Abstract
M.Com. (Business Management)
Corruption is a disease that has plagued countries, eroded the basic fibre of civil society and resulted in millions of rand being lost in wasteful expenditure. The increase in corruption in both South Africa and other African countries should prompt theorists and others alike to find workable solutions to deal with corruption. One such solution is through a focus on ethical education. Theorists have found that through a focus on ethics within education, corruption could likely be decreased and that ethics and ethical leadership education needs to form part of basic, secondary and tertiary education. Ethics should be prominent in postgraduate education as ultimately the graduates of master’s programmes are often the future leaders of business. However, it has also been found that the ways in which ethics is taught must be considered carefully in order to enhance the impact thereof.
This study sought to compare and analyse the efficacy and impact of ethical leadership education in the Master’s in Business/Commerce programmes offered by Wits Business School and the University of Johannesburg. This was done by interviewing various stakeholders involved in ethical education in the master’s programme, such as students, academics and industry representatives.
Through the interviews it was found that while ethics and ethical leadership do form part of the curriculum of the master’s programmes offered by Wits Business School and the University of Johannesburg, their impact and efficacy are limited. This study therefore proposes several recommendations to these respective universities on ways in which they could enhance the impact and efficacy of ethical education. These recommendations are made in the hope that a renewed focus on ethical leadership within the Master’s in Business/Commerce programmes will result in a decrease in unethical behaviour.