Conclusion: Moral Formation and Ethical Reflection in Business Education

Abstract

The fundamental components of business ethics education are moral formation and preparation for ethical leadership. To be effective, moral formation must take realistic account of the actual moral norms of the workplace, since these enacted priorities will govern who can be effective in the organization and who will advance to leadership. It is only in appreciation of the real context of actual practice that educators can guide the moral formation of students toward meeting the social obligations of business for the general welfare. Similarly, education for ethical leadership must be situated within business priorities as a part of business strategy, as the pragmatic pursuit of the good that is possible in the given situation. To arrive at an understanding of the good that can become the basis for agreement on just operations and outcomes, business leaders must be prepared to engage in public reflection on the values and outcomes at stake, and be prepared to lead, as needed, the public deliberations to address and resolve conflicting conceptions of justice. It was recognized a century ago that business leaders were becoming the new elite, with the power to shape morals across a vast nation and even the world. It is now time to explicitly renew the call articulated at the founding of the great American business schools, that business leaders take in hand their responsibility to achieve the social good as envisioned by the founders of the United States: prosperity and justice for all in and through a market economy.