Socialization of Business Practitioners: Learning to Reflect on Current Business Practices

An approach to ethical coursework in business schools which draws upon Schon's concept of the 'reflective practitioner's is described. It is argued that an approach which promotes reflective practice guards against the dualism in models of ethical decision making which oppose philosophical and psychological perspectives. Workshop activities which can be used to facilitate students' ability to reflect on ethical situations are discussed. In particular, the critical incident technique encourages students to analyse strategies they have used to cope with ethical dilemmas in terms of their previous or contemporary experiences and value systems, and to examine these on the basis of philosophical principles.