A Study of the Relationship Between Personal Values and Moral Reasoning of Undergraduate Business Students

This study examines values and value types as well as scores in levels of moral reasoning for␣students enrolled in a business program. These two factors are measured using the Schwartz Personal Values␣Questionnaire and the Defining Issues Test 2. No statistically significant differences in levels of moral␣reasoning, rankings of values, and value types could be attributed to gender. However, eight significant correlations between value types and levels of moral reasoning provide evidence that a systematic relationship exists. The relationships are not only internally consistent but also consistent with the model of values based on motivational goals (Schwartz S. H. and K. Boenke: 2004, Journal of Research in Personality, 38 230–255). Dr. George Lan, (Ph.D. Management, Queen’s University, Canada) is an Associate Professor of Accounting and a member of the Certified General Accountants of Ontario. His research interest and publications are in the area of business ethics and governance, accounting education and earnings management. Dr. Maureen P. Gowing (Ph.D. Management, Queen’s University, Canada) is an Assistant Professor of Accounting. She is a co-author of both a financial and managerial accounting text and has published articles on ethics and cost control, efficacy of health systems management, and gender differences in oral communication. Dr. Sharon McMahon (Ed.D. Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan in Curriculum Development and Counseling is an Associate Professor, Faculty of Nursing. Research interests include health and wellness of children and families, health behavior outcomes, and learner’s satisfaction. Author and co-author of publications related to nonprofit governance she integrates her lived experience as a board member on several nonprofit boards and professional organizations. Dr. Fritz Rieger (Ph.D. in Management, McGill University, Canada) is an Associate Professor of Business Policy and Strategy. His research interests and publications are in the areas of ethics, organizational behavior, systems theory, modeling, culture, and immigrant entrepreneurship. Dr. Norman King (Ph.D. in Religious Studies, University of St. Michael’s College, Canada) is a Full Professor (retired) in the department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures. He has authored and co-authored many publications in contemporary spirituality and Western religious thought and remains an active board member of the Children’s Aid Society.     

Business Ethics: A Study of the Moral Reasoning of Selected Business Managers and the Influence of Organizational Ethical Climate

Since manager's decisions impact organizational goals and organizational ethical behavior, this researcher investigated the degree to which there are differences in the moral reasoning ability of business managers of selected industries and whether there are significant differences between top, middle, and first-line management levels. To determine the relationship between managers' locus of control and their moral reasoning ability, this study considered three independent variables: reported organizational ethical climate, locus of control, and selected demographic and institutional variables. For a foundation, this researcher relied on Kohlberg's theory of moral development, Victor and Cullen's ethical work climate theory, and Rotter's theory of internal—external locus of control (which evolved from Carl Jung). The short form of Rest's DIT instrument measured the moral reasoning abilities of the participants. The selected demographic and institutional variables (age, work tenure, education, gender, management level and industry category) provided the useful information to investigate these relationships of moral reasoning ability of individual managers. A survey questionnaire was sent to 400 managerial and executive level employees at a random sample of Fortune 500 firms throughout the United States: Dun and Bradstreet provided the researcher with a proportional stratified random sample of these 400 managerial and executive level employees at a variety of organizations. Interestingly, women in this study exhibited slightly higher (more external) mean I—E scores and (more principled) higher mean “P” score than men. While both of these results were anticipated, neither was significant. However, one major finding of this study was the statistically significant relationship between age and perceived organizational ethical climate types (Caring, Law and Code, Rule, Instrument, and Independence). Another major finding revealed a statistically significant relationship between management levels and organizational ethical climate.     

