Behavioral Ethics

Behavioral Ethics

Why do well-intentioned people sometimes make bad decisions?

Ethical decisions occur amidst organizational pressures and personal biases. Ethical misconduct can happen to any individual who fails to recognize the ethics of a decision. Pressures to follow orders, make business goals, and ignore bad news can lead to defective ethical reasoning. Employees who can recognize the traps that provoke or trick people into illegal or unethical transgressions are more likely to avoid ethical lapses in the workplace.

The Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Collegiate Program at UCCS College of Business offers students and the community opportunities to learn from past scandals as well as practice ethical decision-making on campus, in competitions and in the workplace.

Ethics Fellows in this Focus Area
Rory Lewis, Ph.D, JD
Rory Lewis, Ph.D, JD
Program Officer of UCCS’s College of Engineering’s Computer Science Master's Department
Kay Yoon
Kay Yoon, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Communication, College of Letters, Arts, & Sciences
Robert Block, Ph.D.
Robert Block, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, Associate Professor of Business Analysis
Scott Kupferman, Ph.D.
Scott Kupferman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Teaching and Learning, Co-Coordinator of Special Education Program
Kimbra Smith
Kimbra Smith, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Cultural and Applied Anthropologist, Department of Anthropology
Patty Witkowsky, Ph.D.
Patty Witkowsky, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Leadership, Research, and Foundations Coordinator, Student Affairs in Higher Education (SAHE) program College of Education
Lorraine M. Arangno, Ph.D.
Lorraine M. Arangno, Ph.D.
Senior Instructor of Philosophy, College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences
Scott Van Ness, ABD
Scott Van Ness, MBA
Interim Faculty Director of Executive Education, Instructor of Operations Management, College of Business
Barbara Joyce, Ph.D.
Barbara Joyce, Ph.D.
Associate Professor - Community Health, Correctional Nursing, Community Collaborative, Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Are you a student interested in working with an Ethics Fellow? Learn more about the DFEI Collegiate Program at UCCS COB Ethics Ambassador Program.

Behavioral Ethics

Related Resources

 

Articles
CEO Bright and Dark Personality: Effects on Ethical Misconduct by James Van Scotter and Karina De Déa Roglio

Abstract:

In recent years, misconduct by CEOs has led to firings, scandals, and financial losses for companies. Our study explores personality antecedents of CEO misconduct using Five-Factor Model personality traits and personality disorder profile similarity indices. The sample of 259 CEOs used in the analysis includes CEOs who were involved in well-publicized misconduct scandals as well as CEOs who had no misconduct scandals. Teams of trained raters measured CEO personality using psychometric personality rating scales and video-based assessment methods. Logistic regression results provided some support for hypotheses regarding relationships between ethical misconduct, fraud, excessive risk taking, and sexual misconduct and personality traits including “Big Five” traits and personality disorder profile similarity indices.

Full Article: CEO Bright and Dark Personality: Effects on Ethical Misconduct 

 

Giving Voice to the Value Chain

Developed by James Van Scotter II, Ph.D. Using Porter's Value Chain as an organizing framework for ethical audits

Full Article: Giving Voice to the Value Chain

 

Integrating Ethics Into the Internship Curriculum

Meghan Sitdd, Ph.D., Program Director of the UCCS College of Business Career Development Center, demonstrates the importance of ethical conduct in internship curriculum through a student's experience.

Read the Cooperative Education & Internship Association article: Integrating Ethics Into the Internship Curriculum

 

Cases
Family Website: Warm and Fuzzy or Downright Scary?

A class assignment developed by Ethics Fellow Peggy Beranek, Ph.D.

Full Article: Family Website: Warm and Fuzzy or Downright Scary?

Events
Ethics First

The EthicsFirst program provided by the Ethics and Compliance department and DFEI Collegiate Program at UCCS COB hosts an annual Keynote Speaker Presentation and Workshop. The event allows students to engage and learn from various speakers like Colleen Murray Peyton and Ronnie Feldman from Learnings & Entertainments, Neal Dandade, Stephen M.R. Covey, and more.

Significant Speaker Event Featuring Scott Kelly (September 2019)

The department of Student Life, in partnership with the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Collegiate Program at UCCS College of Business, The College of Engineering and Applied Science, and Office of Veteran and Military Affairs was proud to present a special Fall 2019 speaker event featuring Scott Kelly, world renowned astronaut who spent a year in space. Scott Kelly captivated the world and seized the imagination of millions during his record-breaking voyage-proving that the sky is not the limit when it comes to the potential of the human spirit. With awe-inspiring stories from space and personal reflections on leadership, teamwork and testing limits, Scott inspires others to believe that they can reach any goal, no matter how ambitious or audacious.

Resources
Ethics and Compliance Program

UCCS has adopted a set of values to which it is committed, including specifically a commitment to the value of integrity and an expectation that each member of the campus community will engage in ethical behavior.

Learn More