Higher education must foster moral development
Jamshedpur : Dr. M. M. Pallam Raju, Minister of Human Resource Development, Government of India, today said that higher education must pay more attention to helping students understand how to lead ”ethical, reflective, fulfilling lives”.
Despite the importance of moral development to the individual student and the society, one cannot say that higher education has demonstrated a deep concern for the problem of ethics.
The Minster was addressing the 22nd Annual JRD Tata Oration on Business Ethics at the Tata Auditorium organised by XLRI. The theme of the oration was “Ethical Challenges for India Today”.
Dr. Raju observed “Even in business education, a strong ethics education can help counteract a narrowing worldview that often accompanies a student’s progression through business school, supporters in academia say.
I completed my MBA more than 25 years ago in the USA, where courses on Business Ethics were introduced at that point in time. But that did not stop the financial crisis from occurring and affecting the world.
The danger is also that we only think about ethics when there’s a major crisis”. More often, however, the subject is not treated as a serious responsibility worthy of sus- tained discussion and determined action by the faculty and administration.
He was also happy to know that XLRI has moved beyond talk and put into action the values it espoused.
XLRI’s mission on being a management school with a difference and uphold its commitment to inculcate a sensitive social conscience within future business lead- ers in the making has been demonstrated through its initiatives like the Annual Conference on Social Entrepreneurship.
He urged the students to bridge the gap between industry and social responsibility through an ethical framework. The session was attended by H M Nerurkar, former MD, Tata Steel, Fr. E Abraham, director of XLRI and Dr. Pranabesh Ray, Dean [Academics] at XLRI. H M Nerurkar commented at the event.
“Today, ethical deficit and lack of integrity in public affairs have become such a major issue that public confidence and trust in public officials and private organizations have taken a severe beating in our nation. Ethics encompasses the entire spectrum of human con- duct.
In fact, the slow growth of the Indian economy in recent years is also partly attributed to the policy-making stalemate as a consequence of greater scrutiny and focus on unethical transactions in the private and public sphere”.
On the occasion, Fr. E Abraham, S. J. Director of XLRI thanked Dr. M. M. Pallam Raju, Honorable Min-ister of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India for delivering the oration and said” In the public mind, ethics in business is mainly identified with mere financial integrity.
But, ethics refers to a code of conduct that guides an individual in all his dealings with others. Business Ethics, in particular is a form of the art of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in any business environment.
It includes all issues regarding the moral and ethical rights, duties and corporate governance vis-�-vis a company and its shareholders, employees, customers, media, government, suppliers and dealers.
It is our belief that ethical behavior by the leaders of any nation or organization will inevitably set the tone for the rest to follow, ultimately leading to a “just, humane and equitable” society” “XLRI has always placed on the forefront, the importance of pursuing an ethical code of conduct in the corporate world.
We believe that no management education curriculum is really complete, unless and until the students are instilled with a set of abiding values – that are indispensable ingredients for any aspiring business leader in today’s world.
It is for this reason that a core course on “Managerial Ethics” is compulsorily offered to all our students at XLRI” he added