Business's environmental responsibility in Taiwan — Moral,legal or negotiated

This study explores both the negotiating styles and moral reasoning processes of business people and governmental officials in Taiwan, so as to provide a footing for outsiders when negotiating with Taiwanese over environmental concerns. Findings imply that Taiwanese business people and governmental officials can and will reason both at the conventional level and at the postconventional level of moral judgment. But, results of this study also indicate that Taiwanese negotiating styles do not necessarily match their levels of moral reasoning. With respect to pollution concerns, Taiwanese seem unwillingly to accept responsibility as autonomous individuals. Instead, responsibility is accepted when mandated by the law.Peihua Sheng teaches marketing and marketing research at the American College for the Applied Art, Atlanta Campus. She has taught marketing at the university level in Chinese for several years. Her research interests include business ethics, equity, and international marketing strategy.Linda Chang is a financial analyst on OTSUKA America. A native of Taiwan, she has an MBA. Her research interests are in the areas of planning and negotiation.Warren French is a professor of Marketing and the I. W. Cousins Professor of Business Ethics at the University of Georgia. His research interests include business ethics, aging, and international business. His articles have appeared in a variety of scholarly and practitioner-oriented journals.     

A Comparison of Personal Values of Chinese Accounting Practitioners and Students

This study examines the personal values and value types of Chinese accounting practitioners and students, using the values survey questionnaire developed and validated by Schwartz (1992, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 25, 1–65). A total of 454 accounting practitioners and 126 graduate accounting students participated in the study. The results show that Healthy, Family Security, Self-Respect, and Honoring of Parents and Elders are the top four values for both accounting practitioners and accounting students, although these values are not ranked in the same order. Social Power, An Exciting Life, Devout, and Accepting My Portion in Life are the lowest rated four values for the accounting practitioners whereas Devout, An Exciting Life, Detachment, and Accepting My Portion in Life form the bottom four values for the accounting students. Both accounting practitioners and students ranked Security as the highest value type and Tradition as the lowest one, and the students rated Self-Direction as significantly more important than the practitioners. With respect to gender differences, both the male accounting practitioners and students rated the value type Achievement significantly higher than their female counterparts and there were several significant gender differences in personal values for both accounting practitioners and students. In addition, the perceived values are linked to social and cultural factors as well as to the influence of Western values.     

Improving Consistency for DIT Results Using Cluster Analysis

In this article, cluster analysis is used to explore the conflicting results reported when the Defining Issues Test is used to explain moral reasoning ability in business situations. Using a convenience sample, gender, age, work experience, and ethics training were examined to determine their impact on the level of moral reasoning ability as measured by the Defining Issues Test. Using the whole sample, a significant difference was found for average P scores reported for males and females, but no significant differences were found based on age, work experience, and ethics training. However, the sample fell into distinct clusters that identified distinct male and female groupings. While females naturally fell into two distinct high- and low-moral reasoning ability clusters, male clusters were dominated more by work experience and ethics training. Clearly there are other factors mitigating the level of moral reasoning ability for males which require further exploration. The findings suggest that while the P score provides an initial point of comparison, the real benefit to the test is in exploring what is different for males and females in terms of training needs, and the impact of work experience on the moral reasoning ability, and most importantly, how to make ethics training enticing. Recommendations for future research are also discussed. Carmel Herington is a senior lecturer in the Department of Marketing, Griffith University Gold Coast Campus, Australia. Her research interests include service quality and the provision of service quality through relationship building, internal relationships and their impact on other relationships of the firm, ethical business practices and marketing education. She has published in Qualitative Market Research, European Business Review, Academy of Marketing Science Review, Journal of Travel Research, Journal of Marketing Education, amongst others. Scott Weaven is a lecturer in the Department of Marketing, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Australia. His research interests include service quality in asymmetric exchange relationships, motivational incentives analysis and business model choice, gender issues in small business management and marketing education. He has published in such scholarly journals as the International Small Business Journal, Journal of Marketing Channels, Academy of Marketing Science Review, and Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education.     

