A Study of Factors Affecting Attitudes towards Business Ethics in Saint Lucia

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(1)A Study of Factors Affecting Attitudes towards Business Ethics in Saint Lucia. by Elizabeth Henry. A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of. MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION. Major: International Human Resource Development. Advisor: Wei-Wen Chang, Ph. D.. National Taiwan Normal University Taipei, Taiwan. June, 2013. .

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(3) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. First and foremost, I would like to thank the almighty father for his guidance throughout this wonderful journey. I would like to dedicate this achievement to all the persons who have assisted me in making my tenure here at this institution a successful one. Firstly, I would like to thank my sister and research assistant, Ms. Annette Henry without whose assistance, this research would have not been possible. I am greatly indebted to you. I also want to thank my parents and siblings for their prayers, encouragement and support. I wish to thank also, the Principal and staff of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College for their support in facilitating my research. Additionally, the staff of the various institutions where the surveys were conducted, I say a special thank you to everyone. Former classmates of the IHRD programme and all others who assisted with the reviews, I thank you. My extended family members thank you for your prayers, unwavering support and guidance. I want to also, specifically thank my thesis advisor, Dr Chang. You have truly been a wonderful guide and great source of encouragement. You have been a constant support to me, and your advice and guidance was truly remarkable. I will always remember you and your wonderful personality. I think of you as the captain of my ship and because of your leadership,. I have weathered the storm and the journey has been a success. To all the other professors of IHRD, I say thank you, for you have all contributed to my success. I also want to express my gratitude to the members of my committee, Dr Pai Po Lee and Dr Tsay. My journey would not be complete without the assistance of my programme managers. To Lynn, Michelle, Damiana, Claire, Kenny, Vicki, Olli and Sandra, my sincerest thanks.. Finally I wish to thank the. Government and people of Taiwan and ICDF for affording me this amazing opportunity. I thank you.

(4) ABSTRACT . Business is essential for the development and wellbeing of society. However, the frequency with which corporate scandals occur serves as a driving force behind an ongoing debate about the conduct of businesses. This study therefore analyzed the effects of gender, age, household income, status and religiosity on attitudes toward business ethics and also, the effect of these factors on the business philosophies as contained in the attitudes towards business ethics questionnaire (ATBEQ). A quantitative approach research method was in the form of a questionnaire. The sample groups for this study were business students and employees in the private sector. The data was analyzed separately for both sample groups. The results showed that for students, gender had a significant impact on ethical attitudes, and for employees, household income and interpersonal religiosity. The results also showed that males were less ethical than females, and employees were more ethical than students. Social Darwinism was the most popular business philosophy as it was subscribed to by both sample groups and all factors except age had a significant impact on at least one business philosophy. Age was the only factor with no significant impact on attitudes towards business ethics or on the business philosophies. This study provides information on the ethical attitudes that currently exist in the business environment and also will provide insight into future business ethical attitudes. The results also provide useful information for policy makers, managers and academia and may shed some light for both Corporate Human Resource Strategy and the formal education system. It will also add to the existing literature on business ethics and more specifically to literature on ethics in the Caribbean region.. Keywords:. Ethics, business ethics, attitude towards business ethics. I .

(5) TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ I Table of Contents............................................................................................................................II List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ IV List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ V. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 Background of the study ............................................................................................................. 1 The Problem Statement ............................................................................................................... 3 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................................ 4 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................... 7 Questions of the study ................................................................................................................. 7 Definition of Terms..................................................................................................................... 8. CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................. 9 Ethical Philosophies .................................................................................................................... 9 Business Philosophies ............................................................................................................... 11 Business Ethics.......................................................................................................................... 13 Demographic Variables and Business Ethics............................................................................ 17 Income and Business Ethics...................................................................................................... 23 Status and Business Ethics ........................................................................................................ 24 Religiosity and Business Ethics ................................................................................................ 30 Studies of Ethical Attitudes among Business Students............................................................. 34 Business Ethics in the Caribbean .............................................................................................. 38 Overview of St Lucia ................................................................................................................ 39 Summary of the Literature review ............................................................................................ 40. CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODS ......................................................................... 42 Research Framework................................................................................................................. 42 Research Hypotheses................................................................................................................. 43 Research Approach ................................................................................................................... 46. II .

(6) Research Procedure ................................................................................................................... 47 Research Sample ....................................................................................................................... 49 Research Instrument.................................................................................................................. 51 Data Collection.......................................................................................................................... 53 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 54. CHAPTER IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS .......................................................... 56 Descriptive Statistics ................................................................................................................. 56 Correlation Analysis.................................................................................................................. 61 Multiple Regression Analysis for Business Ethics ................................................................... 62 Multiple Regression Analysis according to Business Philosophies.......................................... 63 Hypothesis Analysis.................................................................................................................. 67 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 79. CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS ............................................... 85 Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 85 Implications............................................................................................................................... 87 Suggestions for Further Study................................................................................................... 89 Research Limitations................................................................................................................. 90 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 91 APPENDIX A: Questionnaire ................................................................................................... 100 APPENDIX B: Permission Letter.............................................................................................. 103 . . III .

(7) LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1. Summary of research results investigating the ethics of students, or comparing the Ethical standards of students and business practioners……………………. 26-27. Table 3.1. Composition of the attitudes towards business ethics questionnaire…………….54. Table 3.2. Summary of statistical tests for data analysis……………………………………55. Table 4.1. Sample characteristics………………………………………………………..57-59. Table 4.2. Correlation between household Income, age, religiosity and ATBE and business philosophies ……………………………………………………….60. Table 4.3. Multiple regression analysis between gender, household income, religiosity and attitudes towards business ethics: student summary, employee summary…..62. Table 4.4. Summary of results: factors with significant impact on the corresponding Business philosophies……………………………………………………………64. Table 4.5. Multiple Regression Analysis summary for the effect of the factors on the business philosophies……………………...….…………………………………………65-66. Table 4.6. Independent t test summary for gender and ATBE (students)………………...…69. Table 4.7. Independent t test summary for gender and business philosophies……………...69. Table 4.8. Independent t test summary for gender and ATBE (employees)……………...…70. Table 4.9. Linear regression analysis summary for status and ATBE………………………72. Table 4.10. Independent t test summary for students and employees………………………...72. Table 4.11. Summary of hypotheses analysis for effect of factors on ATBE……...…………76. Table 4.12. Summary of hypotheses results for the effect of factors on the business Philosophies as contained in the ATBEQ…………………………………….77-78. IV .

(8) LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1. Research Framework…………………………………………………………….42. Figure 3.2. Research Procedure………………………………………………………………48. V .

