DO SOME EFFORTS TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE ACTUALLY DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD? CAN WE BUILD A CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE WITHOUT DAMAGING THE EARTH’S FRAGILE ECOSYSTEM? ARE ELECTRIC VEHICLES GOOD OR BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT? Fleming Ethics Bowl – Challenging Students to Do the Right Thing by Dr. Thomas Craig Northwestern Lehigh High School – 2023 Ethics Bowl 1st Place Team: Linda Paist (advisor), Kayla Schwarz, Claire Krivenko, Emily Chukoskie, Jessica Boyle
These important questions were the focus of the 6th annual Fleming High School Ethics Bowl held at the DeSales University Center in November 2023. Ten teams from local high schools – Building 21, Easton, Liberty, Norristown, Northampton, Northwestern Lehigh, Palisades, Parkland, Southern Lehigh, and Upper Perkiomen – participated in this fun and exciting full-day case competition. After checking in and enjoying a hearty breakfast during the opening ceremony, the teams made their way to the first-round presentation rooms to meet their three-judge panels of corporate executives and community leaders. Acting as advisors to the board of directors of the fictional company Evergreen Mining Corporation (a supplier of cobalt to the electric vehicle industry), the teams explained their recommended solutions to the environmental dilemma faced by the firm and responded to questions from the judges. During the lunch break the judges convened to choose the first-round winners, while Father James Greenfield, OSFS ’84, president of DeSales, provided an inspirational message on the critical need for ethical leadership. Four finalist teams – from Easton, Liberty, Norristown, and Northwestern Lehigh – were selected to advance to the afternoon round which included new information for the case (“the twist”). These teams then regrouped to evaluate the twist, and presented their updated recommendations to the full panel of twelve judges. As the afternoon sessions ended, the tension and excitement grew as the teams waited for the final results. After a period of careful and intense deliberation, the Northwestern Lehigh team was selected as the first place winner, followed by Liberty (2nd place), Easton (3rd place), and Norristown (4th place). Each finalist
team received a commemorative trophy for their school and a one-time scholarship award to be split evenly among the teammates. The top three teams also received additional academic tuition scholarships to DeSales. All students in the competition received certificates, 2023 Ethics Bowl shirts, and personalized mementos for their participation. We wish all participants in this year’s Ethics Bowl great success in their academic and professional careers, as they continue to “do the right thing!” (the slogan emblazoned on the Ethics Bowl shirts). Richard Fleming and his family foundation, the Fleming Institute for Business Ethics at DeSales University, was established during the 2009-2010 academic year. The institute aims to create a meaningful ethical dialogue between academia and business, and to provide educational opportunities for students to become ethical business leaders. DeSales University and the Division of Business are grateful for the support of the Fleming family, our esteemed judges, and everyone who helped to make the 2023 Ethics Bowl a success. We’re looking forward to another great competition in November 2024! Moreover, our years of collaborative case writing have advanced to the point where we have begun to publish select cases in the collection for purchase and use by other institutions. The authors identified The Case Centre of London as the appropriate platform for publication, and we have since published several cases on subjects ranging from medicine to self-driving vehicles to sports, with more in the pipeline. The DeSales cases can be found at the website of The Case Centre (www.thecasecentre.org). For more information on the annual Fleming Ethics Bowl, please contact Dr. Thomas Craig (thomas.craig@ desales.edu).
Business Matters • Summer 2024
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