IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v146y2017i3d10.1007_s10551-015-2919-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Highlighting Moral Courage in the Business Ethics Course

Author

Listed:
  • Debra R. Comer

    (Hofstra University)

  • Michael Schwartz

    (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology)

Abstract

At the end of their article in the September 2014 issue of the Journal of Business Ethics, Douglas R. May, Matthew T. Luth, and Catherine E. Schwoerer state that they are “hopeful in outlook” about the “evidence that business ethics instructors are….able to encourage students…to develop the courage to come forward even when pressures in organizations dictate otherwise” (p. 78). We agree with May et al. (2014) that it is essential to augment students’ moral courage. However, it seems overly optimistic to believe that this improvement will result from any course in business ethics. Indeed, we question the appropriateness of their measure of moral courage and assert that business ethics educators must purposely design their courses to develop students’ moral courage. In particular, we advocate introducing business ethics students to works of literature featuring protagonists who exercise moral courage in organizations. Fiction provides rich accessible narratives that show students worlds beyond their experience, awaken their imaginations, and evoke their emotions. Further, we highlight morally courageous exemplars because they inspire the cultivation of character. Joining those who underscore the role of virtue in business ethics education, we argue that exposure to moral exemplars in fiction will help students to build the moral courage they need to carry out ethical decisions in the workplace. Results from 46 students at the end of an MBA ethics course featuring moral courage provide preliminary evidence of the effectiveness of our approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Debra R. Comer & Michael Schwartz, 2017. "Highlighting Moral Courage in the Business Ethics Course," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(3), pages 703-723, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:146:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-015-2919-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-015-2919-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-015-2919-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-015-2919-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Leslie Sekerka & Richard Bagozzi & Richard Charnigo, 2009. "Facing Ethical Challenges in the Workplace: Conceptualizing and Measuring Professional Moral Courage," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 89(4), pages 565-579, November.
    2. Venkat Krishnan, 2008. "Impact of MBA Education on Students’ Values: Two Longitudinal Studies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(2), pages 233-246, December.
    3. Michael Brown & Linda Treviño, 2014. "Do Role Models Matter? An Investigation of Role Modeling as an Antecedent of Perceived Ethical Leadership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(4), pages 587-598, July.
    4. Moberg, Dennis J., 1999. "The Big Five and Organizational Virtue," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(2), pages 245-272, April.
    5. Rorty, Richard, 2006. "Is Philosophy Relevant to Applied Ethics?," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(3), pages 369-380, July.
    6. Morris, Donald, 2001. "Business Ethics Assessment Criteria: Business V. Philosophy—Survey Results," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 11(4), pages 623-650, October.
    7. James R. Detert & Linda K. Treviño, 2010. "Speaking Up to Higher-Ups: How Supervisors and Skip-Level Leaders Influence Employee Voice," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(1), pages 249-270, February.
    8. Young, Joni J. & Annisette, Marcia, 2009. "Cultivating imagination: Ethics, education and literature," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 93-109.
    9. ., 2010. "Introduction to corruption in the Persian Gulf," Chapters, in: Corruption and its Manifestation in the Persian Gulf, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Tepper, Bennett J., 2010. "When managers pressure employees to behave badly: Toward a comprehensive response," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 591-598, November.
    11. Debra Comer & Gina Vega, 2008. "Using the PET Assessment Instrument to Help Students Identify Factors that Could Impede Moral Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 77(2), pages 129-145, January.
    12. Duska, Ronald F., 1991. "What's the Point of a Business Ethics Course?," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(4), pages 335-354, October.
    13. Michelle Harbour & Veronika Kisfalvi, 2014. "In the Eye of the Beholder: An Exploration of Managerial Courage," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 119(4), pages 493-515, February.
    14. Ethan Waples & Alison Antes & Stephen Murphy & Shane Connelly & Michael Mumford, 2009. "A Meta-Analytic Investigation of Business Ethics Instruction," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(1), pages 133-151, June.
    15. Moberg, Dennis J., 2000. "Role Models and Moral Exemplars: How do Employees Acquire Virtues by Observing Others?," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(3), pages 675-696, July.
    16. Mary Crossan & Daina Mazutis & Gerard Seijts, 2013. "In Search of Virtue: The Role of Virtues, Values and Character Strengths in Ethical Decision Making," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 113(4), pages 567-581, April.
    17. Johannes Brinkmann, 2009. "Using Ibsen in Business Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 84(1), pages 11-24, January.
    18. Heidi Weltzien Hoivik, 2009. "Developing Students’ Competence for Ethical Reflection While Attending Business School," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(1), pages 5-9, August.
    19. Cubie Lau, 2010. "A Step Forward: Ethics Education Matters!," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 92(4), pages 565-584, April.