(9) CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION . This study is concerned with the effect that gender, age, income, status, and religiosity have on attitude towards business ethics. This chapter seeks to provide the reader with an overall understanding of the reason for this research. More specifically, the following areas will be discussed: the background of the study, the problem statement, the significance of the study, the purpose of the study, and the definitions of terms to be used in the study.. Background of the Study Milton Friedman (1912-2006), the famous University of Chicago economist said that the social responsibility of business is to increase (maximize) its profits. Since then, there have been many critiques of this profit maximization philosophy including Mulligan (1986) who concluded that Friedman’s argument is unsound. He goes on to say that Friedman misrepresents the nature of social responsibility and that business people can be socially responsible without the objectionable results. Perhaps Friedman’s argument may have taken root decades ago but it is quite evident today that being socially responsible is equally important to many organizations as is making profits. Corporate social responsibility (CSR), according to Matten and Moon (2008) is a difficult concept to define because not only is it a contested concept, but it is internally complex and is a dynamic phenomenon. He however, noted that “CSR (and its synonyms) empirically consists of clearly articulated and communicated policies and practices of corporations that reflect business responsibility for some of the wider societal good” (p.405). Embedded in this definition is the need for decision makers to do that which is good for the society and herein lies ethical responsibility, doing what is deemed to be “good” or “right”.. A discussion on ‘right” doing. takes into the field of ethics. The subject of ethics has been an issue of increasing interest to the fields of academia, business, medicine and politics. The increasing volume of publications relating to ethical studies indicates a strong and growing societal concern (Loo, Kennedy & Sauers, 1998). Mosley, Pietri and Megginson (1996) define ethics “a set of standards used to. 1 .

(10) judge the rightness or wrongness of a person's relations to others in terms of truth and justice” (p. 158). As a result of the international economic crisis of 2008 which necessitated financial intervention by governments to save “To Big to Fail” businesses such as banks, insurance agencies, and large industrial manufacturers in the U.S., U.K., and E.U., business management practices have been under pressure due to ethical concerns. Corporate scandals such as the 2001 Enron scandal, 2006 HP spying scandal, the 2008 Siemens scandal, the Madoff 2008 ponzi scheme are just a few recent examples of the ever growing list. The Wall Street protests which began in September 2011 in the USA and quickly spread across Europe blame what they call the greediness of business organizations and selfishness of top executives. Hence, there is serious concern questioning whether the current and future managers are less ethical than their predecessors. Harned (2005) president of the Ethics Resource Centre in reference to corporate scandals says “We have seen organizations essentially destroyed, careers shattered, and innocent lives ruined because of ethical lapses of those in leadership positions” (p.350). Ethics have therefore risen to the top of many organizations’ priority list. We are seeing at an increasing rate as more and more people, civil society and other groups are calling on businesses to be economically, environmentally and socially responsible; to be accountable and transparent; to be inclusive; to be ethical and sustainable (Birch, 2003). Therefore companies in their role as corporate citizens have the responsibility to mirror “The social imperatives and the social consequences of business success” (Matten &Moon, 2008, p.405). The public interest for ethical issues is widespread, reflecting a legitimate concern in light of the many scandals and fraudulent corporate cases worldwide. Lin (1999) argues that the competitive global environment has led organizations to constantly explore ways to enhance their competitive edge as business ethics plays an important role in shaping corporate image. “Companies that strive to maintain high ethical standards have a competitive advantage over those who do not.” (De George, 1989, cited in Lin, 1999, p.69). This suggests a need for companies to take an active interest in the ethical attitudes of their employees as the employees 2 .

(11) play a vital role in establishing and sustaining the corporate image. Therefore research on the ethical attitudes of business employees is an important area not only for managers, but for academia as well. The literature does not only contain studies on business employees but on business students as well. According to Cox, Friedman and Edwards (2009), “Business ethics literature reveals that business schools can be effective in changing student awareness of and attitudes toward business ethics” (p.264). Research suggests that moral development continues during the college years (King & Mayhew, 2002). Students of business have therefore been selected as they are seen as the “change agents of business” (Kleinrichert & Albert, 2011). Also Albaum and Peterson (2006) say of business students that not only do they “Collectively constitute future leadership of corporations but that they will eventually become members of virtually all imaginable stakeholder groups” (p. 301). Business employees on the other hand unlike business students, are faced with ethical dilemmas at all levels in the organization ranging anywhere from taking stationery home for personal use to taking the decision to pay below minimum wage to employees in an effort to maximize profits for the company and shareholders alike. In this study, business employees hereinafter referred to as “employees” and college students hereinafter referred to as “students” are the two target groups. The reason for targeting these two groups is to gain an overall understanding of the nature and direction of ethical thought in Saint Lucia.. The Problem Statement The present economic problems of the twenty first century is evidence that business and ethics cannot be viewed as separate constructs but has to be seen and dealt with as mutually dependent. Attitude towards business ethics is very important given the costly consequence of unethical decisions. Managers and leaders therefore ought to take a leading role in ethics in their respective organizations. Many of the scandals being reported in the media are usually from the developed countries; this however does not exempt the Caribbean region. According to Arjoon and Gopaul (2003) “Media reports from the region have repeatedly reported business and policy makers as being less than transparent in their dealings, and engaging in unethical and often 3 .

(12) illegal transactions” (p.104). In a 2010 US state department report on St Lucia, observers expressed concerned about accountability and transparency on the island. This situation presents numerous challenges to governments in attempting to create an ethical climate for foreign and local investment. These reports demand that action be taken by policy makers to immediately arrest this development before it threatens to tarnish the region’s reputation. St Lucia being part of this region must contribute to this by addressing this situation. Policy makers at the state level therefore, must in the medium to long-term gain insight into the prevailing attitudes of managers and future managers to be armed with the necessary information to guide strategic planning for the development of the country. Knowledge of the prevailing local business ethics is also important as Saint Lucia is heavily dependent on foreign direct investment. This information can be useful for decision makers such as recruiters, multinational managers, and investors when dealing with people of differing ethical orientation, which can lead to misunderstanding, gaining trust and respect etc. In the Caribbean region, there has been little work published in ethics (Arjoon & Gopaul, 2003). This suggests lack of research work in this field, therefore one can then deduce that the scientific evidence is lacking.. Significance of the Study It is important to understand the attitude of business students towards business ethics because “They are the ones who will be forming or influencing the decision making process in their respective corporations” (Al-Shaikh, Elian & Tahat, 2012, p.129). They are not only employees but individual citizens as well and it is therefore vital to understand their belief system. Equally important is the attitude of business employees because they are the ones currently taking the decisions, forming policies and shaping the business environment in which we now operate and are laying the foundation for the future employees to build upon. A study of the attitudes towards business ethics of the people of the region is also significant for the region’s economic integration as it seeks to remain a viable option for growth and development in today’s global environment. Devonish, Alleyne, Cadogan and Greenidge 4 .

