Do the Right Thing
Teaching young people how to make ethical decisions in today’s complex world.
by David S. Chernow

PARENTGUIDE News March 2006

Teens are confronted with many difficult decisions every day. They’re faced with challenges that you and I wouldn’t have dreamt of at their age. It’s a much more complex world with temptations ranging from the illegal downloading of music and movies, the availability of a vast array of drugs and the widespread use of steroids in school sports. They’re confronted frequently with the media’s images of celebrities, sports heroes and other supposed role models accused of personal malfeasance. All of this points to the need for strong guidance by parents, teachers and faith-based organizations to provide our youth with the tools to make good decisions.

Given the world our kids face, it is important to ask, are today’s teens ethical? Do teens think ethics are important? Well, like that gray area known as the ethical dilemma, the answer is— maybe.

A recent poll of American teens conducted by Harris Interactive for Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide and Deloitte & Touche USA LLP found that while more young people than ever have a stronger sense of ethical behavior, a significant percentage may lack the courage of their convictions when faced with certain pressures.

Specifically, 22 percent of teens would act unethically to make more money if there were no chance of getting caught, down dramatically from 33 percent just two years ago. However, 35 percent would likely lie to their boss to cover up a mistake and 42 percent might act unethically if instructed by their boss. So in a sense, teens are saying cheating is wrong, but they would consider it to get ahead or save their own skin.

Webster’s Dictionary defines ethics as “the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group.” Unfortunately, some of today’s teens seem to think the definition of right and wrong is fairly malleable, depending not only on the situation, but also on the ramifications for them personally.

Despite this confusion, though, there are positive signs. For instance, since 2003, the percentage of teens who believe “people who practice good business ethics are more successful in business than those who don’t” has jumped from 56 to 69 percent this year. More teens are turning to their parents (74 percent in 2005, up from 68 percent in 2004) for help when making an ethical decision, with more shunning peer pressure and information sources such as “the Web.”

As parents, the most important things we can do to inspire ethical behavior in our kids are to provide them with a good example and give them the tools with which to make ethical decisions on their own. When we ourselves are faced with the temptation to tread on ethically questionable ground, we must remember that our children are
watching everything we do. We owe it to them to do the right thing, and our efforts will pay off down the road as our children become adults.

To help our kids learn how to make ethical decisions, we should sit down with them and discuss the following questions that they can ask themselves when faced with a difficult choice. The answers to these questions should make it clear whether or not their intended course of action is an ethical one. Getting into the habit of asking these questions will get young people used to making good ethics a priority in their thought processes every day:

• Are my actions illegal or unethical?
• Am I being fair and honest?
• Would I be unwilling or embarrassed to tell my family, friends or co-workers about my actions?
• Would my reputation be harmed if my actions were printed in the newspaper?
• Am I personally uncomfortable about the course of action?
• Could someone’s life, health, safety or reputation be endangered by my action?
• Could the intended action appear inappropriate?

As we found in the poll results, the innate desire of most young people to do the right thing is encouraging. It is imperative to provide teens with as much ethical guidance as possible and to not simply assume that they “get it.” That’s why JA and Deloitte created the “Excellence through Ethics” program, an economics and business education curricula for students in grades 4-12, that teaches students the importance of making ethical decisions in business.

Excellence through Ethics is designed for classroom use and contains valuable tools to teach students about ethics. For example, the lessons examine the concept of intellectual property rights, the importance of presenting yourself accurately and truthfully during a job search, and why ethical standards are important for business people. JA also has an online ethics center at www.ja.org that is a great resource for parents who want to discuss ethical issues with their kids.

The solution for any ethical dilemma is to make the right choice. As parents, educators or caring adults, we cannot make that choice for our young people. However, we can provide them with the tools, support and knowledge necessary to make appropriate decisions. To do any less for our children would border on being unethical.

At Junior Achievement, our mission is to inspire kids to succeed in business and in life. Through dedicated volunteers, we provide in-school and afterschool programs for students in grades kindergarten-12, offering educational programs in seven key content areas: business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics/character, financial literacy and career development. As we’ve seen with some of the recent corporate scandals being covered in the news, the emphasis on ethics and character is especially timely. We want tomorrow’s business leaders to hold themselves and their employees to the highest possible standards of behavior. This makes us all more successful.

David S. Chernow is president and chief executive officer of Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide, the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics and entrepreneurship. Today, 142 JA offices reach approximately four million students in the United States, with more than 2.8 million students served by operations in 95 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.