Inside Iowa State

October 22, 2004

Shrader to focus on business ethics during Presidential Lecture

In the past few years, corporate icons such as Enron, WorldCom, Tyco and Halliburton have experienced lapses in corporate, professional and personal ethics, says Brad Shrader, professor of management.

Shrader will pursue that topic during the 2004 Presidential Lecture. His talk, "Business Ethics After Enron: Looking Good Versus Being Good," will begin at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. A 7 p.m. reception and student display in the Oak Room will precede the lecture.

Names like Enron and WorldCom today are more closely aligned with images of greed and power than business success, Shrader said. The result has been a growing mistrust of corporations and their managers by the public. The good news is that many businesses are re-evaluating their corporate structures and policies to reinforce business ethics at all management levels.

Shrader is a nationally known expert in strategic management and business ethics. He researches the relationship between corporate social responsibility and company performance. He also is active in executive education programs, presents business ethics seminars at the Iowa School of Banking and is on the editorial boards for the Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education and the Journal of Managerial Issues.

The Presidential University Lecture Series was created to highlight faculty excellence in learning, discovery and engagement.

Brad Shrader