(13) (2009) in response to the need for such studies in the Caribbean region said that the study recognizes the necessity and implications of sound ethical behavior in the context of the upcoming Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME). The creation of the CSME is a major stage in the deliberate process of Caribbean integration which began in 1965, with the initiation of the Caribbean Free Trade Area (CARIFTA). CARIFTA became a reality in 1968 and was deepened into the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) in 1973. This was a giant step. It not only consolidated the market for goods produced in the region, it defined the trade relations with the rest of the world, introduced a foreign policy component and opened the way for the provision of common services and cooperation in the social sector development. One of the main features of the CSME is to progressively enter into the global trading and economic system by strengthening ties with non-traditional partners. In an era of the Euro Zone, NAFTA, and ASEAN just to name a few, the small island nations of the region have no choice but to come together in order to remain viable especially since the days of preferential treatment for the regions goods and services as but a thing of the past of light of free trade. The governments of Saint Lucia and the Caribbean by extension are continuously seeking ways of attracting foreign investments to the region as a means of generating and sustaining economic growth. The region though small, face the tremendous task of competing against giants like China, Brazil and other emerging economies and must therefore continue to demonstrate that doing business in this part of the world is beneficial. One way to do so is to ensure that the climate in doing business is one that is highly ethical, as the cost of operating or taking unethical decisions can and has led to the virtual ruin of companies for example Enron. PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated the cost of corruption in 35 emerging and developing countries amount to as much as US$500 billion between 1997 and 1998 (Soon, 2003). Research has also indicated that the cost of running businesses in a corrupted environment is much higher than in environment with high integrity (Phau & Kea, 2007).. This cost is not limited to. organizations only but its effects are far reaching as “Ethical misconduct my management can be extremely costly for individual companies and society as a whole” (Donnelly, Gibson,& Ivancevich, 1992, cited in Lin, 1999, p.641). The Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) is Saint Lucia’s lone national tertiary level institution whose mandate is to provide quality education in an effort to build a 5 .

(14) workforce capacity to meet individual needs, market demands and national priorities. Embedded in this mandate is the delivery of a workforce that would be the driving force for the sustainable economic development of St Lucia and its residents. Employees from the business sector also play a critical role in determining the climate in which the business environment operates. Aside from all the incentives, fiscal and monetary policies implemented to encourage investment, the climate in which the businesses operate is just as important for sustenance.. Therefore. understanding the attitudes of the students of the SALCC as well as employees from the business sector will provide valuable information to educators and policy makers on what attitudes presently exists and therefore be in a better position to make informed decisions on the way forward. A comparative study of employees and students offers greater insight than does a study comparing students only. Lin (1999) believes that a comparative study of students and employees is appealing and that the findings may shed some light for both Corporate Human Resource Strategy and the formal education system.. The attitudes of employees will provide. information to equip decision makers on action to be taken in the short-term and for the students, information useful for long-term strategic planning as well as to provide insight of future ethical trends. The combined information will give a balanced view of what prevailing attitudes are. A few studies on business ethics have been conducted in the Caribbean region. One example is the Sims 2006 study using a sample from Jamaica, West Indies. This study used culture as the main determinant of attitudes towards business ethics and compared the findings to results from studies conducted from Israel, South Africa, Turkey, the USA, and Western Australia. Other studies on the ethical orientation of undergraduate students was conducted on the island of Trinidad by Arjoon and Gopaul (2003) and in Barbados, Devonish et al., (2009) studied whether demographics influenced the likelihood of engaging in unethical business practices. This study will add to the exiting literature on studies in the Caribbean region.. 6 .

(15) Purpose of the Study This research investigated the effect that gender, age, household income, status and religiosity have in determining attitudes towards business ethics. To gain further insight into the business ethical attitudes the study also investigated the effect of gender, household income and religiosity on the five business philosophies that are contained in the attitude towards business ethics questionnaire (ATBEQ). The ATBEQ was the main instrument of this study to measure ethical attitudes. Based on the aforementioned variables, the researcher investigated the attitude toward business ethics of students and employees in St Lucian. The results of this study provide information for potential investors in the region, policy makers, managers, and academia. For policy makers, this information can be useful for the formation of, or adjustments to the business code of ethics, for managers, information to guide recruiting and other Human Resource functions and to academia, guidance in curriculum development etc.. In order for this. information to be useful for the stakeholders in the aforementioned list, the results of the study must highlight the current ethical attitudes that currently exists between the two sample groups and the effect that the factors investigated have in determining these attitudes. Embedded in the business ethical attitudes in this study are five business philosophies which provide more analysis on the philosophical preferences of the sample group. Equally important for this study is the effect of the factors on the business philosophies. It therefore was necessary that the study answer the following research questions.. Questions of the Study Based on the research purpose, the following questions will be answered: what is the general attitude of business students and employees towards business ethics? Are there significant differences between employee attitudes and student attitudes? What effect does gender, age, household income, status as well as religiosity have on attitudes towards business ethics and finally the effect of gender, household income and religiosity in predicting the business philosophies as well as the preferences held by the sample groups.. 7 .

(16) Definition of Terms This study makes use of many terms and the researcher therefore finds it necessary to provide the reader with definitions of various terms as it pertains to the study. This study seeks to gain an understanding into the attitudes towards business ethics, therefore before attempting to define business ethics it is important to first define the term ethics. Aside from the definition stated above by Mosley et al., (1996) ethics according to the Merriam Webster dictionary is the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation, or a set of moral principles governing an individual or a group. Therefore “Business Ethics is concerned with good and bad or right and wrong behavior and practices that take place within a business context” (Carroll & Bucholtz, 2008, p. 242). Attitude towards business ethics is “The subjective assessment by a given individual with respect to sets of premises that make up various business philosophies” (Preble & Reichel, 1988, p. 942). Income for employees refers to the combined income of employees’ personal and household income and for students’ income of their parents or guardians. Status refers to employee or student. Religion is “An organized system of beliefs, practices, rituals and symbols designed (a) to facilitate closeness to the sacred or transcendent (God higher power or ultimate truth/reality), and (b) to foster an understanding of one’s relation and responsibility to others in living together in a community”. (Koenig, McCullough &Larson, 2000, p.18). Finally religiosity is defined as “the extent to which an individual’s committed to the religion he or she professes and its teachings, such as the individual’s attitudes and behaviors reflect this commitment” (Johnson, Jang, Larson, & Li 2001, p.25).. 8 .

