Increasing Effectiveness in Teaching Ethics to Undergraduate Business Students

Undergraduate business students present special needs and challenges in respect to the teaching of ethics. Traditional methods of teaching this topic are the subject of criticism in the literature. This paper considers the nature of the target audience while advancing the complementary goals of convincing undergraduate business students that ethical behavior in business is important and increasing the likelihood that these students will make ethical choices in the future. Shortcomings of approaches commonly used to teach this topic are discussed. Specific instructional techniques to supplement or replace traditional pedagogy are suggested.