Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T23:56:00.914Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Business Ethics Education: Should We? Can We?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2015

Richard J McKenna
Richard J McKenna*
Affiliation:
Strategic Management, Edith Cowan University, Churchlands WA 6000, Australia Tel: 09 273 8628 Fax: 09 273 8754, Email [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Emanating from some of the major business failures of the 1980s has been a growing disquiet at the absence of a concern for ethics in the business community. A possible cause for the apparent immorality of actions taken by some businesses is the absence of ethics from the training programs provided to business managers and professionals. It may be that whilst some practices of the 1980s were those of immoral persons, the wider and underlying problem is one of amoral behaviour. That is, our business system operates without an ethical base, and this occurs, in part, because business ethics is excluded from the curricula of the institutions responsible for the training and further education of business managers and professionals.

The successful introduction of business ethics into the curricula requires a sufficient body of academics who believe that the learning of business ethics is both necessary and possible. Research data shows that few Australian universities have a formal program in business ethics. This paper reports an exploratory examination of the attitudes of business academics toward the need for inclusion of ethics in the business curriculum. The response to the survey suggests that while there is, as yet, no centre of concentrated will and ability to set the process of curricula change in motion, there is widespread interest and recognition of the need. Several constraints are identified, including the instrumentalist ethos of our institutions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , March 1995 , pp. 44 - 63
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

David, FR, Anderson, LMcT and Lawrimore, KW (1990) ‘Perspectives on business ethics in management education’ SAM Advanced Management Journal (Autumn) pp 26–32Google Scholar
Etzioni, A (1989) ‘Are business schools brainwashing their MBAs?’ Business and Society Review, 70, pp 18–19. Cited in Bishop (1992) ‘Integrating business ethics into an undergraduate curriculum’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 11 pp 291–299Google Scholar
Ferrell, OC and Gresham, LG (1985) ‘A contingency framework for understanding ethical decision making in marketing’ Journal of Marketing Vol 49 Summer pp 87–9610.1177/002224298504900308CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferrell, OC, Gresham, LG and Fraedrich, J (1989) ‘A synthesis of ethical decision models for marketing’ Journal of Macromarketing Vol 9 No 2 pp 55–64CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gioia, DA (1992) ‘Pinto fires and personal ethics: A script analysis of missed opportunities Journal of Business Ethics Vol 11 pp 379–389CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, R, Bebbington, J and McPhail, K (1994) ‘Teaching ethics in accounting and the ethics of accounting teaching: education for immorality and a possible case for social and environmental accounting education’ Accounting Education Vol 3 No 1 pp 51–75CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hosmer, LT (1991) The Ethics of Management 2nd Ed Homewood: IrwinGoogle Scholar
Hunt, SD and Vitell, S (1986) ‘A general theory of marketing ethics’ Journal of Macromarketing Vol 6 Spring pp 5–1610.1177/027614678600600103CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunt, SD and Vitell, S (1991) ‘The general theory of marketing ethics: a retrospective and revision’ in Smith, NC and Quelch, JA (1993) Ethics in Marketing Homewood: Irwin pp 775–784Google Scholar
Jackall, R (1988) Moral Mazes: The World of the Corporate Manager New York: Oxford University PressGoogle Scholar
Kavathatzopoulos, I (1993) ‘Development of a cognitive skill in solving business ethics problems: the effect of instruction’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 12 pp 379–386CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kohlberg, L (1969) ‘Stage and sequence: the cognitive-developmental approach to socialization’ in Goslin, DA (ed) Handbook of Socialization Theory and Research Chicago: Rand McNallyGoogle Scholar
Kohlberg, LLevine, C and Hewer, A (1983) Moral Stages: A Current Formulation and a Response to Critics Basel, NY: KargerGoogle Scholar
Langan, J (1992) ‘Creating and maintaining a corporate ethical environment’ The Inaugural Thomas More Lecture on a Matter of Conscience Perth: University of Western AustraliaGoogle Scholar
Leidtka, JM (1989) ‘Value congruence: the interplay of individual and organizational value systems’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 8 No 10 pp 805–81510.1007/BF00383780CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCabe, DLDukerich, JM and Dutton, JE (1994) ‘The effects of professional education on values and the resolution of ethical dilemmas: business school vs. law school’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 13 pp 693–70010.1007/BF00881328CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacIntyre, A (1984) After Virtue 2nd Ed Notre Dame: University of Notre DameGoogle Scholar
McKenna, RJ (1995) ‘Ethical schema in business decision making: an external view of a human disaster’ Journal of Business Ethics in print.Google Scholar
Maclagan, P (1992) ‘Management development and business ethics: a view from the UK’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 11 pp 321–32810.1007/BF00872175CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marwell, G and Ames, RE (1981) ‘Economists free ride, does anyone else?’ Journal of Public Economics Vol 15 pp 295–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milton-Smith, J (1992) ‘Australian business ethics project: the ethics gap in education’ Corporate Management Vol 44 No 6 pp 244–249Google Scholar
Phillips, N (1991) ‘The sociology of knowledge: toward an existential view of business ethics Journal of Business Ethics Vol 10 pp 787–795CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preston, N (1992) ‘Issues for higher education in the teaching of ethics’ Higher Education Research and Development Vol 11 No 1 pp 9–19CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwenk, CR (1984) ‘Cognitive simplification processes in strategic decision making’ Strategic Management Journal Vol 5 pp 111–128CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwenk, CR (1988) ‘The cognitive perspective on strategic decision making’ Journal of Management Studies Vol 25 No 1 pp 41–5510.1111/j.1467-6486.1988.tb00021.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sims, RL (1993) ‘The relationship between academic dishonesty and unethical business practice’ Journal of Education for Business 03–April pp 207–211CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singer, P (1993) How Are We to Live: Ethics in an Age of Self-interest Melbourne: The Text Publishing CompanyGoogle Scholar
Smith, A (1759) The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Edited by Raphae, DD and Macfie, AL (1976) Oxford: Oxford University Press 10.1093/oseo/instance.00042831CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, A (1776) The Wealth of Nations with Introduction, Bibliography and Chronology by David Campbell Publishers Ltd (1991) Oxford: Everyman's LibraryGoogle Scholar
Soedjono, and McKenna, RJ (1993) ‘Why and how managers can benefit from an understanding of models and theories of decision making’ paper presented at ANZAM Conference, Deakin University.Google Scholar
Sridhar, BS and Camburn, A (1993) ‘Stages of moral development of corporations’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 12 pp 727–739CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sullivan, T (ed) (1992) Australian Directory of Faculties Coffs Harbour: Universal Consulting ServicesGoogle Scholar
Trevino, LK (1992) ‘Moral reasoning and business ethics: implications for research, education, and management’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 11 445–45910.1007/BF00870556CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trevino, LK and McKabe, D (1994) ‘Metalearning about business ethics: building honourable business school communities’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 13 No 6 pp 405–416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wahn, J (1993) ‘Organizational Dependence and the Likelihood of Complying with Organizational Pressures to Behave Unethically’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 12 No 3 pp 245–251.10.1007/BF01686452CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, JS (1992) “‘Greed is Good’ … or is it? economic ideology and moral tension in a graduate school of business’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 11 pp 273–28310.1007/BF00872169CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfe, A (1993) ‘We've had enough business ethics’ Business Horizons 05–June pp 1–3Google Scholar