The Springfield Business Journal has an interesting opinion piece about cheating that is worth a peek. Titled, “Cheating in Business Starts in Classrooms,” the op-ed attempts to address the question of whether “business ethics education is succeeding.” Take the time to read it through and then ask yourself the following questions:

1. What role do organized sports have in teaching ethics?
2. What about parents — do they have a role to play in teaching their children about ethics and accordingly holding them accountable?

While I think the author makes some great points, I think it is a mistake to not mention the role parents must play in guiding their children through the ethical framework process. In a similar manner, I have noticed that individuals that choose to cheat in sports will typically cheat off the field as well. Athletes unwilling to compromise their integrity by cheating in a game are far less likely to cheat in life and business. The opposite is likely the case for their teammates whom are willing to cut a few corners.

If during their most impressionable years kids are bombarded with substandard role models at home, and certainly in professional sports, how can we expect them to suddenly become pillars of ethical conviction when they enter business school? Indeed, “it is difficult to teach someone to be ethical,” especially when you are attempting to do so after years of contrary instruction and guidance.

TAGS: ethics | cheating | role model | conviction | integrity | honesty | business school

This entry was posted on Monday, August 27th, 2007 at 8:06 am and is filed under Business Ethics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.