The Insurance Institute of Canada Letter from the Editor

PLEASE SHARE CHALK TALK WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES !!!

News Greetings Feature Event Info

September 13, 2007 Volume 5, Issue 3

News

Dear Subscribers,

I must have still been in my teens when I realized that the correlation between what is deemed ‘ethical’ and what is ‘legal’ in our society is somewhat tenuous. Behaviours that are widely considered to be unacceptable, even reprehensible, often are not illegal. Still, it’s clear that unethical conduct can, and often does, have serious implications. In recent years we’ve witnessed ‘scandalous’ occurrences lead to the impeachment of a President, the fall of a government, and cause the reputations of numerous companies to plummet along with their stock values. To act in a way that goes against The Golden Rule, or even many of The Ten Commandments, may not result in serving jail time but all the same can land you in very hot water. In Peter C. Newman’s book about the new ‘Titans’ of Canadian business, he quotes Calgary entrepreneur, Seymour Schulich, who donated $50 million to York University’s business school, as saying, “reputation is character minus what you have been caught doing”. Whether in business or in one’s personal life, a fall from grace can lead to the destruction of careers, families, friendships and can threaten one’s livelihood. No doubt there are those who argue that moral stan-dards change with the times, that that which was once frowned upon is now acceptable. I’d make the distinction between holding a door open for someone and allowing a door to slam into the face of the person behind you whether motivated by malice or indifference. Making ethical decisions in one’s life speaks to the essence of one’s character.

This week’s issue of Chalk Talk provides information on teachers’ resources that help students to understand ethics in business, as well as classroom resources that gives stu-dents insight into how to start a business.

CoEd Communications is dedicated to supporting the important work of teachers by providing resources on a range of topics for the classroom. We invite you to visit our web-site at www.4edu.ca to view the many free teachers’ resources on offer.

Let us know what you think!

The Insurance Institute of Canada’s Career and Curriculum Connections programs are aimed at improving the understanding of insurance, illustrating

its role in society and highlighting the variety of skilled professions available in the property & casualty insurance industry which provides protection to home and

property, car and driver, as well as business and liability insurance. The Insurance Institute’s class-room resources are designed to help educators to introduce these concepts.

Know Your Risk is an eight module teachers’ kit that helps students learn about risks in their lives within the context of the role ethics plays in their personal decision-making. Ideal for grades 7-9 (can be modified for use in grades 5-12.) Available in French.

Risk Responsibility Reality is a classroom resource that enables teachers to introduce their grade 9 to 12 students to concepts and strate-gies that support high school law, family studies and life skills curriculum outcomes across Canada, while providing points for lively discussions and debates about personal responsi-

bility, liability and ethical behaviour. The kit features a DVD of three humorous vignettes that set the stage for dynamic discussions.

The Ambassador Program was developed to help motivate and inspire young people to consider the insurance industry as a possible career path. The Ambassadors are industry professionals who are trained to engage youth and share their career and education journey with students. They directly communicate how much our industry has to offer, and often testify to how their careers are deeply satisfying and ever-changing. When an Ambassador is invited into the classroom, students benefit from an honest perspective on the insurance industry’s offer-ings: diversity, challenges, recognition, and the power to help others through their time of loss.

Educators of the study of law, economics, math, business, social studies, family studies, life skills, and career and guidance education, can order the Insurance Institute’s classroom resources free of

Teaching Ethics in the Classroom

Business programs across the country have already or are looking to incorporate ethics in business as a topic within the curriculum. Lesson 5: ‘Your People’ — a chapter in the Insurance Institute’s Curriculum Connec-tions newest teachers’ resource, “You’re IN Business”, breaks down different aspects of the ethics in busi-ness debate into three parts: • Part A is about the Guiding principles that (can) govern a person’s attributes and ac-

tions – whether you’re an employee or an employer. • Part B presents a real corporate code of conduct for electronic communications (e-mail,

internet, computer, etc.) in the workplace • Part C addresses the situations (which contravene the guiding principles and/or the

code of conduct) in the workplace from the employer’s perspective Lesson 5: ‘Your People’ helps teachers meet curriculum outcomes in these areas: • Explaining the concepts of ethical and social responsibility as they apply to business • Assessing ethical dilemmas in the workplace • Explaining controversial business issues from an employee and employer perspective • Explaining the importance of ethical behaviour with respect to employees and the community • Analyzing their own entrepreneurial strengths and interests; and the attributes and actions of an ethical

employer or entrepreneur • Describing legal issues related to information and communication technology • Analyzing ethical issues related to information and communication technology • Describing the impact of access and equity issues related to information and communication technology • Explaining the purpose and content of an acceptable use agreement (code of conduct) • Describing privacy and security issues related to information and communication technology • Explaining the importance of keeping information secure and confidential

You’re IN Business is a seven-lesson educational resource created for Canadian teachers and stu-dents that promotes “business literacy” by transferring the real-world knowledge of the insurance indus-try directly into the business studies classroom. This new resource offers opportunities for students to create an insurance business using real-world business models, financial plans and marketing strategies while exploring the concepts of risk, liability, and how insurance protects them from the perils inherent in both. Educators can order You’re IN Business online at www.career-connections.info!

