Degrees In Business Blog

There’s a negative stereotype surrounding business these days that really must be purged from American business; things that business men and business students do like hacking into school files that should not be corrupting today’s already-struggling economy.

The terms “family man” and “business man” are coined as polar opposites, as if a professional career means the abandonment of other core values in societal human beings. Like the horror scenes straight out of The Devil Wears Prada, business forces us to choose between: our friends and our job; our professional progress and our family; our career success and our morals.

But this isn’t the way business has to be. Ethical business degrees, particularly ethical MBA programs, are cropping up from the crevices of our colleges and universities to bring the best of both worlds under one umbrella. Through these “ethical MBAs,” business professionals may establish fruitful careers on top of a foundation of education that interweaves ethics into each and every class, instead of that one estranged ethics course that was jam-packed into the General Eds.

The question becomes, then: how do these ethical business degrees hold up to the actual wear-and-tear of the business world?

1. An ethical business degree is supported by leaders in the professional world.

Monster.com, a leader in careers and professional industries, wholeheartedly backs up the ethical MBA. The idea is to bring “socially responsible business leaders” into the forefront of America’s business teams, tackling heavy issues like, “Is there anything that business activities have to do with more sustainable peace around the world?”

2. An ethical business degree program is designed with the modern times in mind.

Ethical business degrees were spurred by the collapse of the economy and the overflow of MBA-holders that were unemployed. An ethical business degree is designed to be competitive in today’s business market without having to forfeit the morality or the family of the business man. Whether these overhauled MBA programs are actually successful or not is still open to interpretation, but students have the satisfaction of knowing that their business degree was not designed decades ago.

3. An ethical business degree program is invaluable to the entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs that are looking into the development of small business–the bubbling lava that bursts the volcano of dormant economies–are finding the ethical business degree options more invaluable than ever. These degrees provide the education to pursue morale business practices that thrive off of sound and just decisions that promote both business revenue, the individual, and the community.

4. Ethical business degrees account for the increased speed in which professionals can do harm.

According to Career Mee, times have changed in the professional world due to some key factors, including: globalization; company size; increased connectivity; and the speed in which we can transmit information. Before, unethical business practices trickled through corporations slowly due to the natural flow of the professional world, but with technologies surrounding the Internet like e-mail, Twitter, and blogs, a business’s success can spiral out of control very fast from one or two unethical employees. An ethical focus being placed on MBA and other business programs helps to diffuse this new phenomena.

5. Business degrees with a focus in ethics bring harmony to the office.

Strong business ethics means more conscience workers, which means stronger business teams. A business degree in ethics promotes a sense of community inside and outside the office.

6. Ethical business degrees are well-respected in higher learning.

Did you know that The Business Ethics Blog is highly-respected amongst college professors? For students that are looking to continue business education, a focus in business ethics may be the stepping stone from the bachelor degree to the master degree, or the masters to the PhD.

7. A focus in ethics is a “thumbs up!” business degree specialization to many employers.

As Vicinity Jobs puts it, “…in this post-Enron era, honorable behavior is the new corporate mantra.” Businesses recognize the critical need of ethics in the growth of the current economy and typically regard business degrees with ethical focuses with high regard. A focus is a surefire way to stand out in a crowd of applicants, and what better focus than on the ethics that will make you a stellar employee? Of course, this stress on business ethics is still spreading and there will be some employers where an ethics specialization will be a wash.

8. An ethical business degree gives students something philosophical to think about.

In the mayhem of mathematics, statistics, accounting, and economics courses, business majors may find a refreshing change of pace in the ethics classes that are brought about time-and-time-again in an ethical business degree. Since ethics is rooted in the field of philosophy, business ethic majors will find that philosophical thinking is part of the critical and yet enjoyable facets of their education.

9. An ethical business degree leads to innovation.

With great thought comes great innovation, and this is just another reason why the ethical approach to a business degree is useful to entrepreneurs. Small and large businesses alike–but definitely small business–thrive off of new ideas and ways of thinking, and this is just the kind of innovative gears that will start to turn with a fresh approach to a business degree.

10. An ethical business degree promotes non-profit organizations.

Ethical business degrees are tailored around supporting not-as-lucrative but essential members of our professional world, like non-profit organizations.

When looking at your business degree options, consider an ethical business degree for the newest approach to successful business. There are schools that have been participating in ethical business degrees since long before the economy ushered this movement as well, such as Saint Leo University’s business degree programs that are tailored around “Core Values” that have served the university for over a century.