Antecedents of Managers Moral Reasoning

This research investigates the degree to which there are differences in the moral reasoning ability of business top, middle, and first-line managers in selected industries. This study considered the influence of three independent variables: reported organizational ethical climate, locus of control, and selected demographic and institutional variables on managers reasoning ability. This researcher relies on Kohlberg's theory of moral development, Victor and Cullen's ethical work climate theory, and Rotter's theory of internal-external locus of control (which evolved from Carl Jung). A short form of Rest's DIT instrument measured the moral reasoning abilities of the participants. Selected demographic and institutional variables (age, work tenure, education, gender, management level and industry category) were also measured. A survey questionnaire was sent to 400 managerial and executive level employees at a random sample of Fortune 500 firms throughout the United States: Dun &; Bradstreet provided the researcher with a proportional stratified random sample of these 400 managerial and executive level employees at a variety of organizations. Interestingly, women exhibited insignificant higher (more external) mean I-E scores and (more principled) higher mean “P” score than men. Statistically significant relationship between age and perceived organizational ethical climate types (Caring, Law and Code, Rule, Instrument, and Independence) and between management levels and organizational ethical climate were also found.     

Framing Effects Within the Ethical Decision Making Process of Consumers

There has been neglect of systematic conceptual development and empirical investigation within consumer ethics. Scenarios have been a long-standing tool yet their development has been haphazard with little theory guiding their development. This research answers four questions relative to this gap: Do different scenario decision frames encourage different moral reasoning styles? Does the way in which framing effects are measured make a difference in the measurement of the relationship between moral reasoning and judgment by gender? Are true framing effects likely to vary with the situation? and Are true framing effects likely to vary by gender? The conclusions reached were that (1) different scenario frames encourage both types of reasoning, but rule based moral reasoning is dominant regardless of frame, (2) accounting for formal equivalency in the measurement of true framing effects is likely to enhance the interpretation of studies in moral reasoning and judgment, (3) True framing effects are more likely to occur in situations with low to moderate perceived ethicality, and (4) true framing effects are not likely to vary by gender. Explanations as to why these results occurred are discussed.     

Differences between women and men MBA entrepreneurs: exploring family flexibility and wealth creation as career motivators

Previous research into gender differences among entrepreneurs has yielded varied explanations as to why female entrepreneurs differ from male entrepreneurs. This study explores motivational differences using a sample of MBA entrepreneurs. This allows comparisons between male and female entrepreneurs, who are similar in terms of business education, educational credentials, and other important variables. Logistic regression is used to measure the relationship between career motivators and gender and between career motivators and gender adjusted for marital status and the presence of dependent children. The study concludes that differences between female and male entrepreneurs become larger if the entrepreneurs are married with dependent children.     

An Examination of Personal Values: Differences between Accounting Students and Managers and Differences between Genders

In this study we investigate whether work experience and genderdifferences impact personal values. Personal values areimportant to study because they provide the foundational beliefsthat ultimately shape behavior. Differences in personal valuescould have several important implications for public accountingincluding recruiting, training, behavior, and retention. Wefound more significant differences between genders than relatedto work experience, however, we did find some interestinginteractions between gender and experience. Within bothexperience level groups, the dominant value type among males wasthat of an Independent Maximizer (an individual value typeexemplified by Ivan Boesky and Donald Trump, who utilizescompetence to attain personal goals). The most dominant typeamong females was Virtuous Advocate (an individual value type,exemplified by Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa, who utilizesmoral means to obtain social goals). Experience had very littleeffect on males, but major differences in value types were foundbetween the undergraduate females and the female businessmanagers, with a shift (student to manager) toward servingothers but using competence rather than moral means to reachthese ends. The implications of these results are discussed.     