(17) CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW Ethical Philosophies There are various schools of thought on business ethics. Two perspectives will be discussed in this study. The first perspective will look at the five schools or ethical philosophies as proposed by Hansen (1992) and the second will discuss the five business philosophies by cited by Bageac, Furrer, and Reynaud (2011) from the work of Stevens 1979 book Business Ethics. This section provides the reader with a brief description of the five schools of thought as presented by Hansen (1992). When dealing with the issue of ethics, one must pay close attention to the various schools of thought. The question of what is “right” or “moral” can be debatable. It can be seen as a concept that is relative or that it changes with time or generation or that it can be determined based on religion or culture. The attempt here is to highlight the fact that deciding what is ethical can be based on interpretation which can be lead to conflicting ideas. According to (Hansen, 1992) “Over the years, researchers have developed several categories of ethical philosophies, many of which posit conflicting ideas, rules, and interpretations which in turn, can lead to conflicting evaluations of what is ethical or unethical, moral or immoral, just or unjust” (p. 523). According to Hansen (1992), Reidenbach and Robin (1988, 1990) were one of the first researchers to attempt to quantify the various ethical philosophies into multidimensional scale of business ethics. They first developed a 29-item philosophy scale and in 1990, they refined the scales to a final 3-factor solution: Factor 1: broad-based moral equity dimension - Fair/Unfair Just/Unjust Morally right/Not morally right Acceptable/Unacceptable to my family. Factor 2: relativistic dimension - traditionally acceptable/Unacceptable Culturally cceptable/Unacceptable and Factor 3: contractualism dimension - Violates/Does not violate an unspoken promise Violates/Does not violate an unwritten contract.. Hansen (1992) in his work to refine the. scales proposed by Reidenbach & Robin (1988, 1990) spoke about the five philosophies of ethical decision making namely deontology, utilitarianism, egoism, relativism and justice. The following is a brief definition of each philosophy as obtained from (Lin, 1999).. 9 .

(18) Deontology It focuses on universal principles of right and wrong. Argues that people accept concept of duty that is independent of the concept of good and that a person's actions are not justified by the consequences associated with these actions, but rather, on the motives underlying these actions, as well as the morals and character of the agent rather than the consequences actually produced by the actor.. Utilitarianism It is most concerned with the consequences of actions. Rooted in the proposition that an action is right if it leads to the greatest good for the greatest number or, conversely, to the best balance of bad consequences.. Egoism An act is ethical when it promotes the individual's best long-term interests. If an action produces a greater ratio of good to evil for the individual in the long-run than any other alternative then the action is ethical.. Relativism Believes that what is ethical is determined by culture or the individual and therefore there are no universal principles or ethical rules that can be applied to everyone. Thus the major implication is that all moral norms are relative to particular cultures.. Justice The ethics of an act is determined by the notion that equals ought to be treated equally and unequals ought to be treated unequally--with an emphasis on fairness. Includes the idea of distributive justice, which looks at how fairly things are distributed--and procedural justice, which develops rules or procedures that result in fair or just outcomes. 10 .

(19) These five philosophies defined above are important when discussing attitudes towards business ethics because an individual’s attitude can be influenced by their belief in one philosophy over another. For example someone who subscribes to the utilitarian philosophy make see nothing wrong with hiring illegal immigrants, women or minorities and paying them minimum wage or below because at the end of the day it makes profit for the business, shareholders and contributes to economic growth of the domestic economy while one who subscribes to the justice philosophy may see this decision as unfair to the underpaid workers. Therefore the one who subscribes to the justice philosophy will regard this as an unethical decision where as for the utilitarian it would be ethical. We will now proceed to the second school of thought on the five business philosophies.. Business Philosophies This section is specific to the providing information needed to answer the research question which seeks to determine the business philosophies held by students and employees. As mentioned earlier in the purpose of the study, in order to gain further insight into attitudes towards business ethics and to know what these attitudes are, it was necessary to also study the five sub dimensions of business ethics (business philosophies) as contained in the ATBEQ. Embedded in the ATBEQ can be found the following five business philosophies which will be analyzed in this study. The first three philosophies definitions are obtained from (Miesing & Preble, 1985; Neumann, 1987, cited in Bageac et al., 2011).. Social Darwinism Social Darwinism is essentially a utilitarian philosophy, which argues that individuals should freely pursue their self-interest in a competitive environment. In such an environment, social welfare is created as the strong and the fittest survive and the inefficient are eliminated. The idea of progress is an essential idea of Social Darwinism. While natural selection is a key element of progress for the biological world, natural selection in the business world is made possible through free market mechanisms. Social Darwinism is also an amoral philosophy, which. 11 .

(20) argues that morality has no place in a business world governed by natural laws. Social Darwinism is the most prevalent philosophy in business ethics.. Machiavellianism Machiavellianism pertains to a business philosophy, which considers that a business firm is a self-contained organism with its own ‘‘natural’’ laws that can be bent but not broken and that efficiency should take precedence over virtue to succeed. Machiavellianism refers to the fact that we judge an action – in the sense of ethics – not on the basis of the conformity of this action to any categorical imperative, but to the efficient achievement of its goal. Machiavellianism promotes a business philosophy based on what is real, rejecting idealism: ‘‘people should believe in what they do instead of doing what they believe in’’ (Christie & Geis, 1970). Machiavellianism is also an amoral philosophy as the end, which is usually winning, is a sufficient justification for the means. In describing someone who subscribes to this philosophy, Miesing and Preble (1985) says that Machiavellianism has attained a pejorative connotation by describing someone who is coldblooded and conniving in using others with total disregard for human dignity. Considered 'opportunistic' by their detractors and 'realistic' by their admirers, Machiavellians view others as naive about the real world and reject conventional moral standards in their emotionally detached pursuit of selfish ends.. Moral Objectivism Moral Objectivism focuses on the ability to reason within the existing reality: rational action is the only conformity to reality, the most productive, and the only approach worthy of being called ethical. Similar to Machiavellianism, Moral Objectivism is rational self-interest; however, contrarily to Machiavellianism, Moral Objectivism does not consider the real world to be at odds with ethics (Miesing & Preble, 1985). According to Moral Objectivism, an individual’s moral obligation is to achieve their own well-being but in order to achieve it, they ought to have a moral code, a sort of meta-ethic, valid for everyone. Therefore, following such a moral code is necessary for individuals to succeed and reach their personal goals.. 12 .

