in the department of management and operations at Washington State University-Vancouver. Goodstein notes that when students are given opportunities to explore ethical situations, drawing on their own experiences and the experi- ences of others, they better understand what might help or hinder their ability to voice their values. GVV helps move them "from ethical intent to ethical action," he says. In the GVV curriculum, students and practitioners are explicitly asked, "If you were going to act on your values, what would you say or do?" To help stimulate this discussion, faculty present students with GVV case studies, then discuss sample scripts and action plans that can be used in similar situ- ations. When GVV cases don't resolve positively, the teaching plans offer discussion questions and readings from which stu- dents can draw recommendations to alter the outcome. For instance, the "Reporting" module shows how three managers—one senior executive, one middle manager, and one new manager fresh from his bachelor's degree—handle values conflicts linked to falsified records. In the module, the managers hear many of the common arguments in favor of such practices; students learn what they might be able to say if they're faced with similar ethical dilemmas. Giving Voice to Values doesn't downplay the obstacles inherent in values conflicts with peers and bosses, and it doesn't deny that people tend to make rationalizations to justify their actions. Rather, the GVV program lets students 42 BizEd JULY/AUGUST 2008 know that, despite the risks and complexities of ethically challenging situations, people can speak up about their val- ues and take effective action. "GVV shifts the focus away from debates about what the 'right' answer to an ethical challenge might be and places the focus on how to act on one's values in a particular situ- ation," says Michael C. Jensen, Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration Emeritus at Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "This approach pro- vides people the opportunity to practice handling the dis- comfort, threats, isolation, and embarrassment people face in such situations." There is much to be learned from looking at how and why some people voice their values in the workplace—even when they understand the risks and acknowledge the obsta- cles. These individuals make a great effort to know them- selves and better understand others, so they can try to avoid self-justifying rationalizations about their failure to act. They think strategically about how to implement their values, thereby diminishing the risks they face; and when the risks are unavoidable, they prepare themselves for repercussions. They also learn to communicate openly and clearly about their values, making sure they gather the information they need to make considered decisions. The Complete Program Seven pillars support the GVV curriculum: One: Acknowledging shared values. Although there are quibbles about the details, research reveals that there is a short list of values that individuals generally share, regardless of their cultures, religions, or eras. While disagreements about some values are real, they need not prevent people from working together on common goals. Two: Choosing to act. The GVV program includes a classroom exercise that helps students recognize that all individuals are capable of acting on their values, even if they have not always chosen to do so. One goal with this exercise is to debunk the idea that people are either good or bad. Another goal is to encourage students to think about factors that encourage them to act on their values—factors that are "enablers"—as well as those that discourage them, or serve as "disablers." Students learn strategies for strengthening their individual enablers and counteracting their disablers. Students also learn that individuals are likely to grow more sure of themselves each time they speak up. One series of cases, called "Lisa Baxter—Developing a Voice," follows a woman from her earliest days as a junior strategy consultant to her current role as senior vice president of a major con-