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Research has clearly shown that there is a correlation between cheating in business
schools and workplace dishonesty. Therefore,
business schools must integrate ethics education in
their curricula. Students who cheat are likely to continue this behavior in the workplace and it
is projected that this transfer of cheating in the workplace leads to various forms of corruption
at an approximate cost of $500 bn per years in 35 countries. In the US, theft and fraud committed
by employees cost businesses about $50 bn per
year. Cheating in business schools can indicate a predisposition to continue this trait at
the workplace as well. Hence, business faculty, administrators, and leaders should be
concerned about this trend by learning about it and
doing something to correct it.
It has become easier to cheat in college with
the availability of carry-on technologies, such as calculators, IPAQs, cell phones, and two
way pagers. What is even sadder is that some
students actually believe that, "Cheating in college
prepares them for the cut-throat business practices of
the real world." They consider it a "dress rehearsal
for life." Of course, many educators are stunned
to hear this mindset with "America's" youth.
These students figure if they are getting a lower
grade when they study, they might as well cheat.
They have lost the integrity of actually studying to
learn, regardless of how much time it takes to understand the concepts.
Accordingly, it leads one to wonder what ethics is all about. People are reading
about business ethics to discover the differences
in today's population's values. There seems to be
a segment of the population (certain students or senior officers of large corporations) that will
take the `low road' in every case, regardless of the
cost or the means. Cheating seems to be similar to
a computer viruses and `worms' that mess up programs and hinder productivity. Obviously,
we are working from a deficit in leaders with
character and integrity. How can we change our leaders, too? |