(21) Legalism Legalism is a school that greatly emphasizes law. Shklar (1964) in her book Legalism: Law, morals, and political trials defines legalism as the ethical attitude that holds moral conduct to be a matter of rule following, and moral relationships to consist of duties and rights determined by rules.. Ethical relativism The term ethical relativism represents the position that there are no moral absolutes, no moral right or wrong. This position would assert that our morals evolve and change with social norms over a period of time (allaboutphilosophy.org). According to Miesing and Preble (1985) Ethical Relativism departs from business philosophies centered around the individual to one intended to serve the group or society. Here, ethics does deal with feelings and attitudes and is based on social convention which accepts behavior sanctioned by established group norms. Hence, moral good means conforming to the way things are in a given time and place and Rand's selfishness becomes the root of all evil. Thus, conventional morality justifies the 'commonly accepted practice' argument in business. Those unable to adapt to the particular culture will suffer and questionable practices may eventually be seen as ethical under different circumstances. There isn’t much literature available on the effect of factors discussed in this study on the above mentioned business philosophies. Miesing and Preble (1985) studied the effect of gender, expected salary and religious conviction and Bageac et al., (2011) studied the effect of gender and religious practice. Due to the fact that this study compares the data for two different sample groups studying the effect of each variable on each business philosophy seems cumbersome, therefore this study will only study the effects of gender, interpersonal and intrapersonal religiosity and household income.. Business Ethics The current state of ethics in business practices is perhaps the underlying motivation for undertaking this study. Some have argued that business and ethics may not always adhere to the same objective. Indeed the firm’s reason for existence is to make profit, but can the pursuance of profit be made at the expense of ethics? 13 .

(22) Business ethics research has been widespread and is gaining relevance because of the many scandals that have essentially lead to the collapse of many businesses and careers, with the biggest being the 2008 world economic crises which threatened the world’s economy.. The. research on business ethics is categorized into two major complimentary approaches – conceptual and empirical (Preble & Reichel, 1988). Conceptual approach aims to addresses the meaning of business ethics, social responsibility and moral conduct and the empirical approach highlights prevailing ethics, perceptions and attitudes of general public, business people, and college students who are often regarded as the future leaders of organizations (Preble & Reichel, 1988). We will first look at the conceptual approach. The definitions for business ethics are many. One thing however though that binds them together is that they all seem to suggest behavior in doing the ‘right’ thing. Gilbert (1992) defines business ethics as consisting of principles of morally right and wrong behavior and their application to business situations or put quite simply in layman’s terms the definition listed earlier by Carroll and Buchholtz (2008) as having to do with right or wrong behavior and practices that takes place in the business environment. According to Bageac et al., (2011) “Business ethics supports the legitimacy of a firm’s strategic behavior. It is ethics that ensures society’s acceptance of the business’s ‘‘right to produce’’ or ‘‘license to operate’’ (p. 393). The second component as listed above in the conceptual approach is social responsibility. For purposes of this paper, social responsibility will be expressed as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Before we review the scholar’s definition of the term, the researcher finds it fitting to gain a perspective from the business viewpoint.. The World Business Council for. Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in attempting to define CSR the WBCSD says that no universally acceptable definition of CSR exists. According to the report, CSR in broad summary is the ethical behavior of a company towards society. However, a more formal definition emerged from a 1988 international meeting:. 14 .

(23) Corporate social responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large (WBSCD, 1998, p. 3). I now proceed to the scholar’s definition. In addition to the definition stated above by Matten and Moon (2008) in the introductory section of this paper, McWilliams, Siegel and Wright (2006) defined CSR as “Situations where the firm goes beyond compliance and engages in ‘actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law” (p. 1). They also agree just as did the WBCSD that there is no clear definition of the term. The importance of CSR has permeated all levels of the governance at the organizational, state and has also reached the global level. In an April 13, 2011 report from the korea times by Ju Chul-ki, vice president and secretary-general of the Global Compact Korea Network says: Recently, the corporate world has been changing through the evolution of time. Since the 2008 financial crisis, further impetus has been given to the promotion of transparency and accountability as well as corporate citizenship. In addition to corporate governance, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has added further importance as a factor permitting sustained growth of companies. “Doing well by doing good” is the new catch phrase. At a global level, the United Nations already initiated the U.N. Global Compact (UNGC), an initiative designed to promote CSR, focusing on human rights, labor rights, environmental causes and anti-corruption (p.1). There is also a new sense of heightened public scrutiny as was the case of the Wall Street protests of 2011 as well as legal compliance for example in the USA, the revisions to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO) and the post Enron-Oxley have created a culture in which more and more companies are recognizing the importance of tending to the ethical cultures of their organizations (Harned, 2005). More and more firms are seeing the necessity of being seen as an ethical organization. Many organizations are sponsoring green 15 .

(24) energy projects, community based projects all in an effort to promote a positive corporate image. Despite this good news, I must however point out that many of those companies that triggered 2008 world economic crisis, had there been Government regulations and in some cases adherence to regulations; this crisis could have been averted. While those too big to fail companies were being bailed out, their CEO’s were raking in millions in bonuses. It therefore demands that measures be put in place to guard against such corporate greed. The third component of the conceptual approach is moral conduct. Moral conduct has to do with behavior that is ‘right’.. Before we delve into moral conduct it is important to first. define what morality is. According to Hogan (1973) “Moralities, then, are systems of rules that are external to people, designed to guide social or interpersonal behavior, and which may to some degree be codified and spelled out” (p. 219). He goes on to say that “morality is a natural phenomenon, an adaptive response to evolutionary pressures, and that an understanding of moral behavior is relative to our knowledge of man's biological and psychological nature” (p. 218). This also suggests that morality is dynamic because of its adaptive nature. One can therefore logically deduce that as societies change so can the rules that govern morality.. Based on. Hogan’s view of morality the researcher can safely assume that morality is dynamic and subjective making it a concept that may be difficult to apply a universal definition to. We now proceed to moral conduct or moral behavior. Hogan (1973) goes on to define moral behavior as “Consisting of actions carried out with regard to the rules that apply in a given social context” (p. 219). The words “apply in a given social context” suggest that moral behavior to be a subjective concept. What then may be moral to someone in say for example a Christian society can be highly immoral to someone in a Muslim society; or between an individualistic society compared to a collectivist society. Hogan by this definition also takes into account the social context. McDougall (1871 to 1938) in defining moral conduct says “For the essence of moral conduct is the performance of social duty, the duty prescribed by society” (Cited in Batoche Books: An Introduction to Social Psychology, 2001, p. 213). He goes on to say that “Moral conduct consists in the regulation and control of the immediate promptings of impulse in conformity with some prescribed code of conduct” (p. 214).. 16 .

