Business ethics is not a popular topic. Business Ethics Society (BES) President Daniel Horowitz might tell you the same.
“Ethics is a huge topic that is definitely underserved,” said Horowitz, a junior accounting and finance major. “That was the reason for our founding.”
Founded in spring 2005, BES sponsored events like trips to prisons and guest speaker conferences in an effort to communicate the consequences of white collar crime. Events like these served as an imitation of what BES members try to practice in real life, according to former president Chas Spiros.
In Horowitz’s view, attending at least two BES events per semester qualifies one as a member. But, BES was struggling to deepen its core of committed members who want to participate regularly in club events:
“You told [students] there’s an event about ethics, and it’s like, ‘Oh maybe next time I’ll go,’ and it turned into a problem,” added Horowitz.
BES, though, caught many students’ attentions.
“In terms of interest in the club, marketing, getting our name out there, getting names on our listserv and people signing up at events where we market the club, we’ve definitely grown,” Horowitz said. “Our listserv grew by 150 names in the last six or seven months.”
Horowitz noted that to add to its appeal and attract more dedicated members, BES merged with Net Impact, a nonprofit organization for students and professionals who want to develop business skills in line with different social causes. A Sunday vote between the two organizations’ members confirmed the merger. This fusion will mark the debut of Net Impact in the undergraduate student community.
Horowitz said that the union will allow BES to infuse the nonprofit with a membership base, and in turn, Net Impact could offer BES members a more appealing “play” on ethics through building connections with the Dingman Center’s Center for Social Value Creation, an organization which builds awareness of corporate social responsibility.
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