EDUCATIONAL PATHS TO ETHICALLY SENSITIVE BUSINESS STUDENTS

The proposed book explores a new framework for teaching business ethics that relies on prior literature related to development of professionals. As such, the work is aimed at faculty who teach courses that are part of a business major. In this literature, much of it from sociology, the different elements of professional characteristics emphasized include expertise, autonomy, professional self-concept, and social agency. If these elements are nurtured and cultivated in one’s education, graduates can become more engaged and active citizens in society. One of the key elements of professionalism is the development of social agency, which allows professionals to become social-trustees of their profession. The chapters will make a connection between the development of students' social agency and the resulting increase in students' ethical sensitivity, using sociological approaches in a more intentional form than current educational methods. Using the “Framework of Professionalism” as a suggested design, the core (especially Part II) of the book will explore methods to aid faculty in helping students build a solid foundation for the handling of ethical issues in their professional lives. These elements of professionalism, namely “Autonomy of Judgment,” “Expertise,” “Self-concept,” and “Social Agency” will be explained and connected to curricular development. The work touches on present methods of teaching ethics in business programs, the effectiveness of these methods, recent AACSB requirements of incorporating ethics into business curriculum, and the new proposed approaches to improve present methods to meet AACSB requirements. The new steps presented in the proposed book will draw on some of the recent business education literature such as Colby, et al, Rethinking Undergraduate Business Education, Wren, et al., Leadership and the Liberal Arts, as well as teaching methods highlighted in Gentile’s book Giving Voice to Values. Much of the literature suggests the interweaving of interdisciplinary learning and using integrative and intentional material to stimulate and develop students’ ethical sensitivity as related to business. However, our focus is on the practical application in the classroom of some of these ideas. Thus we envision the book as a complement to both theoretical and applied/action approaches to ensuring that students develop the foundations to deal with ethical dilemmas., This work will benefit academia (e.g., faculty, students, and researchers) and will be of interest to policy makers, accreditation organizations, members of the general public.