Using Simulations to Navigate Real-World Business Ethics Challenges: Do Ethical Prompts Impact Student Outcomes?

Learn how an ethics simulation in a large (~700 students), undergraduate course at Penn State’s Smeal College of Business helped students:

• examine a real-world ethical dilemma, 

• explore authentic choices, and 

• consider real-world impacts of their choices. 

We will discuss the benefits of simulation in preparing students for their future careers.

The "Catering Conundrum" simulation was developed as a collaborative project between the instructor and the eLearning Design Innovation Group at the college. The goal of the project was to help students identify and respond to factors that influence ethical decision-making. These factors include culture, professional responsibility, apathy, relationships, and mentoring. The simulation serves as a tool to provide resources and support for students in order to develop more informed ethical professionals when students enter the workplace. 

The class was split into two groups. Half of the class were prompted with ethics questions prior to completing the simulation and the other half completed the simulation without being prompted with ethics questions. This presentation will discuss the differences between the two groups and what we learned about the benefits and value of simulation and the impact of ethics prompts as a tool to prepare students for their future careers.

During this session attendees will:

• Identify the benefits of simulation as a tool for authentic decision-making,

• Compare the outcomes of simulation with an ethics prompt vs. without a prompt,

• Discuss the culture, prevention and response to ethical dilemmas,

• Explore the barriers to assuring ethical decision-making, and

• Develop strategies to promote ethical responsibility in teaching and learning contexts.