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  • 1.  Ethical Dilemmas – Exec Ed Teaching

    Posted 03-09-2021 08:03
    Edited by Karim Ginena 03-09-2021 08:04
    Dear Colleagues,

    I'm looking for materials to teach leaders/execs how to better think through tough ethical dilemmas (and tradeoffs) so that they can more comfortably (and systematically) make them (e.g., here's an example of one tradeoff). If you've had success with a particular framework etc. then would appreciate you sharing.

    Thanks,
    Karim


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    Karim Ginena
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  • 2.  RE: Ethical Dilemmas – Exec Ed Teaching

    Posted 03-10-2021 08:10
    Karim -

    I worked in executive development for almost two decades before semi-retiring. Usually our best discussions of ethical dilemmas were based on scenarios that the participants themselves shared with us - although I found that I had to give them a set of screening criteria to make sure that we got the kinds of scenarios I was looking for.

    In terms of frameworks, Rush Kidder's ideas worked well for us. In a typical session, we might put the executives in small groups and ask them to agree on a set of shared values. Then we'd give each group a scenario with an ethical dilemma and ask them to decide how they would handle it. In their analysis we asked them to tell us how their actions reflected the shared values they had identified earlier and also which of Kidder's three ethical bases (ends-based, rules-based, or care-based) was the foundation of their reasoning.

    I hope this is helpful.
    Bill

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    William A. Weech, Ed.D.
    Adjunct Professor of Management
    George Mason University
    Fairfax, VA
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  • 3.  RE: Ethical Dilemmas – Exec Ed Teaching

    Posted 03-11-2021 16:36
    DEAR,

    According to my opinion, behavioral ethics can be a real eye-opener.

    KINDEST REGARDS,

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    Annick Van Rossem
    Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
    Brussels
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  • 4.  RE: Ethical Dilemmas – Exec Ed Teaching

    Posted 03-13-2021 04:22
    Hi Karim,

    Your question stuck with me because it seems like a common challenge. AMLE just posted their table of contents. One of their research articles addresses the question of whether ethics can be taught. The authors cite Comer and Vega's (2015) book, "Moral Courage in Organizations: Doing the Right Thing at Work." Chapter 3 includes the Personal Ethical Threshold (PET) scale which may be useful to you.

    Jason

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    Jason Pierce
    Assistant Professor
    UNC Greensboro
    Greensboro NC
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