Dr. Michael McCuddy

Professor of Management
Louis S. and Mary L. Morgal Chair of Christian Business Ethics

During the past few years, ethical scandals have occurred in all too many companies throughout the world, attributed in large part to company leadership.

Indeed, the moral failures of some business leaders have dramatically focused attention on the need for ethical leaders and role models.

At Valparaiso University's College of Business Administration, Professor Michael McCuddy is helping to address this need in his course Ethics in Business, which explores business morality in the context of the Christian faith.

“Everything we do in life has moral implications,” says Dr. McCuddy, who holds The Louis S. and Mary L. Morgal Chair of Christian Business Ethics at VU. “This class focuses on the students' moral journey in life-where they are now, and where they want to be-and exposes them to issues that they will grapple with along that journey.”

The course is as much about personal ethical awareness as it is about examining ethical theories, concepts and issues. As former student Annie Mueller '02 states: “Ethics has been more of a self-discovering adventure than a class.”

Because ethics is an integral part of daily life, it is not something that should be considered in isolation from basic business functions, Dr. McCuddy says. Nor is it something that should be done as an afterthought or as an added luxury.

“Without moral leadership, the future of business may be at significant risk,” Dr. McCuddy says. “An important, even essential, part of education for future business leaders is helping them learn to be authentic ethical role models. Anything less is an injustice not only to them but also to all of civilized society.”

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