Strategies for Teaching Research Ethics in Business, Management and Organizational Studies

Strategies for Teaching Research Ethics in Business, Management and Organizational Studies
Linda Naimi
Organizational Leadership, Purdue University, USA

Ethics education has become increasingly important in the wake of corporate scandals and scientific misconduct. The pressure to achieve at all costs has created what Callahan (2005) called our Cheating culture. We recognize that our students need preparation, mentoring and positive role models to help them in recognizing ethical issues, analyzing and reasoning carefully about them, and making responsible decisions in the face of difficult dilemmas.

Nowhere is this more critical than in the area of research, particularly human subject research. To ensure integrity in research, students and faculty must demonstrate that they understand the ethical and legal ramifications of their work prior to initiating any research. In addition to legal requirements, universities have employed a variety of creative approaches designed to promote integrity in personal and professional conduct.

This paper discusses learning theories and offers a number of effective strategies for teaching research ethics to undergraduate and graduate students in business, management and organizational studies. Successful strategies include online interactive training modules, case studies, role playing, action research, critical inquiry, simulations and online interactive tutorials, such as that offered by LANGURE. LANGURE (Land Grant University Research Ethics) is a national network of more than one hundred faculty and graduate students at eight land grant and historically black universities in the United States, engaged in developing a model curriculum in research ethics for doctoral candidates in the physical, social, and life sciences and engineering. The author teaches and conducts research in undergraduate and graduate courses in Research Ethics, Ethics, Law and Public Policy and Leading with Integrity. These courses examine the ethical, legal, and global challenges facing business leaders today.

Keywords: Research, ethics, business, management, organization, case studies

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