organizational behavior

organizational behavior

Ó Springer 2005

Journal of Business Ethics (2005) 61: 353–368
DOI 10.1007/s10551-005-1548-7

Exposure to Ethics Education and
the Perception of Linkage Between
Organizational Ethical Behavior
and Business Outcomes

ABSTRACT. This study focused on the effects of individual characteristics and exposure to ethics education on
perceptions of the linkage between organizational ethical
practices and business outcomes. Using a stratified sampling approach, 817 students were randomly selected
from a population of approximately 1310 business students in an AACSB accredited college of business. Three
hundred and twenty eight of the subjects were freshmen,
380 were seniors, and 109 were working managers and
professionals enrolled in a night-time MBA program.
Overall, the respondents included 438 male students and
379 female students. Exposure to ethics in the curriculum
had a significant impact on student perceptions of what
should be the ideal linkages between organizational ethical practices and business outcomes. Gender based differences were found with female students having a higher
expectation regarding what should be the ‘‘ethics practices and business outcomes’’ link. Exposure to ethics in
the curriculum had a positive moderating influence on
the gender-based effects on perceptions of ideal ethical
climate. The interaction effect showed that exposure to
ethical education may have a positive impact on males
and allow them to catch up with females in their ethical
sensitivities concerning the ideal linkage between organizational ethical behavior and business outcomes. FurHarsh Luthar is an Associate Professor of Management at
Bryant University. He received his Ph.D. from Virginia
Polytechnic University, Pamplin College of Business, in the
Department of Management. His research interests include
international differences and cross-cultural issues impacting
global human resource practices, ethical attitudes of students,
and the nature...

Similar Essays