Abstract
Recent Wall Street scandals involving graduates from the best business schools have provoked questions about the methods and effectiveness of business ethics education. More specifically, educators and commentators are asking if the triple emphasis on personal career advancement, short-term business gain, and maximum shareholder value is overwhelming instruction in managerial ethics and social responsibility. Such educational cross-purposes raise the question of educational foundations. It is important to ask on what philosophical assumptions and social facts business ethics education was established, how well these assumptions and facts serve the educational enterprise, and if more solid foundations can be identified. These questions are addressed first in tracing the social and philosophical foundations of education in Western society, then locating the founding of American business schools in the historical conflicts and ideals of late nineteenth and early twentieth century education. The conclusion reached is that the current foundations of business ethics education are inadequate for a curriculum capable of preparing business owners and managers to achieve the social purposes of business.
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Notes
- 1.
“The legal age of consent to marriage was 10 years” (Augustine, trans. 1960, p. 388, n.3).
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Schweigert, F.J. (2016). The History and Ideals of Business Education. In: Business Ethics Education and the Pragmatic Pursuit of the Good. Advances in Business Ethics Research, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33402-8_2
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