Today the NIU Marketing Honor Society will present the Award for Excellence in Corporate Achievement to the partners of Arthur Andersen and Company, an accounting company based in Chicago.

NIU President John La Tourette will present the award to company representative Don G. Baker at 6:30 p.m. in the Wirtz Auditorium. Baker will also be made an honorary member of the Marketing Honor Society, Associate Professor Jay Wagle said.

The Arthur Andersen company established an ethics program to educate the business and academic community about business ethics.

In March 1988, the company announced its five-year, $5 million program to teach business ethics in both undergraduate and graduate business schools. Wagle said the company hopes to have 2,000 college level faculty members attend the free seminars.

Wagle said the purpose of the program is to help business school graduates manage the complexities of the business world while making sure the public’s best interest is served.

In August, 1988 five NIU faculty members attended the first seminar sponsored by the company. Wagle, who attended the seminar, said it presented fictional ethical situations in a realistic manner.

Ethical problems often “creep up on you,” without warning, Wagle said. Problems are not always apparent during the normal course of business, he said. Often it is during a crisis that a company is faced with ethical concerns. He gave the Exxon oil spill in Alaska as an example.

At least two NIU professors who attend last year’s seminar incorporate the teachings of it into the ethics part of their classes, he said.