Teaching Ethics in B-School is Irrational Behavior

Teaching Ethics in B-School is Irrational BehaviorTeaching Ethics in B-School is Irrational BehaviorDan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational and Duke Fuqua professor, on the most irrational behaviors he sees in business schoolsI think that business schools dont understand conflicts of interest. For example, they think that if they offer classes on morality and ethics, people will stop being immoral or unethical. That wont necessarily happen.Also, one of the things I hate the most in business education is case studies, because case studies give people the illusion that theyve actually learned a concept. Students only learn about one story in a case study. They cannot learn the whole situation.And on one of the most important tools business students can learnI think we need to teach students more statistics. They need to know how to use existing data and how to generate new data in case the existing data does not provide an answer. The world works in statistical probabilities. As r esearchers, we generate a lot of data, about how compensation works, about what really motivates people, and who gets motivated by what. But we dont transmit that information nearly enough.BizEd, via Paul Bodine