Integrating Ethical Reasoning Instruction into Foundational Undergraduate Business Courses
The Lilly Endowment Promising Scholars Grant facilitated a series of research studies designed to identify classroom teaching practices and materials that can be used by business instructors to positively affect levels of moral reasoning in undergraduate students enrolled in business foundational courses (such as marketing, management, business communication, finance, accounting, etc.). The question being addressed in the research is: Can content area instructors who have not had formal training in ethical theory teach ethical reasoning in foundational courses to undergraduate students without causing a disruption to the regular content covered in such courses? Further, can this approach to integrating ethical reasoning into foundational business courses actually increase levels of student moral development?
The current research was conducted over five semesters in the College of Business at Indiana State University. The measurement of moral reasoning used in the research was the revised version of the Defining Issues Test, the DIT-2. The research resulted in the development of teaching practices and materials that can, when properly sequenced and integrated into undergraduate foundational business courses, significantly increase levels of student moral reasoning as measured by the DIT-2.
The following links provide access to the manuscripts, articles, and materials developed for use in this research. Please direct any questions, comments or suggestions regarding this research, any of the publications and supporting materials and their use to Dr. William Wilhelm at wwilhelm@indstate.edu or by phone at 812 237-2076.
1. Journal article summarizing the research:
"Integrating Instruction in Ethical Reasoning into Undergraduate Business Courses," Journal of Business Ethics Education, 2008, vol. 5.
2. Ethical reasoning journal article developed for assigned reading for students:
"Ethical Reasoning for the Business Classroom: A Decision-Making Framework," Journal of Applied Research for Business Education, 2006, vol. 4, no. 2., pp. 1-6.
3. Ethical
reasoning article used by instructor in class discussion as sample case :
"Ethical Reasoning for the Business Classroom: A Decision-Making Framework
Sample Case," Journal of Applied Research for Business Education, 2006,
vol. 4, no. 3., pp. 1-6.
4. Ethical reasoning steps handout - used by students for case analyses:
"Ethical Decision-Making Steps"
5. PowerPoint lecture for presentation after students complete assigned reading (2 above). Instructors should view in Notes Page view:
"Decision Making in an Ethical Dilemma"
6. Ethics Quiz - assessment used after assigned reading and lecture (2 and 4, above)
The following links provide access to preliminary studies conducted by the researcher. These studies served as a basis for designing the Promising Scholars research studies.
1. Journal article summarizing results from first study in accounting course:
"A Quasi-Experimental Study of Moral Reasoning of Undergraduate Business Students Using an Ethical Decision-Making Framework in a Basic Accounting Course,"
William J. Wilhelm and Alan B. Czyzewski, Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, 2006, vol. 48, no. 3.
2. Journal article reviewing ethics instruction in top-fifty U.S. business schools:
"A Review of the Top Fifty U.S. Business Schools' Approaches to Ethics Education," Journal of Business and Economic Perspectives, Spring/Summer 2005, vol. 31, no. 1., pp. 203 - 217.
3. Journal article describing descriptive moral reasoning study (using DIT-2) of university students at researcher's institution:
"Determinants of Moral Reasoning: Academic Factors, Gender, Richness-of-Life Experiences, and Religious Preferences," Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, Spring/Summer 2004, vol. 46,
no. 2., pp. 105-123.