Ethical Preferences among Business Leaders: Implications for Business Schools

2000 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger N. Conaway ◽  
Thomas L. Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Environmental Risks ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Ethical Values ◽  
Business Faculty ◽  
Insider Information ◽  
Ethics Program ◽  
Arthur Andersen

Since 1976, the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has encouraged business schools to include ethics in their curricula. Because lan guage is the means for conveying values, including ethical values, business com munication faculty play an important role in deciding what should be taught, and how. But until very recently, most researchers failed to look specifically at actual practices and perceptions in the workplace. To address that need, we conducted a survey of 250 business leaders concerning their ethical preferences and compared our results with an earlier study of business faculty and students. The survey, adapted from one used in the Arthur Andersen Business Ethics Program, consists of 20 narratives which presented respondents with the need to judge the impor tance of certain issues and their approval or disapproval of the action or decision described. We found no significant differences in responses to the 14 items which addressed ethical issues in such areas as creating health and environmental risks, taking credit when credit is not due, focusing on disability issues, deceiving cus tomers with products and services, and using insider information to gain personal advantage. We did find significant differences in responses to six narratives focused on ignoring wrongdoing in the workplace, doing special favors for others to gain personal advantage, and covering up flaws in merchandise or operations. Our results, and the survey instrument itself, provide useful tools for the business com munication classroom.

Rethinking Ethics Education in Business Schools in the Post-Financial Crisis Epoch

2012 ◽  
pp. 342-356
Author(s):  
Vlad Vaiman ◽  
Throstur Olaf Sigurjonsson
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
Ethics Education ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Moral Character ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Direct Part ◽  
Financial Industry ◽  
Continuous Education ◽  
Business Elite

This chapter deals with a multitude of perspectives on ethics education in business schools and provides a compelling example of Iceland, where unethical behavior of its business elite and the total disregard for commonly accepted ethical rules of conducting business led to unsustainable expansion of the financial industry and its subsequent collapse in the fall of 2008. The authors examine whether ethics education or more precisely, the lack thereof, played any role in this financial collapse, and whether business schools should contribute to molding moral characters of their students, who will ultimately become the next generation of business leaders. Here are a few important highlights of what has been found. First, a consensus seems to have been reached that business schools have an important role in developing the moral character of their students, something they haven’t practiced sufficiently according to managers. Second, business schools ought to take a more direct part in a society’s discourse on business ethics and perhaps be in the forefront of these discussions. Third, there is a clear need for not only asking business schools to contribute to molding the moral character of students but to reshaping that of practicing managers through re-training and continuous education.

scholarly journals Do Business Ethics and Ethical Decision Making Still Matter: Perspective of Different Generational Cohorts

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Klopotan ◽  
Ana Aleksić ◽  
Nikolina Vinković
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
Generational Differences ◽  
Ethical Decision ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Ethical Behaviour ◽  
Ethical Values ◽  
Generation Z

AbstractBackground: Research in business ethics shows that individual differences can influence one’s ethical behaviour. In addition, variability in attitudes towards ethical issues among different generations is emphasized. Still, results are inconclusive and call for an additional examination of possible generational differences with regard to ethics and ethical values.Objectives: Our objective is to test if the perception of the importance of business ethics, attitudes towards ethical issues and aspects influencing ethical behaviour, differ among the four generations currently present in the workforce.Methods/Approach: Theoretical implications are empirically tested on a sample of 107 individuals, members of Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z.Results: In general, the results indicate that there are little or no generational differences related to the analysed aspects of business ethics. The significant difference is present only in the importance given to factors that influence ethical decision-making: (i) formal rules and procedures, (ii) performance management system and (iii) job pressures, between the members of Generation Z and older generations.Conclusions: In spite of employee diversity, ethics continues to present an important aspect of the business environment. Thus, organizations need to be oriented towards creating ethical leaders and a positive ethical climate that ensures that ethical values and behaviours are present throughout the organization.

scholarly journals Business Ethics Education: One Management Educators Perspective

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy J. Niles
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Ethics Education ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Ethical Reasoning ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Business Ethics Education ◽  
Business Faculty ◽  
Resource Center ◽  
The Past

Results from the 2005 National Business Ethics Survey (NBES) indicate that over half of employees observed at least one type of misconduct in the workplace during the past 12 months, with nearly 40% observing two or more violations (http://www.ethics.org). The President of the Ethics Resource Center, Dr. Patricia Harned, has stated that this statistic has not changed much over the past 5 years even though there is a rise in the number of companies that have implemented ethics programs (http://www.ethics.org) Business faculty has the opportunity to provide business students with ethical reasoning opportunities to meet these ethical challenges successfully.  AACSB has stated in their 2004 Ethics Education in Business Schools that…business education must encourage students to develop an understanding of the challenges surrounding business ethics and provide students with the tools to recognize and respond to ethical issues, both personally and organizationally (9). This paper outlines a proposed undergraduate business ethics education model that is developed in compliance with AACSB standards.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study Of Ethical Values Of Business Students: American Vs. Middle Eastern Cultures

