The Relationship Between Pharmacists' Tenure in the Community Setting and Moral Reasoning

Objective: To explore the relationship between pharmacists' tenure in the community setting and their moral reasoning abilities. Design: Systematic random sample design. Setting: A large southeastern city in the United States. Participants:450 independent and chain community pharmacists identified from the state board of pharmacy list of licenced community pharmacists. Interventions: A mailed questionnaire that included a well-known moral reasoning instrument and collected demographic information. Main Outcome Measures: Moral Reasoning abilities and tenure of community pharmacists. Results: As a group, community pharmacists with greater years of tenure in community practice scored significantly lower on moral reasoning than those pharmacists with fewer years of tenure (p = 0.016). Conclusion: Four plausible explanations for the results are given including: a) a selection of lower ethical reasoners and/or an exodus of higher ethical reasoners from the community setting; b) a retrogression in the moral reasoning skills as community pharmacists obtain tenure in this setting; c) differences between the low and high moral reasoning groups may be due to a cohort effect; and d) the obtained practitioner sample may not have been representative of the population of community pharmacists.     

Ethical Reasoning and Machiavellianism among Business Students in Hong Kong

Ethical development among business students is a perplexing issue when they behave even less ethically than business professionals. A prior study shows that business students in Hong Kong are more reluctant to behave ethically than those in other countries in some occasions. Based on an integrated model of ethical philosophy and cognitive development, the present study attempts to assess the ethical reasoning and Machiavellianism of 470 business students in Hong Kong. It measured ethical reasoning by means of two ethical dilemmas and the result indicated the deficiency of ethical reasoning among the students. With structural equation modeling, the analysis first discerned a factor of ethical reasoning. It then verified that ethical reasoning and Machiavellianism reflected a superordinate factor, termed as ethical predisposition. The modeling further revealed that having studied in college longer contributed to the student's ethical predisposition. However, majoring in marketing was associated with the student's lower ethical predisposition. These results were not susceptible to the confounding of the student's tendency toward acquiescence and social desirability.     

Ethical Cognition of Business Students Individually and in Groups

This study provides evidence regarding the level of ethical cognition of business students at the entry to college as compared to a national norm. It also provides comparative evidence on the effects of group versus individual ethical cognition upon completion of a business ethics course. The Principled Score (P-score) from the Defining Issues Test (DIT) was used to measure the ethical cognition of a total sample of 301 business students (273 entering students plus 28 students in a business ethics course). The results indicate that (1) business students are not significantly different from the national norms at entry to college and (2) group reasoning helps male students improve their P-scores significantly in the business ethics course at a loss of P-score (albeit not statistically significant) for female students.     

The Ethics of Advising on Regulatory Compliance: Autonomy or Interdependence?

Many companies are now implementing ethics and regulatory compliance programs. The growth of employment of both lawyers and specialist "compliance professionals" to advise on and facilitate implementation of these programs has expanded concomitantly. This paper examines the ethical role that should be played by these advisors. Traditional ways of conceptualising corporate lawyers' ethics are shown to be inadequate because they see the legal advisor as an autonomous adversarial advocate or an independent and aloof counsellor. Instead interviews with compliance practitioners are used to show that a superior conceptualisation of the compliance advisor's role is emerging. Compliance practitioners identify explicitly with business and, at the same time, identify with a broader ethical community of other compliance professionals, regulators and stakeholders in order to play a transformative role within the organisation. This conception recognises the interdependence between compliance advisor and corporate client.     

Ethical Reasoning and the Use of Insider Information in Stock Trading

The cognitive developmental theory of ethics suggests that there is a positive relationship between ethical reasoning and ethical behavior. In this study, we trained a sample of accounting and finance students in performing competitive stock trading in our state-of-the-art trading room. The subjects then performed trading of stocks under two experimental conditions: insider information, and no-insider information where significant performance-based financial awards were at stake. We also administered the Defining Issues Test (DIT). Ethical behavior, as the dependent variable was measured in a binary scale: whether the subjects used insider information for trading of stocks or not. Ethical reasoning as measured by the DIT P-score indicated statistically significant effect on ethical behavior. The results have important implications for recruitment and training of professionals engaged in the use of financial markets for securities trading.     

