A Way Forward for Ethics Education in Business: A Case from the Middle East

Aljwhara A. Al-Thani; Maryam Y. Al-Madhoun; Shahriar M. Saadullah; Ousama A. Anam

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A Way Forward for Ethics Education in Business: A Case from the Middle East

Aljwhara A. Al-Thani, Maryam Y. Al-Madhoun, Shahriar M. Saadullah, and Ousama A. Anam

Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

Volume 14: 2017, pp. 147-178: ABSTRACT

The objective of this study is to review the performance of business students in ethics assessments and suggest enhancements to the ethics curriculum. Data triangulation method was used to gather the data. First, data was gathered from ethics assessments that tested the performance of students. Then a faculty focus group discussion was held to gather their thoughts on the future of the ethics education. Incorporating these thoughts, 389 students were surveyed to understand their perspectives on the future of ethics education. The results show that the faculty members believe the student performance needs improvement. In addition, the faculty and the students make detailed recommendations to enhance the ethics curriculum at the introductory and advanced levels. Their recommendations include that code of conduct should be a part of ethics education, and faculty members with work experience related to ethical dilemmas should deliver the ethics education. Both groups opined on the possibility of teaching ethics in a stand-alone course versus imbedding it in select courses. The details of the findings and implications are discussed.