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Shurden ◽  
Susan Shurden ◽  
Douglass Cagwin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
The United States ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Ethical Values

Business schools must prepare students to face the world and yet maintain strong ethical convictions. The question of ethics in the business environment is not exclusive to the United States. Ethical business behavior is a multinational issue, and all business schools world-wide must deal with this issue. However, cultural differences often define acceptable ethical behavior. For example, the acceptable amount of a “token” gift from one party to another is an ethical issue. Some American businesses do not even allow employees to accept gifts from clients, while within other businesses, both National and International, it is an acceptable tradition. Bribery of foreign officials during the 1970’s addressed this issue of what is acceptable in the form of gifts and/or payments between public officials when they initiated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, which prohibits the “paying, offering, promising to pay (or authorizing to pay or offer) money or anything of value…..to corrupt payments to a foreign official, a foreign political party or party official, or any candidate for foreign political office” (usdoj.gov). Ethical situations involving foreign officials and diplomats in other countries can also affect business transactions, which may ultimately be controlled by graduates from business schools in our colleges and universities. Consequently, the question is “What are the differences in ethical perceptions and values between cultures?” Once this question is addressed, business professors can adapt their teaching methods to help shape and mold the ethical values of business students. In a search for the answer to these ethical questions between cultures, the authors representing two universities, decided to conduct a small research sample on their business students. One of the colleges is a small public university located in the Southeastern United States, and the other is a university located in the Middle Eastern country of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A small sample of students from selected business classes of each school were given a 16 question ethics quiz which had been taken from The Wall Street Journal.  The questions ranged from personal use of company e-mail on the job to whether or not the individuals had lied about sick days or had taken credit for another’s work. The authors hoped to determine whether there were any significant differences between the answers given from the two schools pertaining to these types of ethical issues and to learn to what extent the different cultures had in shaping the ideas of these future business professionals.

Rethinking Ethics Education in Business Schools in the Post-Financial Crisis Epoch

2013 ◽  
pp. 624-638
Author(s):  
Vlad Vaiman ◽  
Throstur Olaf Sigurjonsson
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
Ethics Education ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Moral Character ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Direct Part ◽  
Financial Industry ◽  
Continuous Education ◽  
Business Elite

This chapter deals with a multitude of perspectives on ethics education in business schools and provides a compelling example of Iceland, where unethical behavior of its business elite and the total disregard for commonly accepted ethical rules of conducting business led to unsustainable expansion of the financial industry and its subsequent collapse in the fall of 2008. The authors examine whether ethics education or more precisely, the lack thereof, played any role in this financial collapse, and whether business schools should contribute to molding moral characters of their students, who will ultimately become the next generation of business leaders. Here are a few important highlights of what has been found. First, a consensus seems to have been reached that business schools have an important role in developing the moral character of their students, something they haven’t practiced sufficiently according to managers. Second, business schools ought to take a more direct part in a society’s discourse on business ethics and perhaps be in the forefront of these discussions. Third, there is a clear need for not only asking business schools to contribute to molding the moral character of students but to reshaping that of practicing managers through re-training and continuous education.

Daily Practice1: Ethics In Leadership

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chauncey M. DePree, Jr ◽  
Rebecca K. Jude
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Ethics Education ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Ethical Conduct ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Business Ethics Education ◽  
New Professionals ◽  
Faculty And Administrators ◽  
Business Corruption

The classic question, “Should business schools teach ethics?” is not often asked anymore given the drip, drip, drip of business corruption reported in the news. Even skeptics allow that business ethics education could not hurt and might improve the ethics of business leaders. Furthermore, universities, colleges, and business accrediting agencies prominently represent their ethics for all to see in standards, codes, handbooks, and advertisements. They seem to promote ethical conduct at their institutions. But how do faculty and administrators actually behave? And if not ethically, what are the educational lessons new professionals take to the workplace? 