(25) I now proceed to the empirical approach of business ethics which will be discussed in the subsequent captions. According to Preble and Reichel (1988) the empirical approach to business ethics deals with prevailing ethics, perceptions and attitudes of general public, business people, and university students. There exists a vast array of literature examining ethical attitudes, ethical perceptions, ethical behavior of students and practioners alike all in an effort to deal with ethics in business practices. The review will include not only studies examining attitudes towards business ethics but it will also address studies on ethical perceptions, ethical intentions and ethical behavior. The reason being is that perceptions, intentions play a role in one’s attitude which will impact behavior. The topics presented are as follows: Business ethics across professions, the demographic variables namely, Gender and Business Ethics, Age and Business Ethics, Household Income and Business Ethics, Status and Business Ethics followed by Religion and Business Ethics, Religiosity and Business Ethics, Studies of ethical attitudes among Business Students, Business Ethics in the Caribbean and finally a summary of the literature. Demographic Variables and Business Ethics Gender and Business Ethics The issue of the influence of gender has been addressed by many researchers. Ford and Richardson (1994) say that “Sex is reported in more empirical studies more than any other variable” (p. 206). According to Atakan, Burnaz and Topcu (2008), “The relationship between gender and business ethics receives the most attention and is widely researched” (p.574). The role of gender in determining such attitudes may find it roots in how girls and boys are socialized into becoming men and women of tomorrow. The age old argument is that women are more caring and are more inclined to pursue a course of action that is deemed correct perhaps because of the fact the God had placed this propensity in the woman if for nothing else was for the fact that she was to be the mother and caretaker of the family. The socialization of girls and boys in the family has also had its place and role in the family. In Caribbean societies influenced by its history have given rise to girls being freely allowed to express their emotions whereas the boy was encouraged to be tough and not show his emotion -crying was a sign of weakness. Devonish et al., (2009) says: 17 .

(26) Traditionally, it has been argued that males and females have been socialized differently. Females were socialized to be more compassionate and caring, whereas males were socialized to be more competitive and justice-oriented. Thus, females may be more likely to be ethically sensitive and less inclined to engage in questionable or unethical acts. (p.161) Another argument is the biological argument. Sidani, Zbib, Rawwas and Moussawar (2009) suggested that “Males and females are biologically predisposed to act in a certain manner and this predisposition makes them behave more ethically or less ethically in a given situation” (p. 216). Tse and Au (1997) also found that female students are more ethical than male students. Ruegger and King (1992) found that gender has a significant influence on the perceptions of business ethics, and that females are more ethical than males. Albaum and Peterson (2006) in their studies on gender and ethics found that the female survey participants were reported as being more ethical than male survey participants and this was relatively consistent with what had been generally reported in the literature. There has been similar findings for studies done in the Caribbean region of which St Lucia shares a similar culture and history. Arjoon and Gopaul (2003) in a study of undergraduate students of the island of Trinidad also found that females were more ethical than males. Similar results were found in a study of students on the island of Barbados which found that males had higher intentions to engage in unethical behavior and that females were more ethically sensitive than their male counterparts (Devonish et al., 2009). This finding is further supported by Borkowski and Ugras (1998). In a meta-analysis of 47 investigations, Borkowski and Ugras (1998) conclude that female and older students exhibit stronger ethical attitudes than their respective counterparts. These sentiments are expressed by Atakan et al., (2008) The literature on the ethical judgments of the university students also investigated the effect of the gender of the students on their ethical perceptions. The majority of the studies revealed that there were highly significant differences between the. 18 .

(27) respondents and that female students were more ethical and more concerned about ethical issues than their male counterparts (p.574). Although the bulk of the studies on gender differences dealt with students, there had also been studies on employees. Petty and Hill (1994), Ferrell and Skinner (1998), Barnett and Karson (1989) found females showed higher levels of ethical behavior than their male counterparts. Wimalasiri (2001) in his comparative study of students versus practioners found that “In theoretical terms, males and females bring different values to the work place, and in turn, those values differentially shape their work orientations” (p. 623). However, not all studies support females as being more ethical than males. Tsalikis and Oritz-Buonafina (1990) indicated limited or no significant gender differences in the ethical responses of the university students. Other studies namely, Callan (1992); Dubinsky and Levy (1985); Hegarty and Sims (1978), (1979); McNichols and Zimmerer (1985) all found there to be not a significant impact of gender role. Kidwell, Stevens and Bethke (1987) in their study of ethical perceptions of male and female business managers found that male and females generally did not differ in their ethical perception. Also Browning and Zabriskie (1983) in their studies of employees as well did not find significant differences between genders. When analyzing the results of many empirical studies the researchers have found mixed results. Atakan et al., (2008) in their estimation of the literature on the differences between gender attitudes says “The empirical researches testing gender differences have given mixed results. While there have been numerous studies revealing that females are more ethical than males, there have also been ample studies which show no ethical difference between male and female respondents” (p. 574). An interesting result is in Lung and Chai (2010) study of working adults and undergraduate students in Malaysia who overall found no significant difference in gender, however, an item-by-item analysis shows that in three situations females were more ethical than males. Tsalikis & Lassar (2009) found the same thing. This suggests that even in cases where the overall results are not significant, in an item by item analysis, some situations still show that 19 .

(28) females score higher ethically.. Based on the above literature on gender, I posit the first. hypothesis of the study: H1-1: Gender has a significant impact on students’ attitudes toward business ethics H1-2: Gender has a significant impact on employees’ attitudes toward business ethics Miesing and Preble (1985) in their comparison on the business philosophies, four of which is discussed in this study, with the exception of legalism found gender to be significant in determining philosophy preference. Females tended to agree significantly less than males with the philosophies. Therefore with respect to the five business philosophies discussed above, I posit the following sub hypothesis for students and employees respectively: H1-1.1: Gender has a significant impact on Social Darwinism for students H1-1.2: Gender has a significant impact on Machiavellianism for students H1-1.3: Gender has a significant impact on Moral Objectivism for students H1-1.4: Gender has a significant impact on Legalism for students H1-1.5: Gender has a significant impact on Ethical Relativism for students H1-2.1: Gender has a significant impact on Social Darwinism for employees H1-2.2: Gender has a significant impact on Machiavellianism for employees H1-2.3: Gender has a significant impact on Moral Objectivism for employees H1-2.4: Gender has a significant impact on Legalism for employees H1-2.5: Gender has a significant impact on Ethical Relativism for employees A review of the literature reveals an interesting conclusion. The findings either showed that females were more ethical than males or that there was no significant difference between them. None of the literature reviewed for this study found men to be more ethical than females and as such, I wish to posit the second hypothesis: H2-1 Female students are more ethical than male students H2-2 Female employees are more ethical than male employees 20 .

