Ethical Essays (back to contents)
In a speech on the “Psychology of Risk, Speculation, and Fraud,” novelist and former banker Linda Davies said, “Bankers who hire money-hungry geniuses should not always express surprise and amazement when some of them turn around with brilliant, creative, and illegal means of making money.”

Ivan Boesky may be old news, but names like Martin Frankel, Robert Maxwell, Bernie Ebbers, Kenneth Lay, and Richard Scrushy continue to be the stuff of articles and investigations. One recent survey discovered that 56 percent of workers feel some pressure to act unethically or illegally on the job. As businesses recognize the impact of legal and ethical lapses on their employees and customers, business schools have become increasingly concerned about the ethical standards of the leaders they will graduate. Many applications now require students to discuss an ethical dilemma, and these essays can be tougher than you think.

Don’t congratulate yourself for being always honest because, honestly, you aren’t. White lies, exaggerations, misconstructions, and such are part of everyone’s social routine. If you glibly write, “I never lie,” you will reveal more about your personality than you realize. On the other hand, don’t cynically ponder how easy it would be to have taken “the other route.” Such a tack makes you at the least a martyr and at the worst a potential crook.

Instead, approach the ethical essay with honest realism. Write briefly about the responsibilities you believe in, and then discuss how you have upheld certain principles. You need to show that, as an intelligent, educated person, you are willing to pay a price for high ethical standards. But be careful not to overdo it, because hokey insincerity is obvious and devastating. Discuss something you truly care about, even if your story is not so dramatic as those in this group.

And don’t write about problems that you created for yourself. White-collar wheedling, such as padding an expense account, stealing office supplies, and even trading stocks on inside information should not be dilemmas for you. But whether you should report a co-worker’s misconduct is sometimes a very tough decision.

The most effective ethical essays involve a specific situation that sheds light on the difficult moral choices we all face from time to time. While you don’t always have to present The Answer to a big problem, you do need to show the admissions officer how you think about and handle ethical dilemmas.

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