Teaching the paradox of business ethics: a learning pathway to avoid a crisis

Generally, business schools teach students the principles of business and management alongside modules delivering material on business ethics. But business ethics is paradoxical because the words ‘business’ and ‘ethics’ are contradictory (Duska, 2000). This is because a Business, in the sense of a private enterprise, is the organised efforts and activities of individuals to produce and sell goods and services for profit. Hence profit is the primary consideration. Whereas the general definition of ethics is the principles and standards of moral behaviour that are accepted by society as right versus wrong (Velasquez, 2014). But the definition of business leads to a flawed ideology that incubates the pathogens of a crisis. Here I engage students in unpicking the general business ideology in order to deliver a learning journey that explores the use of ethics in business to generate a more long term profit strategy whilst avoiding or mitigating a crisis.