โ Scribed by James Weber
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
This paper takes a critical look at the empirical studies assessing the effectiveness of teaching courses in business and society and business ethics. It is generally found that students' ethical awareness or reasoning skills improve after taking the courses, yet this improvement appears to be short-lived. The generalizability Of these findings is limited due to the lack of extensive empirical research and the inconsistencies in research design, empirical measures, and statistical analysis across studies. Thus, recommendations are presented and discussed for improving the generalizability and sophistication of furore research efforts in this area.
Most professional academic fields have experienced cyclical periods of examination and self-criticism. One of the most concentrated periods of critical introspection for business administration was in the late 1950s (Cheit, 1978). Two comprehensive studies were published in 1959, The Education of American Businessmen (Pierson, 1959) and Higher Education for Business (Gordon and Howell, 1959). Both of these reports emphasized the critical need for the inclusion of "environmental" courses into the business school curriculum. In response to these suggestions, courses in "business and societal relations" and "business ethics" were developed.
Thirty years later similar needs exist. Porter and McKibbin (1988) reviewed the state of management education in the United States and found numerous areas of "undernourished curriculum." One particular area emphasized in their findings was the "external environment of organizations." The authors noted that greater attention must be given to
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