INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / NOVEMBER 27, 1990 {SRS CES RAE SS PS EBT STITT SER BST TS TE 2 DOT OS ESET A Pound of Prevention... Integration of Ethics Into Introductory Accounting e_ Pick up a current copy of any major newspaper or business publication and you will find articles about business leaders who stepped into the gray areas of ethical business practices and are now accused of mismanagement, deceit, or outright fraud. Continued media exposure has raised the level of concern about American business ethics, and colleges and universities are responding by adding ethics courses to their busi- ness school curricula. All instructors can supplement and reinforce the formal courses by integrating ethics into their routine course content. Following are three approaches that have been effective in integrating ethics issues into my introductory accounting courses, promoting student interest and active participation. $004 Current Events and “War Stories” lintroduce ethics during the second class meeting by asking the students where they got the pencil or pen they have in their hands. Without fail, about 75% of them will admit to having taken it from work without permission. This question generates a lively discussion on the degrees of right or wrong and the scope of ethical considerations. It is clear that ethics is not just a one-time, important business decision made by a high- level executive, but rather an accumulation of day-to- day, small-scale decisions made at all levels. At the beginning of each subsequent class period, we spend five minutes discussing current business news articles or practices observed by students on the job. Management expense reports are a favorite topic and emphasize how difficult it is to draw the line between management discretion and unethical prac- tices. Financial statement disclosures, asset manage- ment, inventory control, employee relations, and leadership issues all relate to ethics. Case Studies I allocate part of one class session per semester for case study discussions. I divide the class into groups of three to five students and give each group a pre- selected case study. The small group structure encour- ages a more open discussion about values and possible applications in the student’s own work environment. I serve as facilitator to avoid influencing the group’s analysis and assessment. I do, however, pose general questions to get the discussion started and keep it focused. For example, one case study put the students in the role of a man- ager who found out through another employee that his best employee was stealing and selling bicycles for cash. I asked the groups to consider how they would detect or, better yet, prevent such an occurrence. I also asked if their decision might change if the employee had stolen just one bicycle and had given it to an impoverished child for Christmas. I schedule 20 minutes for group discussion and 20 minutes for the groups to report and defend their conclusions. Students are encouraged to challenge other opinions. Student Reports My final strategy is to offer students an extra-credit option of preparing an in-depth written or oral report ona current news topic or a topic of their own choos- ing. I ask students to consider how the issues impact the business’ relationship with its stockholders, em- ployees, vendors, and customers; what aspects of the media coverage might have been biased and why; what corrective measures seem to be needed; and who should police the correction—the government, the @& industry, or the business itself. a Two students selected their own topics. One interviewed a whistleblower and reported on his personal devastation and near financial ruin. The other designed a 10-part ethics questionnaire for completion by her classmates. It was nota scientific study, but the results fostered a lively discussion. ee There are other ways to integrate ethics into busi- ness and non-business classes, but these methods worked well. The students did not walk away witha checklist of right and wrong behaviors, but with reference points for recognizing possible unethical acts and compromising situations. This exposure will help them understand the potential consequences of the decisions they make. Bernadine McCollum, Instructor, Accounting For further information, contact the author at Paradise Valley Community College, 18401 N. 32nd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85032. Suanne D. Roueche, Editor October 12, 1990, Vol. XII, No. 23 ©The University of Texas at Austin, 1990 Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER institutions for their own personnel. woes?” INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD), EDB 348, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, (512) 471-7545. Subscriptions are available to nonconsor- tium members for $40 per year. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation. Issued weekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms and once during the summer. ISSN 0199-106X. =)