(29) Age and Business Ethics Age from all indications appear to be an important component in ethical decision making. The inclusion of age as a variable in understanding ethical attitude has been supported in literature. Yamamura and Stedman (2011) support this assertion “Age has long been recognized as a critical factor in the ethics literature with research results generally supporting its inclusion” (p.154). They go on to say that “From an ethical point of view, age has long been considered a key factor in moral judgment” (p. 153). They also go on to apply this linkage to Kohlberg by saying that “Kohlberg’s model of moral development provides the link between age and ethical judgment” (p.157). Therefore, to introduce this topic I find it fitting to briefly highlight the work of Kohlberg (1969, 1984) a well-recognized and accepted model of moral development. Yamamura and Stedman (2011) in proposing the usefulness of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development say that “With increasing age, individuals reach higher levels of moral development” (p.157). They continue by saying that based on this model, moral reasoning advances through six stages, with increasing ability to address moral dilemmas at each stage. Accordingly, people make different decisions in similar ethical situations because they are at different stages of cognitive moral development. Many studies have shown that persons who are older exhibit higher levels of ethicality than younger persons.. Yamamura and Stedman (2011) study of Japanese business people. findings are consistent with Kohlberg’s typology suggesting that older individuals are at more advanced stages of moral development than younger individuals. Ruegger and King (1992) found that the older students were more ethical than their younger counterparts. As the age categories got younger the results showed less and less ethicality. Devonish et al., (2009) suggested that younger persons are more inclined to commit unethical acts, compared to older individuals. One argument is that as individuals age, they tend to become more ethically minded Sankaran and Bui (2003) concluded that ethics improve with age. Wimalasiri (2001) also agrees that “the observed relationship between older subjects and higher moral reasoning” (p.626) In general, it has been found that ethical behavior increases with age according to Borkowski & Ugras, (1998); Conroy, Emerson and Pons (2010) as well as Peterson, Rhoads and 21 .

(30) Vaught (2001). Although much of this research has been conducted with North American samples, similar results have been obtained for other countries. For example in China, Chan, Cheng and Szeto (2002); In Lebanon, Sidani et al., (2009) and in Australia Wimalasiri (2001) all came to the same conclusion. This seems to suggest that at the very least in all of these studies that the effect of age on ethical attitude is the same irrespective of race or culture. On the other hand there are studies that have shown age to be less of a factor or not significant variable. Stanga and Turpen (1991) found no differences in ethical judgments that could be attributed to age in their study. White (2000) argues that moral development does not simply rely on age but is more of a family-system dependent. Kohut and Corriher (1994) found that age had no significant impact on ethical decision making. Yet still others argue that age may not be a factor at al. Devonish et al., (2009) found that “Moral development, or more accurately, the likelihood of engaging in ethical behavior may not be a function of age, as suggested by Wimalasiri in his 2001 study of management students and practioners, but ethical behavioral intentions may be dependent on situational factors or characteristics of the ethical issue” (p.168). One interesting finding is that of study conducted in Taiwan between employees and students. Lin (1999) in her study comparing company employees and university students in Taiwan, found that the “Ethical perceptions of employees and students are similar in many ways yet statistical analysis reveals higher ethical rating of employees and are closely related with age. Compared to the employees, students tended to be more self-interested and utility oriented” (p.82). Ethical rating for employees increased with age and years of work experience but it wasn’t the case for students, age did not have a significant correlation with ethical attitude. Overall Lin found that in Taiwan in general, the respondents seem to be result focused and profit maximizers. While some studies points to less significance of the age variable, or that there is a similarity of ethical perception as is the case of the study conducted in Taiwan by Lin (1999), most studies favor a significant impact. Yamamura and Stedman (2011) in their review of the literature say that overall, the results imply that older individuals are more ethical than younger individuals therefore; I posit the third hypothesis: 22 .

(31) H3-1: Age has a significant impact on students’ attitudes toward business ethics H3-2 Age has a significant impact on employees’ attitudes toward business ethics. Income and Business Ethics For the purposes of this study, income for the students refers to the income of their parents or guardians. For employees, income refers to their combined personal income and that of their household. In stances where there is no other income other than their personal income, then total income would equal their personal income. The main objective here is to determine the level of income available in the household. Ford and Richardson (1994) in their review of the empirical literature on ethical decision making cited income level as a variable that is seldom researched. According to Arjoon and Gopaul (2003 “The literature on the relationship between household income and ethical judgments of students has been mixed and inconclusive” (p.108). The findings of Tse and Au (1997) pointed to no significant difference in attitudes between wealthy and less wealthy students as did Arjoon and Gopaul (2003) who found that income does not influence ethical standards. Barnett, Bass and Brown (1994) however found some significance suggesting an income-related effect on students’ ethical judgments. Grant and Broom (1998) in a study measuring the impact of income status on attitudes towards business ethics concluded that low income families makes one think strictly ethical or unethical there appears to be no compromise. Middle income families think strictly ethical or compromise and high income think of ethics immediate monetary returns. Pressley and Blevins (1984) found some significant differences in ethical attitudes by self-rated socioeconomic status; however, the authors did not report detail of their findings. Based on the above literature, I posit the fourth hypothesis: H4-1: Household income has a significant impact on students’ attitudes toward business ethics H4-2: Household income has a significant impact on employees’ attitudes toward business ethics. 23 .

(32) With respect to the business philosophies, Miesing and Preble (1985) found no significant impact on expected income for students and therefore I posit the following sub hypothesis: H4-1.1: Household income has no significant impact on Social Darwinism for students H4-1.2: Household income has no significant impact on Machiavellianism for students H4-1.3: Household income has no significant impact on Moral Objectivism for students H4-1.4: Household income has no significant impact on Legalism for students H4-1.5: Household income has no significant impact on Ethical Relativism for students. With respect to the business philosophies I posit the following sub hypothesis for employees: H4-2.1: Household income has a significant impact on Social Darwinism for employees H4-2.2: Household income has a significant impact on Machiavellianism foe employees H4-2.3: Household income has a significant impact on Moral Objectivism for employees H4-2.4: Household income has a significant impact on Legalism for employees H4-2.5: Household income has a significant impact on Ethical Relativism for employees. Status and Business Ethics Lin (1999) in her study on business ethics in Taiwan revealed a higher ethical rating for employees than students. The analysis revealed a close relationship to their age, years of service and work experience. The results also supported literature which showed that students when compared to professional manager group tended to make tended to make more unethical decisions. When asked about being ethically minded, fifty-one percent (51%) of employees regarded themselves as very much ethically minded compared to twenty-one percent (21%) for students. Cole and Smith (1996) found students tended to have weaker ethical values than experienced business people. Cole’s explanation on this finding is that as to why students’ standards were lower than that of business people “Perhaps maturity was a factor; people’s 24 .

