The relevance of ethics and corporate social responsibility cannot be overstated. This is more so the case given that a business that has in place an effective ethics and CSR framework is likely to develop a reputation as a responsible entity and minimize the regulatory burden (Andersen, 2004). It is for this reason that most companies take ethics and CSR undertakings seriously. Cisco is one such company. In a bold move, the company developed Ethics Idol as a more engaging and exciting alternative to PowerPoint presentations in training employees about ethical decision making.Question #1. What are the advantages of Ethics Idol as an ethics training communication medium over in-person PowerPoint training?

A survey of ethics and compliance issues training at Cisco found out that employees regarded the in-person PowerPoint based exercise boring, dull, and unexciting. This is more so the case given that in essence, what the company had been doing was forcing employees to cram compliance and ethics information using a standard and rigid PowerPoint presentation approach. Ethics Idol is not only exciting, but also invigorating. Unlike a PowerPoint presentation which is a rather repetitive and monotonous exercise, Ethics Idol is designed to present unique and new...

Its non-repetitive and engaging nature is likely to keep everybody hooked to the learning process.
Also, it is important to note that Ethics Idol calls for the active engagement of an individual. To come up with responses, employees are required to follow through the situation presented and really apply their thoughts. This promotes retention of key concepts. Specifically, this seems to have particularly suited Cisco, whereby most employees are engineers who by virtue of being tech-savvy prefer, and are indeed used to, working out solutions by themselves. With PowerPoint, there is minimal involvement and important concepts could be ignored or totally missed.

Question #2. Would you enjoy this type of training program? Why or why not?

I would definitely enjoy this kind of training. This is particularly the case given that I find repetitive tasks uninspiring and therefore hard to follow through or fully commit to. Engaging undertakings capture my attention and commitment. The fact that Ethics Idol calls for a person to derive an appropriate response to the situation…