Ethics discussion leads teens to see both sides

Ethics discussion leads
teens to see both sides
Chamber of Commerce
program points out
factors in decisions
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

DAVE BENJAMIN Helen D. Blank, project director for New Jersey Center for Ethics Education, led an ethics forum for students last week.

Dealing with ethical problems in business is the aim of the Ethics Initiative for Tomorrow’s Leaders program.

The multifaceted program is presented by the Western Monmouth Chamber of Commerce, Freehold, and sponsored by Mel Crystal, a certified public accountant in Freehold, Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, JCP&L and Sovereign Bank.

The program includes an initial forum for students; a session to train teachers so they can run projects in their schools; a student orientation; and a team challenge program set for April. At the team challenge students will come together to work on a business related problem that has ethical im­plications.

"Hopefully, there is a continuum where [students and teachers] get some initial background, some more training at the orientation, and then they meet to use those skills to solve ethical problems," said Bill Bladel, chairman of the chamber’s education committee.

DAVE BENJAMIN Manalapan High School junior Steve Bachman responds to a question from Helen D. Blank during a forum that focused on ethical decision making in business.

The ethics forum was suggested by a group of advisers from the dif­ferent schools that run the Future Business Leaders of America and Distributive Education Clubs of America programs, Bladel said. Approximately 80 students and 14 advisers from all six high schools in the Freehold Regional High School District, as well as from Allentown High School attended the first two-hour presentation at Freehold Borough High School.

The presentation featured speaker Helen D. Blank, assistant director, Center for Healthcare Ethics, New Jersey Medical School, and Ethics Project Director, New Jersey Center for Ethics.

"This gives them a sense of what goes on in the work force, but it’s not solely business related," Bladel said. "It deals with the ethical de­cision making process."

What is really envisioned is that the students will go back to their schools and become the leaders of programs that are relevant to that school, programs that have ethical implications, Bladel said.

Blank began the program by defining the term ethics.

"Ethics is about the process of justifying choices between compet­ing objects," said Blank. "Being in class or being here. They both work. They’re both good things to do. They’re neither right nor wrong. If it’s between right or wrong, good or bad, then the obvi­ous thing to pick is the good thing or the right thing."

Students saw a clip from the film "Scent of a Woman," which re­lated to an ethical problem. They then dealt with a hypothetical ethics problem and they learned a five-step way to make judgments: By defining the basic issue, dilemma or task; focusing on the real choices or options; developing a two-sided argument first by pre­senting all the strongest arguments for A and against B, and then, de­veloping all the strongest argu­ments for B and against A.

They identified the significant "Tilt Factors," things that are nei­ther A or B that fall somewhere in between and can influence the fi­nal decision. Students also learned that final judgments must be cus­tom tailored to fit the real situa­tion.

Ethics can be used for problem solving and can be used throughout a person’s life, noted Blank.

Students were asked for their responses to the presentation.

Angelica Campanaro, a junior at Freehold Borough High School, said, "There’s a lot of different fac­tors that go into considering the different choices you have. There are a lot of important things that you have to think about before you make a decision."

Angelica said she would use the information she learned from the presentation in school and with friends.

"You can weigh different things like honesty and friends," she said. "You can weigh what is [most] im­portant."

"I think it’s a learning experi­ence that we’re going to need for the rest of our life," said Mike DeRienzo, a senior at Howell High School. "We’re going to have to make decisions like this every day, especially if we go into business or [have to deal with] any aspect of life. This is just a sample portion of what we’re going to have to ex­pect."

"When trying to make a decision you shouldn’t think about only one side," said Gerard Miller of Allentown High School. "You have to not just think about yourself, but how everyone is affected by the decisions you make."

Efrain Orsini Jr., a senior at Freehold Borough High School, said, "I learned there are ethical problems in everyday life."

Efrain said he is looking at ca­reers in management and could use the information he learned at the presentation if he had to decide who to hire.

He said he could also use what he learned when resolv­ing questions that employees would have regarding the company.

"I think this is something that is overlooked in a lot of schools," said Brittany Pickell, a senior at Howell High School. "With kids our age, these problems don’t come up until we’re older. Then we have to deal with them and we’re not prepared for it."

Brittany said she thinks this kind of program should be incorporated into a school’s curriculum.

"They should start teaching this to kids now so they will be pre­pared when they go into the busi­ness world or any world for that matter," she said.

Meagan Skeehan of Allentown High School said, "We learned how to make the right decisions based on both sides of an argument and not just one side."

"I learned there are different choices and factors that influence your choices when you’re dealing with ethics," said Rachael Erickson, a junior at Freehold Borough High School. "You really have to take into consideration what you’re going to be dealing with and what the outcome can be."

Alice Mac of Allentown High School said she was given a sce­nario about choosing to be loyal to the company or being loyal to a friend. She said she learned that when you make a decision on your own, "you bring on yourself the consequences [depending upon] which decision you chose."

Alice said she enjoyed the morning and thought the program was very worthwhile.

Josephine Burt, a junior at Freehold Borough High School, said, "I learned that when it comes to ethical problems, you have to think [it] through before you make your decision because every choice has a consequence. The decisions you make in life have conse­quences and you [will] have to deal with these consequences."

Meghan Beierschmitt, a junior at Freehold Borough High School, said she thought the presentation and the meeting of students from the different schools was good for her school.

"We’ve never really had any­thing like this," Meghan said. "I think it gave us a chance to learn about ethics. It helps us to make better decisions in our life, rather than choosing what we think is bet­ter right away without giving any thought to the decision."