January 26, 2022
Positive Links Speaker Series
Ethical Learning and Character Development
Maryam Kouchaki
Associate Professor of Management and Organizations
Northwestern University
January 25, 2022
About the talk
Individuals’ experiences at work can provide the opportunity for them to become a better person, in all aspects of their life. Instead of helping workers make more ethical decisions in the moment, organizations can and should create environments that help them become more ethical people in the long run.
In her talk, Maryam Kouchaki will present a bottom-up approach to ethics, focusing on what individuals can do for themselves to take ownership over their moral development at work. She will also talk about a top-down approach to helping workers develop moral character at work, focusing on what organizations can do to create a workplace environment conducive to ethical learning.
Taken together, these bottom-up and top-down approaches highlight the potential role of the workplace as a moral laboratory that allows individuals to engage in an ongoing process of ethical learning, to find the opportunities and support they need to learn, grow, and further develop their moral character.
Resources
- Harvard Business Review article (January–February 2020 Magazine): Building an ethical career: A three-stage approach to navigating moral challenges at work
- Harvard Business Review article (November–December 2021 Magazine): Building an ethical company: Create an organization that helps employees behave more honorably
