Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE)
Annual Ethics Bowl/ Loyola Marymount
Annual Business Ethics Competition
/Baltimore Area Annual Regional Ethics
Bowl
Summary
More than 120
colleges and universities from across the
nation compete against one another by
presenting solutions to interesting
ethical dilemmas in a series of events
called "Ethics Bowl." USNA participates in a
Baltimore area competition, as well
as the Southeast Regional Ethics Bowl, one of
various regional meets in November,
which serve as feeders for the national
competition, which is held in early March
during the annual meeting of the
Association for Practical and Professional
Ethics. These competitions are similar
to panel debates, and use a set of 15 cases
distributed to teams about one month before
competitions.
In addition there is
a distinct business ethics competition
sponsored by
Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
This is not a debate competition, but
revolves around a team produced business ethics
PowerPoint presentation. Teams are composed of three to five
members, and the presentation, runs for approximately 30 minutes.
It is followed up by a question and
answer period with judges. The team and
judges "role play" as players in the
corporate world.
USNA participation
This has been a
tradition at the Academy, attracting a loyal
group of midshipmen who thrive on the
discussion and teamwork. Midshipmen
interested in participating in the Ethics
Competitions work with the Stockdale Center, in
selecting a team and formulating arguments.
This year our team
of five midshipmen and two alternates attended the 2009/10
Southeast Regional Ethics Bowl, placing
second in a field of twenty during the round
robin preliminary round, while amassing a
3-0 record.
They narrowly lost in the semifinal round of
the final four. This performance assured
them a spot at the National Finals in
Cincinnati, March of 2010.
The previous
Saturday, USNA placed second at the 4th
annual Baltimore Area Ethics Bowl, hosted by
the College of Notre Dame in cooperation
with the Hoffberger Center of the
University of Baltimore. Other
competitors included the University of
Baltimore, the University of Maryland,
Baltimore, University of Maryland C0llege
Park, and Towson University.
April 16-18, of 2009 the
USNA team participated in the
Loyola Marymount business ethics competition,
travelling with a team of 5 first time
participants. They finished as runners-up in
a field of 28 teams from across the nation
and around the world. They created a
business plan and company, "Decatur
Securities," revolving around the ethical,
legal and financial challenges posed by
Somali Piracy in the waters around the Horn
of Africa. You can watch video of the
preliminary round of this event below. That
round includes the 30 minute presentation,
and the 20 minute question and answer
period.
USNA will attend the
2010 Loy0la Competition to be held in
Nashville Tennessee, in Mid September. The
team will prepare for this competition
during the 2010 Spring term, and summer,
utilizing webv2 technology.
Since these three ethics
competitions are annual events, prospective Ethics Bowl participants should consider ongoing involvement.
Team members can participate in one,
two or three of the events. While the competitions are distinct, many of the skills
needed and benefits gained are similar.
Anyone that would like to participate in a
support role is also invited to take part.
Official 2009 APPE Regional Ethics Bowl Website and Cases
Official 2009
Loyola Marymount Business Ethics Competition
Website
Sample Video of the two
events:
{Click
to view, right click to download}
