Peeling the onion: public policy in entrepreneurship education
| Date | 20 April 2012 |
| Published date | 20 April 2012 |
| Pages | 12-21 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/20452101211208335 |
| Author | Jeffrey R. Cornwall,William J. Dennis |
| Subject Matter | Strategy |
Peeling the onion: public policy in
entrepreneurship education
Jeffrey R. Cornwall
Jack C. Massey Chair in Entrepreneurship
and Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship,
Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, and
William J. Dennis Jr
National Federation of Independent Business, Washington,
District of Columbia, USA
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to examine some basic pathways to bring issues of public policy into
entrepreneurship classes.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper looks at policy issues related to taxation, regulation
and employment which all offer important topics that can be integrated into a variety of standard
entrepreneurship courses.
Findings – Integrating policy issues into entrepreneurship classes is important to assist students
understand the importance of compliance, to see the linkages to their broader university education,
and to help make them more informed citizens.
Originality/value – This paper hopes to foster more integration of public policy into both the
entrepreneurship classroom and into more traditional streams of entrepreneurship research.
Keywords Entrepreneurship education, Entrepreneurship curriculum, Tax policy, Regulation,
Employment, Business ethics, Business law, Entrepreneurialism
Paper type Research paper
There are two sets of rules that entrepreneurs must navigate as they launch and g row
their business ventures. The first is the formal set of rules that are shaped by policy
and guided by the law. The second is the informal set of rules that are shaped by values
and guided by ethical decision making and social responsibility.
Teaching business ethics and social respo nsibility is firmly entrenched in the
modern business school. While the outcomes of busine ss ethics education has come
under fire, the education of business students about the ethical an d social context of
their decisions and actions continues to evolve (Giacalone and Thompson, 2006). There
is a clear expectation that one of the roles of business educators is to consistently
teach the ethical dimension across all disciplines taught within schools of business. To
achieve this, most business schools have not only introduced courses in business ethics
into their curricula to fully immerse students into the ethical realm of management, but
have also made a commitment to integrate discussion of ethical issues relevant within
each course offered in their programs.
For many years, business ethics was taught from a more descriptive, relativistic
approach. The goal was to make students aware of situations with an ethical
component and provide frameworks for analysis. But in recent years, there has been a
willingness to peel back the onion and examine the values that are at the core of an
organization’s culture. It is the shared values of an organization that provide the
fundamental context for ethical behaviors in business (Schein, 2010; Cornwall and
Naughton, 2003). For the entrepreneurial venture, these norms are a reflection of the
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/2045-2101.htm
Journal of Entrepreneurship and
Public Policy
Vol. 1 No. 1, 2012
pp. 12-21
rEmeraldGroup PublishingLimited
2045-2101
DOI 10.1108/20452101211208335
12
JEPP
1,1
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