Scandals in business, such as those involving Enron and WorldCom that took place in 2002 are nothing new, but emphasis in ethics education might help to make them less common in the future, officials say.

Recently, the University of Virginia's Darden Graduate School of Business Administration began work on creating a new ethics institute, which also is sponsored by the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers. Members of the institute will study and discuss ethics, as well as the best ways to incorporate that information into an academic setting.

Researchers from universities around the country including faculty members from the University of Michigan will be participating.

While MSU's Eli Broad College of Business will not be participating in this particular ethics center, it is pursuing ways to emphasize ethics training in their courses.

Accounting graduate student James Harbaugh said he feels the school does a good job integrating ethics into the curriculum.

"You have to have your own set of ethics," he said. "But it helps to have it reinforced and helps when you are in a sticky situation, to know, 'This is what I am supposed to do.'"

The business college conducted surveys of faculty members last year and found that classes stressed the importance of ethics, said Robert Wiseman, associate professor at the business school. He said the college currently is considering whether to do more.

Management Professor Michael Moch emphasizes optimization, or ethical business practices that benefit society and in turn, the business. However, too many people in business are trying only to maximize their profits, and this has negative impacts in the long run, he said.

"We are destroying social values and not increasing wealth," he said.

Teaching ethics in the classroom is something that Moch finds necessary, as well as personally beneficial, to his business classes.

"If they live their lives and make that contribution, their lives will be immeasurably more meaningful," Moch said. "They won't feel like so many business people who feel like they are taking more than they are giving."

No matter how much ethics education is incorporated into curriculum, it still is the individual's choice to make ethical business decisions, said John Delaney, the associate dean for Master of Business Administration Program faculty.

"The truth for every individual is that your reputation, your integrity, the way you treat and deal with people, is incredibly important to your success in the future," Delaney said. "But everyone has to come to that in their own way."