Ethics and B-School Education

A few weeks ago, I was talking with our Marketing team here at Lynn University, and I told them about the way that we were now teaching ethics in the College of Business. As a result, they developed an information piece and placed it on our website on Thursday. The timing of the piece (which I’ve placed below) couldn’t be more relevant. In just this weekend alone, we’ve seen stories published about ethical lapses at organizations as varied as Lockheed, the BBC, and the US Government. Lance Armstrong’s issues were raised in another story, while the sports page discussed an athlete leaving a school because of alleged abuse from the coaching staff. Clearly since these five stories were topics of the news in just the last two days, then whatever we’re currently doing to instill ethics into our leaders isn’t working.

So take a look at the article below, and learn about the new model that we’re using to integrate ethics into business education. (Here is the link to the Lynn University news page: http://www.lynn.edu/about-lynn/news-and-events/news/business-dean-says-ethics-are-guiding-values-for-decision-making)


Published November 8, 2012

Business dean says ethics are guiding values for decision-making

“It seems the traditional separate ethics class method isn’t producing the optimum result,” said Kruczek. “We’re trying to change that.”

Unlike many business schools across the nation, Lynn University’s College of Business and Management does not offer stand-alone courses on business ethics, business communications and/or sustainable enterprises.

“We believe ethics – and other key business values – are such important topics that they should be embedded into all of our business courses,” said Thomas Kruczek, dean of Lynn’s College of Business. “The discussion of ethics, both personal and business, warrants far more in-depth attention than a one-semester class that meets twice a week.”

Lynn’s College of Business is working to change the outdated model of having only one or two courses specifically dedicated to guiding business principles. The university’s core curriculum, the Dialogues of Learning, also works to buck the trend by embedding life lessons throughout all Lynn classes.

“As educators, our hope is that we are helping to make the world a better place by training our students to enter the world as productive, contributing and ethical business leaders,” said Kruczek. “Our ethics and guiding values are at the root of every decision we make.”

ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING

Ethical decision-making is the foundation for building a successful business. However, in the wake of the financial crisis, unethical business agendas seem to garner the most attention.

“Enron, Global Crossing and WorldCom are key examples of the poor choices we hear about,” said Kruczek. “That’s one of the reasons we emphasize ethics so strongly here at Lynn. We are seeing questionable decisions in too many businesses, so it seems the traditional separate ethics class method isn’t producing the optimum result. We’re trying to change that.”

Leadership...The Carrot or the Stick? I Vote for Salami!

Part of leadership is being able to motivate people to do what you want them to do. It’s not (always) about ‘barking’ out orders…but it can be useful to treat your staff like, well... dogs. Just the other night I put my leadership/management skills to work to get my wife’s dog off the bed after he climbed up during a thunderstorm. Believe me, that was harder than it sounds. This is no labradoodle, her beloved boy is a 160 pound man-stopper, and I’m not a dog guy. I walked into the bedroom after a late football game, my wife was fast asleep, and her canine shadow was snuggled next to her with his head on my pillow! Sigh, thunder makes him nervous.

Now here’s the leadership lesson: I had a couple of choices, I could go for strong-arm dictatorial tactics or work towards collaboration. Trying to force the situation could result in opposition. The dog had his own agenda that didn’t coincide with mine. If I pushed hard he could growl (scary) and a confrontation would wake my sleeping wife (scarier.) Since I was dealing with a 160 lb immovable object with teeth, I was leaning towards negotiation and persuasion. I needed to consider both our needs, but my management goal was clear…I wanted that damn dog off the bed. The options were the classic carrot or the stick. Instead of the carrot, I went with a slice of salami. It worked, and both big boy and I were happy. For that particular situation that style worked. It wasn’t weakness... it was a win-win. In my current field (higher education) this style is a go-to choice. But leadership works different ways in different businesses, and sometimes a tougher style can be more effective. If the dog had been chomping on my cat, for instance, my management style would have been more hands-on!

Good leadership involves influencing those you lead, not about constantly dominating them. You’re not the hall monitor at school, it’s in your best interest to consider your employee’s concerns and desires (which unfortunately are not as simple as a slice of salami!) so that you can inspire and motivate them to help you succeed. When you have a choice in a situation, aim for the win, not just for you but for the other person. You can still be the “alpha” by making that choice.