Comparing EthicalIdeologies AcrossCultures

Using measures developed by Singhapakdi et al. (1996, Journal of Business ethics 15, 1131–1140) the perceived importance of ethics and social responsibility (PRESOR) is measured among MBA students in the United States, Malaysia and Ukraine revealing a stockholder view and two stakeholder views. Relativism and Idealism are also measured. The scores of MBA students are compared among each other and with those of the U.S. managers who were part of the original study. Managers' scores tend to be significantly higher on the Stockholder and Stakeholder II views, and much lower on Relativism than the MBA students. The Malaysian MBA students scored higher than did the American MBA students on Relativism, Idealism and the Stockholder view. The Ukrainian MBA students' scores on the three PRESOR factors are generally similar to those of the American MBAs, while they had the highest scores of any group on the Relativism scale. Overall, the patterns of responses, as much as the significant differences on specific scales, support the notion that culture, however defined, affects both values and ethics. Several directions for future research are identified.'     

Moral Development and Narcissism of Private and Public University Business Students

In this study, researchers examined the assumption that senior-level undergraduate students from private colleges universities possess higher levels of moral and ethical development than students from public institutions. In addition, the researchers sought to determine (a) if there was a relationship between narcissistic personality traits and the level of moral reasoning, and (b) there was a difference in the level of narcissistic personality tendencies of business students from private vs. public institutions based on demographic and textual variables. A cluster sampling approach was used in the sample selection. The sample was limited to students majoring in general business at seven public and six private universities in North Dakota and Minnesota. A total of 269 subjects participated in the research project: 145 at private institutions and 124 at public institutions. The Defining Issues Test version 2 (DIT-2) and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) were used to collect data at seven public and six private institutions. Students from public and private universities scored similarly on the DIT-2. A significant difference between the NPI scores of the private college students and the public college students was found. No significant relationship was found between the NPI score and level of moral reasoning. Business educators should be concerned that an increase in the number of business ethics courses completed did not significantly impact students’ moral reasoning or narcissistic traits.     

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

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. Further, consistent with the literature, the study found that gender differences in ethical attitudes regarding the ideal ethical climate, while significant for undergraduates, appeared to narrow considerably for the working professionals who were part-time MBA students. Harsh 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 of spiritual leadership. Ranjan Karri is an Assistant Professor of Management at Bryant University. He received his Ph.D. in strategic management from Washington State University. His research interests include corporate and business strategies, enterpreneurship, ethical leadership and corporate governance.     

Business goals in market versus transition economies: An exploratory comparison of Hungarian and U.S. MBA students

Developed market economies and transition economies are characterized by radically different institutional, economic, and cultural environments, which we expected would produce differences in business goals among MBA students. We measured differences between 103 Hungarian and 454 U.S. part‐time MBAs and found that U.S. respondents placed more importance on growth of the business, short‐term profits, staying within the laws, and honor, face, and reputation. Hungarians placed more emphasis on game and gaming spirit, and family values. Although the results showed significant differences on some business goals, they were not as great as the literature would suggest, indicating that some convergence has occurred since transition began. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Measuring Mainstream US Cultural Values

To determine and describe ‘mainstream US culture’ responses to the Schwartz Values Survey version 57 were collected and analyzed amongst two samples, one from 49 states, disregarding state of residence, and another from 27 US states comparing samples by state, with the 27-state populations representing about 82 % of the total US population. Statistical comparisons indicate that the responses of the samples categorised by the total US and state of residence samples and Schwartz’ ten individual cultural values show a cohesive mainstream US culture of the White, generally middle class population, having high motivational value priorities for self-direction, universalism and benevolence, with lowest priorities for power and achievement. We found significant value priority differences between urban and rural residents, but minimal differences relating to gender.     

