Explain how the study of ethics was viewed until recently, and what kind of shift in focus has occurred post the scandals.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

As recently as the mid-1990s, articles in such major publications as The Wall Street Journal, the Harvard Business Review, and U.S. News and World Report questioned the legitimacy and value of teaching classes in business ethics. Few disciplines face the type of skepticism that commonly confronted courses in business ethics. Many students believed that "business ethics" was an oxymoron. Many also viewed ethics as a mixture of sentimentality and personal opinion that would interfere with the efficient functioning of business.
Leaders realize that they can no longer afford this approach in contemporary business. The questions today are less about why or should ethics be a part of business, than they are about which values and principles should guide business decisions and how ethics should be integrated within business. Students unfamiliar with the basic concepts and categories of ethics will find themselves as unprepared for careers in business as students who are unfamiliar with accounting and finance. Indeed, it is fair to say that students will not be fully prepared, even within fields such as accounting, finance, human resource management, marketing, and management unless they are familiar with the ethical issues that arise within those specific fields.