    20. Douglas May & Matthew Luth & Catherine Schwoerer, 2014. "The Influence of Business Ethics Education on Moral Efficacy, Moral Meaningfulness, and Moral Courage: A Quasi-experimental Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 67-80, September.
    21. Audi, Robert, 2012. "Virtue Ethics as a Resource in Business," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(2), pages 273-291, April.
    22. Hannah, Sean T. & Avolio, Bruce J. & Walumbwa, Fred O., 2011. "Relationships between Authentic Leadership, Moral Courage, and Ethical and Pro-Social Behaviors," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(4), pages 555-578, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Paola M. A. Paniccia & Silvia Baiocco, 2018. "Co-Evolution of the University Technology Transfer: Towards a Sustainability-Oriented Industry: Evidence from Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-29, December.
    2. Cédric Lesage & Soraya Bel Haj Ali, 2018. "Que disent les auditeurs quand ils ne sont plus silencieux? Le rôle des vertus face aux menaces contre l’éthique des auditeurs," Post-Print hal-01907972, HAL.
    3. Kathleen A. Tomlin & Matthew L. Metzger & Jill Bradley-Geist, 2021. "Removing the Blinders: Increasing Students’ Awareness of Self-Perception Biases and Real-World Ethical Challenges Through an Educational Intervention," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(4), pages 731-746, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christopher Chan & Subramaniam Ananthram, 2019. "Religion-Based Decision Making in Indian Multinationals: A Multi-faith Study of Ethical Virtues and Mindsets," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 651-677, May.
    2. Paniccia, Paola M.A. & Poggesi, Sara & Leoni, Luna, 2020. "The virtue of courage: From historical European roots to current management studies," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 547-554.
    3. Christian Hauser, 2019. "Fighting Against Corruption: Does Anti-corruption Training Make Any Difference?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 281-299, September.
    4. Guillermina Tormo-Carbó & Elies Seguí-Mas & Victor Oltra, 2016. "Accounting Ethics in Unfriendly Environments: The Educational Challenge," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(1), pages 161-175, April.
    5. Carlos Ferreira Peralta & Maria Francisca Saldanha & Paulo Nuno Lopes & Paulo Renato Lourenço & Leonor Pais, 2021. "Does Supervisor’s Moral Courage to Go Beyond Compliance Have a Role in the Relationships Between Teamwork Quality, Team Creativity, and Team Idea Implementation?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 168(4), pages 677-696, February.
    6. Douglas May & Matthew Luth & Catherine Schwoerer, 2014. "The Influence of Business Ethics Education on Moral Efficacy, Moral Meaningfulness, and Moral Courage: A Quasi-experimental Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 67-80, September.
    7. Ikhlas Hentati-Klila & Saida Dammak-Barkallah & Habib Affes, 2017. "Do auditors’ perceptions actually help fight against fraudulent practices? Evidence from Tunisia," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 21(3), pages 715-735, September.
    8. Manoj Anand & Jagandeep Singh, 2021. "Business students’ perception of corporate social responsibility: an exploratory study," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 48(3), pages 261-284, September.
    9. Matthew D. Deeg & Douglas R. May, 2022. "The Benefits to the Human Spirit of Acting Ethically at Work: The Effects of Professional Moral Courage on Work Meaningfulness and Life Well-Being," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 181(2), pages 397-411, November.
    10. Rafael Morales-Sánchez & Carmen Cabello-Medina, 2013. "The Role of Four Universal Moral Competencies in Ethical Decision-Making," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(4), pages 717-734, September.
    11. Neubert, Mitchell J. & Montañez, George D., 2020. "Virtue as a framework for the design and use of artificial intelligence," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 195-204.
    12. Montgomery Wart & David Baker & Anna Ni, 2014. "Using a Faculty Survey to Kick-Start an Ethics Curriculum Upgrade," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(4), pages 571-585, July.
    13. Johannes Brinkmann, 2019. "The Potential Use of Sociological Perspectives for Business Ethics Teaching," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(1), pages 273-287, April.
    14. Lerong He & Shih-Jen Ho, 2011. "Monitoring Costs, Managerial Ethics and Corporate Governance: A Modeling Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 99(4), pages 623-635, April.
    15. Katarina Katja Mihelič & Barbara Culiberg, 2019. "Reaping the Fruits of Another’s Labor: The Role of Moral Meaningfulness, Mindfulness, and Motivation in Social Loafing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(3), pages 713-727, December.
    16. Howard, Matt C. & Reiley, Peter J., 2020. "Physical courage predicts relevant outcomes in associated contexts: The creation of a measure and empirical analysis into the construct," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 80-94.
    17. Muel Kaptein, 2017. "The Battle for Business Ethics: A Struggle Theory," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 343-361, August.
    18. Mary Crossan & Daina Mazutis & Gerard Seijts, 2013. "In Search of Virtue: The Role of Virtues, Values and Character Strengths in Ethical Decision Making," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 113(4), pages 567-581, April.
    19. Ernesto Noronha & Nidhi S. Bisht & Premilla D’Cruz, 2022. "From Fear to Courage: Indian Lesbians’ and Gays’ Quest for Inclusive Ethical Organizations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(4), pages 779-797, May.
    20. Christine A. Hemingway & Ken Starkey, 2018. "A Falling of the Veils: Turning Points and Momentous Turning Points in Leadership and the Creation of CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 875-890, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:146:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s10551-015-2919-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.