ABS Students Engage in the Great Debate 2019

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Refer Ken to the Auditors or not? That was the dilemma the final year ABS students debated in the annual Great Debate to finish their semester. Each year the Professional Ethics class have to analyse a case study full of ethical dilemmas and report to a manager on what options they have, and what to choose and why.

This semester the students were faced with a pharmaceutical company that was donating soon to expire drugs to a developing nation, and their agent was requiring higher and more frequent ‘tea money’ payments in cash to get them off the wharves and into the hospitals that needed them. The senior finance person in the company head office knew this was a bit “off” and was considering whether to report the activity to the company auditors or not. Given the circumstances, the differing cultures of the countries, and the personal issues facing Ken, this was not a clear decision and required students to often consider competing values.

For the final class of the semester, the students were divided into two teams and assigned either the yes or no case to prosecute. A small audience of staff and community members watched the students deliver their arguments and had the difficult job of deciding which team won the day.

Dr Warrick Long, the lecturer for the unit had the even tougher job of marking each students efforts, which because of the high quality of their presentations, was not an easy task. The students were incredibly professional and made their cases passionately, clearly and with plenty of evidence to support their positions. One of the community members was so impressed she has spread the word of the event to her colleagues who are now wanting to come to the next Great Debate.

This particular unit caps the students experience and challenges them through extensive use of real-life case studies and often very animated discussion, to consider the why, values, moral framework and consequences of decisions they may face, with an emphasis on the SDA Christian foundations that form the basis of ABS.

ABS congratulates the students on their efforts, knowing that they are well prepared for the workplace, and will add value to where ever they choose to start their careers.