(33) values and standards frequently become stronger as they mature” (p.892). There have been a number of other studies comparing the ethical standards of students and business practioners. The table below provides a summary of research results comparing ethical attitudes of students and business practioners. The majority of the studies in this table found that students are less ethical than practioners.. 25 .

(34) Table 2.1 Summary of Research Results Investigating the Ethics of Students, or Comparing the Ethical Standards of Students and Business Practitioners Study. Results/Conclusions. Evidence Supporting Students Being Less Ethical than practitioners Baumhart (1961). Students have a lower opinion of the ethics of business managers than do business managers themselves.. Hollon and Ulrich (1979). Students less ethical than business practitioners. Arlow and Ulrich (1980). Students less ethical than business practitioners on the personal business ethics scale, but were more ethical on the social responsibility scale.. Stevens (1984). Students less ethical than business practitioners on both the personal business ethics and social responsibility scales.. Lane et al. (1988). Students less ethical than business practitioners.. Krackhardt et al. (1985). Students tend to display a utilitarian perspective when assessing business ethics. Moral responsibility to report code-violations was not ranked as a high priority by students.. Miesing and Preble (1985). Undergraduate business policy students had significantly higher Machiavellian and Darwinism scores than MBA groups. Similarly, undergraduate students and those without work experience also provided higher scores (on the same scales) than graduate students and those with six or more years of work experience.. Norris and Gifford (1988). Business practitioners’ ethical standards improved over a period of 10 years, whereas ethics of students remained the same through time.. Stevens et al. (1993). Faculty members were most ethical in orientation, followed by seniors, and finally freshmen. (continued). 26 .

(35) Table 2.1 (continued). Study. Results/Conclusions. Genn and Loo (1993). Students’ ethical standards declined through time.. Cole and Smith (1996). Students less ethical than business practitioners.. Conflicting Findings Goodman &Crawford (1974) No difference in the ethical standards of students and business practitioners. O’Clock & Okleshen (1993) Mixed results in the ethical ratings of undergraduates and MBA students. Wood et al. (1988). Students were significantly more willing to engage in questionable behavior than business professionals in eight out of seventeen situations. Note. Adapted from “ Are Students really less ethical than business practioners?” by Loo, K. H., Kennedy, J., & Sauers, D. A. 1998, Teaching Business Ethics, 2(4), 347-369. An interesting study was that of Loo et al., (1998) in their review of the many studies comparing the ethical attitudes of students and employees agreed that past research provides evidence of lower ethical standards among students. However, they argued for a scenario type assessment instead of using business based instruments because according to them: If ethical awareness is partly a function of experience, it is quite possible that the observed differences between ethical judgements of business managers and of students may be due (in large part) to the subjects’ differential level of familiarity with the context of the problem (p. 348).. They found that “when assessing the influence of scenario context (university or business setting) students tended to respond more ethically to issues set in a university context” (p.347) and “Expressed a greater intention to engage in unethical behaviours in business settings” (p. 361). Based on the above literature, I posit hypothesis five: H5: Status has a significant impact on attitudes towards business ethics 27 .

(36) A review of the literature reveals that the bulk of the studies found students to be less ethical than employees.. I wish at this point to establish a connection between the findings on. age and business ethics as discussed in the said section above and the findings on the difference between employees and students. The literature on age and business ethics in many instances has found that older persons exhibited higher levels of ethicality than younger persons. In this study the employees are for the most part older than the students and therefore, I wish to posit hypothesis six: H6: Employees are more ethical than students. Religion and Business Ethics The inclusion of religion as a variable is critical to understanding ethical attitudes. According to McDaniel and Burnett (1990) “It has long been acknowledged that people’s religious beliefs have a discernible effect on attitudes and behavior” (p.103). Also, “The research conducted by Stassen (1977) and Fritzsche (1989) provides the theoretical support on the inclusion of religion as a construct in the study of business ethics” (Cited in Lung & Chai, 2010, p. 226). Following from the review on moral conduct above, it almost seems to suggest that a discussion on religion would be incomplete if reference was not made to moral conduct. Religion guides the conduct of its adherents in matters that are deemed moral and so the two constructs appear to be intertwined. McDougall (1871 to 1938) says: We must admit that religion from its first crude beginnings was bound up with morality in some such way as we have briefly sketched; that the two things, religion and morality, were not at first separate and later fused together; but that they were always intimately related, and have reciprocally acted and reacted upon one another throughout the course of their evolution (Cited in batoche books: An Introduction to Social Psychology, 2001, p. 214).. Most world religions promote morality and in many ways disapprove unethical behavior. They present God or deity who teaches that followers are to practice doing what is ‘right’ and 28 .

(37) discourage practicing that which is considered ‘wrong’. It also teaches that people are to be held accountable or will receive rewards or punishment based on these ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ actions. One can therefore logically deduce that those who are adherent to their religious beliefs will be more inclined to embrace ethical attitudes or ethical behavior. This behavior can also be reflected on the job or business environment and so by extension religion also plays a critical role in one’s attitude towards business ethics. Support of this can be found from Baumhart, Christie, Kwon and Stoeberl (2003) “Religion provides the reason for being ethical and the points of reference for evaluating conduct” (p.269). Phau and Kea (2006) lends further support for this stance saying that “Religion, in many aspects of life, has demonstrated its influential role towards the development of our society” (p.65). Not only does religion play a crucial role in attitudes towards business ethics, it can also be argued that the more allegiance one has to their religious teachings by observing those sayings the more likely they are to practice ethical behavior. A number of studies find a positive relationship between religion and ethical standards. Phau and Kea (2007) found a positive relationship between individuals who practice religion and those who describe themselves as ethically minded persons. Terpstra, Rozell and Robinson (1993) found that religious beliefs may be an important determinant of ethical attitudes. Smith and Oakley (1996) likewise found that business students for whom religion is “very important” have stronger ethical standards when reacting to hypothetical business scenarios. Conroy and Emerson (2004) found that students who attend church regularly are less tolerant of unethical behavior. Kennedy and Lawton (1998) found that more religious students are less likely to engage in unethical behavior than are non-religious students. In a survey of business professionals, Longenecker, McKinney and Moore (2004) found that persons for whom religion is highly or moderately important demonstrated a higher level of ethical judgment than those for whom religion held little or no importance. Emerson and Mckinney (2010) says, “We find that business professionals who considered their religious faith to be highly important to them are significantly less accepting of ethically questionable behavior” (p. 8).. 29 .