社会性别视角下大学生就业意识的性别差异——以武汉地区高校为例

本文从社会性别的视角,采用问卷调查法对武汉地区6所高校的在校本科生进行就业意识性别差异调查,研究发现总体上当代大学生在就业中的主体意识增强,但就业意识较重视个人价值的实现,忽视社会责任。与男大学生对比,女大学生职业价值观的功利性突显;女大学生及其家庭在就业问题上心理压力更大;女大学生社会性别意识模糊,对于未来在职业与家庭间的定位较为迷茫;男、女大学生在职场存在不同的性别利益。因此,国家在制定与执行就业政策时,应考虑就业政策对两性的差异化的影响,避免政策层面的性别歧视或性别偏向。高校应将社会性别意识纳入就业促进工作,针对当前女大学生就业意识存在的问题进行干预。     

Accountants’ Value Preferences and Moral Reasoning

This paper examines relationships between accountants’ personal values and their moral reasoning. In particular, we hypothesize that there is an inverse relationship between accountants’ “Conformity” values and principled moral reasoning. This investigation is important because the literature suggests that conformity with rule-based standards may be one reason for professional accountants’ relatively lower scores on measures of moral reasoning (Abdolmohammadi et al. J Bus Ethics 16 (1997) 1717). We administered the Rokeach Values Survey (RVS) (Rokeach: 1973, The Nature of Human Values (The Free Press, New York)) and the Defining Issues Test (DIT) (Rest: 1979, Development in Judgment Moral Issues (University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN)) to164 graduating accounting students enrolled in capstone courses at two universities in the Northeastern United States. As potential entrants into the accounting profession, these subjects bring their values and moral reasoning to bear on attitudes and behaviors in the workplace. We find a highly significant inverse relationship between “Conformity” values and principled moral reasoning (i.e., those who prefer Conformity values have lower levels of moral reasoning). However, we also find that accounting students as a group do not prefer Conformity values above other values such as Self-actualization and Idealism, and we find positive relationships between Self-actualization and Idealism values and moral reasoning. Implications for values and ethics research are discussed.An earlier version of this paper was presented at a workshop at Bentley College and we have greatly benefited from participants comments, especially those of Jean Bedard, Marty Howe, James Hunton, Mark Nixon, and Jay Thibodeau.Mohammad J. Abdolmohammadi is the John E. Rhodes Professor of Accountancy at Bentley College. Having interest primarily in behavioral auditing and ethics research, professor Abdolmohammadi has published extensively in Accounting and Business Research, The Accounting Review, Advances in Accounting, Auditing: a Journal of Practice and Theory, Behavioral Research In Accounting, Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Teaching Business Ethics, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes among others.C. Richard Baker is Professor of Accounting at Adelphi University. His primary research interests are in regulatory, ethical and disciplinary aspects of the public accounting profession. He has published over fifty journal articles in accounting and ethics research.     

Assessing the “Tone at the Top”: The Moral Reasoning of CEOs in the Automobile Industry

Relying on an expanded view of leadership and the moral reasoning framework developed by Lawrence Kohlberg (1981), this study explores the moral reasoning of the chief executive officers at the 11 largest automobile manufacturers in the world. Using the CEOs’ letter to their stakeholders found in the organizations’ annual social responsibility reports, the CEOs’ moral reasoning is compared to other managers’ moral reasoning, and the moral reasoning exhibited within the CEO group is analyzed for differences due to regional location. Contrary to conventional understanding based on prior research, the CEOs in our sample did not exhibit moral reasoning at a higher level than a cross section of managers but there were differences within the sample of CEOs when looking at nationality. Implications of these results for CEOs, managers, academics, and others are explored.     

Unravelling the ethical decision-making process: Clues from an empirical study comparingFortune 1 000 executives and MBA students

Using a nationwide survey, this study compared the ethical values and decision processes ofFortune executives and MBA students. Statistically significant differences in ethical values were found by class of respondent, gender, and professed decision approach. MBAs were also found to process ethical decisions differently than business professionals.James R. Harris is Associate Professor of Marketing at Auburn University. He has published in theJournal of Business Ethics, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Retailing, Business and Professional Ethics Journal, and elsewhere. He has taught the Legal and Social Environment course at the graduate level for a number of years.Charlotte D. Sutton is Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs at the College of Business, Auburn University. Her research on such topics as women in management, stress and interpersonal communication has been cited in such places as ABC News, Good Morning America,Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, andBusiness Week.