Unethical behaviour, in general, may have many reasons. And lack of training can be one of these reasons. Ethical training can play a significant role for the students. As business students will be future employees and entrepreneurs, business ethics training can be useful for them. It is a challenge for education institutes to raise business students to be ethical leaders. In recent years, the number of ethical courses that are provided to students has been increasing. However, some think that ethics cannot be taught. Nobody can deny the impact of ethics training on the performance of the students.
In recent years, financial scandals indicated a lack of ethical business practices. Therefore, these incidents have redefined the importance of teaching business ethics to students. Educators also concentrate their business ethics training to discuss ethical dilemmas. This is done so that the students can learn, and develop their own ethical code. This ethical code will help in their decision-making process with regards to the practical world. In this article, best assignment helpers and academic researchers will discuss why teaching business ethics training is important for students. So if you’re looking forward to knowing the importance of business ethics programs, read on!
Introducing the Idea of Rationalisation among Students:
Students are the future employees, entrepreneurs, and leaders. So it is a must for them to know the idea of rationalisation. The concept of rationalisation has everything to do with unethical decision making. If a person wants to practice unethically, it’s his personal choice, but in some cases, people are forced to do certain things. In a financial scandal, not all the people in the chain have bad intentions. Some of them were forced, or rationalised to do so in a certain manner. For instance, if a manager orders you to demonstrate unethical behaviour and characterises it as “just business”, it is not normal. In that case, one needs to develop the intellect for understanding that it is unethical behaviour. It cannot be justified in any way possible.
Equipped with such thinking, a student who’s going to be a business person someday will have better options. There is a wide possibility that he can deny his manager to ask him to do anything unethical. In other words, business ethics training will allow students to know about the concept of rationalisation. They will have a better understanding of faulty rationalisation as well. Besides, business ethics training will prepare them in handling external pressure without behaving unethically.
Understanding and Dealing with Opposing Viewpoints
Individuals may differ in their definition of ethical views. The culture and upbringing of an individual influences ethical views in a great manner. When two individuals from different backgrounds and upbringings meet, their points of view can differ significantly. It is true in the case of students as well. For most students, college is a place where they get to meet people with differing opinions. College can be an opportunity for students to venture from home, and have an experience of opposing views as well.
A business ethics training program provides students with exposure to opposing views. Under the safe and secure environment of a class, students get to learn how they can embrace these differences. Besides, they can actually learn the reasons behind these differences through this aspect. This process enables the students to expand their understanding of business ethics. Another important thing here is that it allows them to alter their values if needed. In this manner, students are able to make better decisions concerning their ethical behaviour. For instance, if they ever find themselves in a situation where they deal with unethical behaviour, they will be better able to handle the situation by understanding the core reason. Besides, they can even set examples for people around them with their ethical behaviour. It will also be easier for the students to understand differences with regards to culture and upbringing.
Developing Critical Thinking Skills
In the business ethics training programs, students get to read about different incidents. These case studies and previous incidents become a learning curve for them. In this manner, these students are able to know about both ethical and unethical decisions. Case studies also characterize the individuals that made mistakes or those that behave unethically.
Getting to know both correct and incorrect ethical decisions equips students for future life. It allows students to critically evaluate the situations, and draw lessons from them as well. It is important for students to learn what first-rate reasoning can be in the realm of ethics. There is a wide chance that students are able to learn critical thinking skills. Within this context, the business ethics training programs are designed in a way where students use their own intellect for enhancing their decision-making aspect. When students learn these skills in a classroom, it does not come as a surprise later. Using these critical thinking skills becomes second nature for the students. Solid ethical reasoning can be useful for students in their practical life.
Preparing Students for a Successful Practical Life
Skills like critical thinking and leadership are top attributes for business school graduates. Besides, these skills play an important role in the workplace as well. However, they are not common among business graduates, which can be a dilemma. These skills can be a competitive advantage for students in terms of getting their dream jobs. Practicing these skills also prepares them for becoming future business leaders. Therefore, a business ethics training program helps students in working on the skills that are related to ethical decision-making. Critical thinking and leadership skills can also help students with their future endeavours. Successful practical life is the dream of every student that can come true through the application of the right skills at the workplace.
Business schools recognise the importance of business ethics training programs. However, it is still difficult to engage students in ethical discussions and to practice ethical values. It is important that these training programs are designed in a manner that can instill ethical behaviour. In this regard, it is necessary to get feedback on these business ethics training programs. Feedback helps in improving the training programs, and their practical implications. Thus, this article helps both teachers and students in understanding why these business ethics training programs are important.