Mary Kovack

g ,Insurance Institute’s classroom resources free of charge, on-line at www.career-connections.info.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS — Upcoming Opportunities for Business Educators

The Ontario Business Educators’ Association (OBEA) will be hold-ing its annual autumn conference — on November 3, 2007. The

Insurance Institute is pleased to join the roster of OBEA contests for Ontario business educators with a new contest for 2007/08: Ethics in Business. Teachers are encouraged to lead the class through Lesson 5: Your People [see feature above] in the Insurance Institute’s You’re IN Business teachers’ resource (available free to teachers) and then use the contest as an evaluative tool to test your students’ knowledge and understanding, with the opportunity to enter a contest. There will be two levels to this online contest, one for grades 9/10 and a second for grades 11/12. OBEA members are encouraged to download the OBEA’s 2007-08 Annual Contest Handbook (available October 1) for more information. To find out more about the conference, go to www.obea.ca/conferences.

The Insurance Institute will participate in the BCBEA Conference October 18 & 19, and presenting a workshop. Resources will be

available for you to review and take away with you, as well as be able to introduce the program and answer any questions you may have.

The Insurance Institute will be in Manitoba on November 23rd distributing 100 copies of You’re IN Business to conference

delegates and exhibiting at the Manitoba Business Educators Conference

“Ethics are nothing but reverence for life. This is what gives me the fundamental principle of morality, namely, that good consists in

maintaining, promoting, and enhancing life, and that destroying, injuring, and limiting life are evil.” — Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize winning

theologian and philosopher, Civilization and Ethics, 1949

Ontario

Manitoba

British Columbia

To be removed from this mailing list, please click here and type "Chalk Talk Please Remove" in the subject field.

We are the Company for Education Communications. We specialize in developing, producing and evalu-ating school resources and award programs. Working in conjunction with Departments/Ministries of Edu-cation, school district/boards, associations, teachers and subject specialists across the country; we pro-vide free, curriculum-based educational resources to Canadian classrooms. The opinions, conclusions and other information expressed in the preceding content do not necessarily reflect the views of and are not endorsed by CoEd Communications.

To be added to this mailing list, please click here and type "Chalk Talk Please Add" in the subject field.

delegates and exhibiting at the Manitoba Business Educators Conference.

Education News & Related Articles

Let’s Teach About Ethics — Margaret Parent & Ernest Ling, Career and Curriculum Connections, The Insurance Institute of Canada [Read the entire article after September 16 in the Hot News section at www.career-connections-info.]

“In today’s world, telling right from wrong, and choosing to do the right thing, is sometimes not always easy. Teaching youth to discern the distinctions, to assess the risks, to make informed decisions, and to act responsibly – both personally and socially – can be difficult. But starting students off on the right ethi-cal footing is necessary preparation for a complex world. Curricula across the country have incorporated expectations that students will learn about character attributes, guiding principles, values, personal and social responsibility as well as business ethics and corporate responsibilities. If students look to the newsmakers – celebrities, business tycoons, politicians, or sports stars – as role models for what’s ac-ceptable or what a person ‘can get away with,’ what kind of definition of values or success do they repre-sent? What kind of moral compass is being provided?

The question becomes: can a person be ethical and still successful? Ethics is all about character – the personal qualities and values each of us has or can cultivate that de-fine our ethical behaviour.

The answer is yes: ethical behaviour will net greater success Over the long term, a personal and professional reputation earned through consistent ethical behaviour will generate far greater personal and career rewards than may be gained through limited or random acts of ethical behaviour. People who routinely make ethical decisions gain the trust and respect of others.”

Financial course a top seller; Eight-month program targets growing demand for jobs with insur-ance, mutual fund industries – Paul Dalby, Special to the Star, The Star.com, August 16, 2007

From cruise ship shuffleboard organizer to a budding captain of industry – that was Ryan Trainor's payoff from a new college course. After getting a degree in sports management at Brock University, it looked like Trainor had struck out on his dream of running a major sports organization. Today, Trainor's future looks brighter after graduating from Seneca College's Financial Services Practitioner program at its Mark-ham campus. "In eight months, I took two semesters in life insurance and mutual funds and earned three of the five credits I needed for a Certified Financial Planner exam," he says. Trainor says he signed on because he was looking for a career change. And that makes him one of the main target groups Seneca aims to attract, said Sam Albanese, chairman and founder of the program. The fast-track course allows them to change career direction quickly and plug themselves into a career that's growing in demand. "We have an aging population that needs this service more than ever," Albanese explains. "But we also have a talent shortage – there are not enough advisers. Albanese points to the industry's own stats: In Ontario, the average age for insurance representatives is 57, for mutual fund reps, it's 54.