Ethical Issues in the Fast Fashion Industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 660-665
Author(s):  
Chi Sheh ◽  
◽  
Peng Chan ◽  
Wen Jun Sim ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Fast Fashion ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Real Cost ◽  
Literature Reviews

Fast fashion is becoming more and more popular nowadays and this industry is growing rapidly. In order to supply to the big demand of fast fashion clothing, company will need to increase the production of the clothing in shorter time frame. Besides that, to out beat the competitor, company will provide more choices of clothing in cheaper price to the customers. By practicing these actions to increase the business profits, company is behaving unethical to the manufacturer of the cloth. Most consumers are not aware of these ethical issues. This paper is will used and tested the conceptual model of fast fashion business ethics based on literature reviews. The finding from this paper will manifest the “real cost” of a cheap and branded fast fashion clothing and will be supported by real life event that happened. However, after realizing the problems, some company did make some changes and the solutions are stated in the paper as well.

Utilising Indigenous Knowledge or Crime against Humanity?: A Critical Engagement with the Debate Generated by Alick Macheso’s Use of Manhood to Treat Nhova (Sunken Fontanelle)

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Tembo ◽  
Allan Maganga ◽  
Peterson Dewah
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
General Tendency ◽  
Ethical Values ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Lower Back ◽  
African Ethics ◽  
Cultural Grounding ◽  
The Face ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Points Of View

 This article presents various points of view regarding the treatment of sunken fontanelle by various communities as ignited by the controversial practice of kutara(a practice that involves the father of a child sliding his penis from the lower part of the left and right cheeks to the top of the head, as well as from the lower part of the face to the top of the head, and from the lower back part of the head to the top). The story of Alick Macheso’s use of his manhood to treat nhova (sunken fontanelle) opened a Pandora’s box. The story not only attracted the attention of critics from diverse cultural and ethical backgrounds, but revealed multi-ethnic positions. That is, reactions were steeped in a multiplicity of intellectual, religious and even cultural grounding. Reactions ranged from accusations of backwardness and absurdity, through to medical and Christian orientations toward the treatment of nhova. The overarching idea is that there is a general tendency to dismiss the age-old practice of kutara,coupled with an uncritical celebration of certain positions. The debate that ensued following publication of the story seemed to revolve around ethical considerations. The school of thought that dismisses kutara with disdain regards it as unethical and unimaginable in the present-day world—it is redolent with insinuations of absurdity on the part of those that live and celebrate it. We contend that the raging debate that followed the publication of the story can best be conceptualised within the context of African ethics. We note that kutara has relevance to the spirituality, ethical values, privacy, and protection of children’s rights, among other ethical issues. It is hoped that the article will stir further debate and encourage more research among information practitioners, scholars and researchers into the ethical issues surrounding the treatment of sunken fontanelle in various African communities. It argues for an Afrocentric conceptualisation of phenomena in order to contribute to debates on the renaissance of African cultures, and stresses that it is imperative to harness the life-furthering age-old traditions in African ontological existence.

Biosecurity and Public Health Ethics Issues Raised by Biological Threats

2019 ◽  
pp. 773-785
Author(s):  
Nicholas Evans ◽  
Thomas Inglesby
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Biological Weapon ◽  
Ethical Values ◽  
Dual Use ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Trade Offs

This chapter introduces ethical issues that arise in the context of biosecurity: policies and actions intended to prevent the development or emergence, or mitigate the consequences, of serious biological threats. These threats could include deliberate biological weapon attacks (bioterrorism), pandemics, emerging infectious diseases, or major laboratory accidents. The basic values that underpin these public health concerns are first introduced. Ethical issues that arise before, during, and following a biosecurity crisis are then examined, including issues of resource allocation, dual-use research, and the possibility of quarantine. Their resolution requires trade-offs among different ethical values, including utility, fairness, and liberty.

Commentary: The Broader Context of Long-Term Care Ethics

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 554-556
Author(s):  
Jason Lesandrini ◽  
Carol O’Connell
Keyword(s):  
Care Setting ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Ethics Program ◽  
Made In

Ethical issues in long-term care settings, although having received attention in the literature, have not in our opinion received the appropriate level they require. Thus, we applaud the Cambridge Quarterly for publishing this case. We can attest to the significance of ethical issues arising in long-term care facilities, as Mr. Hope’s case is all too familiar to those practicing in these settings. What is unique about this case is that an actual ethics consult was made in a long-term care setting. We have seen very little in the published literature on the use of ethics structures in long-term care populations. Our experience is that these healthcare settings are ripe for ethical concerns and that providers, patients, families, and staff need/desire ethics resources to actively and preventively address ethical concerns. The popular press has begun to recognize the ethical issues involved in long-term care settings and the need for ethics structures. Recently, in California a nurse refused to initiate CPR for an elderly patient in a senior residence. In that case, the nurse was quoted as saying that the facility had a policy that nurses were not to start CPR for elderly patients.1 Although this case is not exactly the same as that of Mr. Hope, it highlights the need for developing robust ethics program infrastructures in long-term care settings that work toward addressing ethical issues through policy, education, and active consultation.

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