Blackwell Reference Online

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“Business Ethics as an academic discipline is relatively new in Australia.” So began the article about Australia in the first edition of this book (1997). Since that time, the print media and TV stations have been publishing reports, in a seemingly never‐ending stream, about people in the business world who have gained notoriety by their excesses in business. The article for this second edition is a narrative, which identifies some of the cases and individuals in the business world who have been so publicized. The amount of information, therefore, which is now available for inclusion and subsequent analysis into business ethics courses is considerable. Yet it seems that business schools, with perhaps one or two exceptions, have not taken up the challenge to develop programs to help counteract the ongoing breakdown of morally correct behavior in business. This is despite the expressions of concern that business schools should take a lead and develop core (i.e., compulsory) programs in this area. Business ethics is taught in most universities, but as stated in the first edition, it is still not a mainstream subject in the majority of business schools. However, in a news report (August 2003), one business school, Mt. Eliza, announced that ethics would be a core component of its MBA program. With the publicity generated by unethical and criminal activities of business identities it ... log in or subscribe to read full text