A Case Study In Teaching Character and Values For Business Leaders

Authors:

Keywords:

Abstract: In this proposed PDW, I plan to share the curricular decisions and conceptual rationale for the design and delivery challenges inherent to a course for teaching leadership character and values to business students. The original motivation for the creation of this course was to provide a better approach for helping students develop a more effective moral compass as business leaders. This was prompted by research findings that suggest inadequacies of our traditional approaches for teaching business ethics. More specifically, research evidence suggests that business students are, on average, more inclined to graduate less ethical compared to when they started their studies in business. The agenda for this proposed interactive PDW is to share an approach for teaching leadership character and values based on lessons learned from 14 sections of the class that have been delivered so far. Through a guided and participative exploration, I will encourage session participants to raise questions on the shared approach, and to discuss ideas for possible application in their own programs and colleges. My plan is to hold an intriguing conversation with participants about the complexity of teaching character and values in a business school, and to encourage engagement and questions throughout the session.