The Effect of Gender on the Importance of Business Ethics and Managerial Decisions: A Student Perspective

Abstract Objective: The study examined male and female business college students' perceptions regarding the need for a match between personal and corporate ethics, whether success in business depends on ethical behavior, and the types of ethical misconduct that warrant the most severe managerial disciplinary actions. Background: The literature contains mixed findings relating to gender differences and ethical perceptions. In general, females tend to act in a more ethical manner in the workplace. Method: A questionnaire was used to elicit respondent judgments concerning the importance of ethics in business and the disciplinary action misbehaviors warranted. Results: The results indicate that perceptions may differ by gender. Females perceive more of a need for corporate ethics to match personal ethics and regard ethical behavior as more important to business success than do males. Except for misconduct relating to honesty and technology appropriate use issues, female students perceive that workplace misconduct deserves more severe punishment than do the male students. Application: It is important that business students understand that individuals approach situations with differing values and expectations. Discussing ethical situations in the classroom helps students entering managerial positions be ready to set and communicate workplace expectations. Introduction Misconduct in the workplace is common (Ethics Resource Center, 2007). Managers can expect to face situations where they will need to determine the appropriate disciplinary actions relating to employee misconduct. Multiple variables, including years of experience and levels of personal ethical conviction, influence the seriousness with which a manager views an ethical situation (Peterson, Rhoads, & Vaught, 2001). Another variable that may influence the perceptions of an ethical situation is the manager's gender. Overall, women tend to act in a more ethical fashion when faced with ethical dilemmas in the workplace and tend to score higher on ethical reasoning (Ritter, 2006.) However, the research relating to ethical perceptions and gender differences shows inconsistent results (Valentine & Rittenburg, 2007). Kuo, Lin, and Hsu (2007) encouraged more research on gender differences relating to business ethics. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in male and female business college students' perceptions regarding the importance of business ethics and the seriousness of business-related misconduct. Review of the Literature Organizations demonstrating a strong ethical commitment have been shown to have fewer incidents of employee misconduct (Sauser, 2005). In a business setting, management is responsible for setting, communicating, and modeling behavior expectations. According to Robin (1999) new employees want guidance on acceptable behaviors and look to supervisors as role models. A company-wide ethical commitment requires strong leadership with training and consistent reinforcement on the value of ethical behavior to the organization (Ethics Resource Center, 2007). It has been demonstrated that personal behavior can be influenced by the behavior of others in the workplace (Schminke, Ambrose, & Miles, 2003). Workers tend to adjust their personal standards to those of the organization. Anand, Ashforth, and Joshi (2005) found that recent hires with no history of unethical behavior willingly participated in the same unethical behaviors as their new co-workers. The new employees rationalized that such actions were acceptable because the actions were prevalent within the organization. According to Dunkelberg and Jessup (2001) appropriate employee behavior should be rewarded and misconduct punished so that a clear message regarding organizational expectations is consistently communicated to all employees. Woo (2003) stressed that it is the business educator's responsibility to help students understand that as business leaders they will have power and influence and that their decisions and actions will be scrutinized. …