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Many educators are still struggling with the question of whether ethics can be taught. Perhaps hope can be found in a recent book by the Harvard Business School describing how it addressed this issue and the results of that effort.
Can Ethics Be Taught?(1) details a study of entering Harvard MBA students from 24 to 32 years of age. The study found that these students do not possess the ability to make serious value-based decisions--especially when placed in the vast context of public interest.
As part of the research, one of the authors interviewed the participating students and concluded that most of these young people are fully capable of making value-based judgments within a given context. But their primary hindrances are a lack of experience in making value-based decisions, a lack of comprehension regarding the consequences of their actions on society when making such decisions, and an inability to articulate their own values in a leadership role.
Another interesting point of the book is that these students possess very limited frames of reference. For example, while they are strong in interpersonal ethics and have a clear definition of right and wrong on a one-to-one basis, they do not possess the ability to foresee how their behavior within the confines of a business can affect the public in general.
Another concern was expressed by the authors over the comparison of sports to business. The idea that business is like...