Published: Nov. 6, 2015

CESR's greatest asset is its excellent faculty and staff. Each member of the CESR suite has their own unique specialties and areas of expertise. Elizabeth Stapp, professor of CESR/MGMT 4828: Corporate Boards in Action, noted the following article as supportive of CESR's mission and that of the Leeds School of Business as a whole: educating values-driven business leaders with steadfast moral courage. 

The Washington Post Article, written by Nitin Nohria, Dean of Harvard Business School, explores the famous Stanley Milgram electric-shock experiment. It's a good read.

Read the article here: http://wpo.st/3ejh0
 

Thoughts from Liz Stapp:

"Why does Leeds include values based decision making in our curriculum? As the article notes –moral overconfidence. We think we are more virtuous than we really are. Under stress, time pressure, isolation, and perverse rewards systems, we face greater risk of moral lapses.

Simply telling students to think ethically doesn't work. What does work, however, is allowing students to simulate the stresses associated with ethical dilemmas within the classroom. As the article notes: "one way to instill moral humility is to reflect on cases of moral transgression. We should be cautious about labeling people as evil, sadistic or predatory.... [w]e should be attuned to how situational factors affect generally good people who want to do the right thing." 

Through carefully selected cases, we allow students to debate the relative right and wrong approach for a business case. Students consider how situational factors can create confusion and moral ambiguity. What emerges is a more thoughtful, ethically attuned class, capable of moving beyond instinctual responses towards a more principled, values-based solution."