Saint Leo University Faculty Member Highlights Ethical Leadership This Global Ethics Day

October 15 is recognized as Global Ethics Day, an opportunity to reflect on ethical decision-making. Founded on Catholic Benedictine principles, Saint Leo University aims to develop morally responsible leaders by ensuring that ethics is a component of all courses and activities. Dr. Pamela Chandler Lee, director of the MBA program and professor of management at Saint Leo’s Tapia College of Business, shares her insights on how ethical principles shape modern business practices and guide the next generation of leaders:

Implementing Core Values in Business Education to Inspire Ethical Behavior

The world is enduring a period of almost unprecedented change, innovation, disruption, and intense competition in nearly every industry. Succeeding in this environment not only requires a sophisticated knowledge of business, but it also requires principled leaders who are able to navigate the complexities of the modern economy with vision, integrity, responsibility, and a commitment to excellence.

The widespread consequences of ethical lapses in governments and corporations across the globe are evidence that these leaders must be groomed and prepared to meet the need. Thus, the role of graduate business programs extends beyond offering advanced courses in finance, marketing, or economics.

Business programs must also serve as the platform for developing ethical leaders who can balance the expectations of shareholders with the needs of employees, customers, and communities. Importantly, a mere mention of values and ethics as afterthoughts in one or two business courses is insufficient to meet this objective. These principles must be embedded in the curriculum, taught, modeled, and demonstrated as students earn their degrees.

Core Values & Organizational Performance

Researchers have consistently demonstrated the relationship between core values and organizational performance. In their groundbreaking best seller, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, famed management scholars Jim Collins and Jerry Porras highlighted core values as a fundamental element of high performing companies. Moreover, they concluded that organizations which sustain a “core ideology” — core values and a sense of purpose beyond making a profit — encourage ethical behavior, even when no one is watching. Core values create the context in which employees think, act, and make decisions. The more formal and the more clearly articulated they are, the more likely employees will use them to guide their behaviors. 

Nevertheless, corporations with core values plastered on every wall have experienced deleterious ethical failures. Among other reasons for these failures, they are bound to occur when the organization’s stated values are inconsistent with its leaders’ actual values and behaviors. Not surprisingly, employees will not uphold values that their leaders do not uphold. Furthermore, when there is a gap between what leaders say they value and what they show they value, employees are likely to become discontented, disgruntled, and disengaged. Decades of research have shown that when leaders embrace a core ideology, they must be all in. They must ensure that the organization’s values are respected, supported, and demonstrated at every level.

As a result, graduate students should not only learn about the theoretical correlations between core values and organizational performance, but they must also be able to demonstrate a commitment to values and ethical behavior in business before they graduate. Business programs can establish this commitment by cultivating habits of respect, compassion, accountability, and principled decision-making among their students.

Core Values in Business Education

Saint Leo University is one of the oldest and largest Catholic universities in the country. Our core values are rooted in a 1,500-year-old Benedictine tradition. With a mission to serve the community and people of all faiths, our core values represent the foundational principles on which the university’s business goals and objectives as well as every course in the MBA curriculum are established, measured, and assessed. Saint Leo’s core values are: personal development, responsible stewardship, integrity, community, excellence, and respect.

Our MBA program builds on these values while also emphasizing responsibility, innovation, and accountability. The goal of the program is to develop graduates with the advanced knowledge, leadership ability, and decision-making skills to manage complex business interactions and solve real-world challenges in a global marketplace. Our program outcomes require that students are equipped to execute ethical business decisions in an economically responsible manner. We are committed to providing them with the tools and resources they need to meet this objective. 

Core Values & Pedagogy

Through a number of innovative teaching methods, our MBA faculty help students establish habits of ethical behaviors. Through these methods, students learn to responsibly evaluate decisions that affect short-term financial outcomes as well as long-term social and environmental consequences. Some of these instructional strategies include:

Simulations 

Featured in several MBA courses, through simulations students are confronted with real-world challenges which require them to apply critical thinking and ethical reasoning. Simulations encourage students to become engaged cognitively and emotionally as well as behaviorally. In real time, students live through experiences to which they would not otherwise be exposed. Significantly, simulations require that students respond to the results and consequences of their decisions. As some of the simulations are team-based, students play specific roles through which they learn with and from one another as they work together to apply the concepts they are studying.

Internships

MBA students also earn academic credit through internships in which they gain real-world experience and make significant contributions to organizations across the country. Our interns work in fields such as accounting, logistics, cybersecurity, information technology, project management, and human resources management. Internships allow students to put their learning into practice. As students become a part of the organizational culture, each day can be a new experience. Faculty coordinate with internship supervisors to ensure students’ work experiences allow them to contribute to the companies while meeting program outcomes. 

Service Learning 

Opportunities for service learning are incorporated in the capstone course and the marketing course as students engage with organizations in the community. Service learning projects are particularly impactful for graduate students, who tend to be older and more experienced than undergraduates. These hands-on projects allow students to connect their learning with their living. Saint Leo has a rich history with the armed forces and a long-time commitment to the veterans who serve our country. As a result, a number of our students are active-duty military and veterans, and values-centered learning resonates with them. 

For example, for the MBA capstone, students have the opportunity to work in teams to develop strategic management plans for organizations in their communities. Students serve as consultants who develop the plans, and faculty assist and coach them through any challenges or ethical dilemmas they face. We work with small businesses and nonprofits who have a need for consulting services but may not have the means to afford it. Clients have represented organizations such as an advertising agency, a popcorn company, a brewery, and nonprofits supporting causes such as health care, children’s literacy, and disability services. In the true spirit of service learning, these projects benefit the students, the organizations, and their communities.

By facilitating learning in the classroom and beyond, our MBA program is designed to ensure our graduates understand that ethics and values in business are not optional choices, but central elements of responsible leadership. As organizations face increasing pressure to outperform and outlast the competition, leaders who can skillfully integrate principles and profitability are uniquely prepared and positioned to build enduring organizations that serve their constituents and their society. 

About Dr. Pamela Lee

Prior to her arrival at Saint Leo University, Lee served as an associate dean at two academic institutions: Bryant & Stratton College and Regent University. Her research interests include topics related to women in leadership, the integration of faith in business, mentorship, and online teaching strategies. Lee has published and presented more than 30 papers in conferences and meetings in the United States and abroad. She teaches in Saint Leo’s MBA and DBA programs and is a member of several leadership and management organizations, such as the International Leadership Association, The Christian Business Faculty Association, and the Southern Management Association. A former U. S. Navy officer, Lee is also a board member for the Selective Service System and the treasurer and board member for Love and Hope Ministries Inc. which serves children, widows, the elderly, and pastors in India and Haiti.

About the Tapia College of Business

A leader in responsive, values-driven business education, Saint Leo’s Tapia College of Business is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) and serves students and alumni in more than 50 countries. 

Earlier this year, the college revamped the MBA program, creating three pathways streamlined from 36 credits. Designed for working professionals, these new pathways make it possible to complete a graduate degree more quickly, affordably, and with greater specialization. To learn more or apply, visit saintleo.edu.