Do Complex Moral Reasoners Experience Greater Ethical Work Conflict?

Individuals who disagree that organizational interests legitimately supersede those of the wider society may experience conflict between their personal standards of ethics and those demanded by an employing organization, a conflict that is well documented. An additional question is whether or not individuals capable of complex moral reasoning experience greater conflict than those reasoning at a less developed level. This question was first positioned in a theoretical framework and then investigated using 115 survey responses from a student sample. Correlational analysis and hierarchical regression indicated that individuals scoring high on the Defining Issues Test measure of Kohlberg's stages of moral development experienced significantly greater workplace ethical conflict than low scorers. The finding that complex moral reasoners perceive greater conflict between their personal standards and typical organizational demands raises the issue of what reasoning orientation is rewarded in organizations. Individuals capable of complex moral reasoning may be likely to leave traditional organizations due to high conflict but more ‘ethically friendly’ organizations for complex reasoners seem unlikely unless these people occupy influential positions.     

Factors that Influence the Moral Reasoning Abilities of Accountants: Implications for Universities and the Profession

The need to maintain the public trust in the integrity of the accounting profession has led to increased interest in research that examines the moral reasoning abilities (MRA) of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs). This study examines the MRA of CPAs practicing in small firms or as sole practitioners and the factors that affect MRA throughout their working careers. The results indicate that small-firm accounting practitioners exhibit lower MRA than expected for professionals and that age, gender and socio-political beliefs affect the moral reasoning abilities of small-firm practitioners. We also find that completion of an ethics course in college has a positive impact on MRA. Also, the survey respondents indicate overwhelming support for including ethics courses within the business curriculum. Finally, the fact that those accountants with the lowest MRA are the least supportive of ethical training may indicate the need for mandatory, rather than optional, training in ethics both in university and Continuing Professional Education courses.     

An Examination of Differences in Ethical Decision-Making Between Canadian Business Students and Accounting Professionals

This study investigates the differences in individuals' ethical decision making between Canadian university business students and accounting professionals. We examine the differences in three measures known to be important in the ethical decision-making process: ethical awareness, ethical orientation, and intention to perform questionable acts. We tested for differences in these three measures in eight different questionable actions among three groups: students starting business studies, those in their final year of university, and professional accountants.The measures of awareness capture the extent to which respondents felt that a particular action was unethical according to each of several ethical criteria. We found few differences between the two student groups on these measures, suggesting that their education had minimal effect on raising their awareness of the ethical issues in the vignettes. Indeed, overall, the graduating student's scores were marginally lower than those of the entry-level students. However, the professionals viewed some actions as significantly less ethical than did the graduating students.The measures of ethical orientation capture the weight respondents placed on each of the criteria above in their evaluation of the overall morality of an action. The differences between the three groups were generally small, and were a function of the vignette, consistent with Jones' (1991) model of issue-contingent ethical reasoning.The measures of intention capture the extent to which a respondent perceives that s/he would perform the action. There were significant differences between the groups in three of the eight vignettes, driven by a difference between the professionals and the other two student groups. The awareness measures were strong predictors of intention. We discuss the implications of these findings for professional training and future research.     

The Relationship Between Ethical Ideology and Ethical Behavior Intentions: An Exploratory Look at Physicians' Responses to Managed Care Dilemmas

Within the past few years, managed care health insurance programs have become commonplace. With managed care programs, however, physicians are facing increasing ethical pressures. This paper examines the relationship between physicians' behavior intentions with respect to four managed care ethical scenarios and their responses to Forsyth's (1980) Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ). This is one of the first papers to compare this scale to behavioral intentions in the workplace. We provide a literature review of the ethical dilemmas that doctors face under a managed care system and conduct a national random sample of general practitioners and surgeons regarding the four managed care ethical dilemmas. The results show that the doctors surveyed are significantly more idealistic than relativistic. In relating the EPQ to the ethical scenarios, however, there was no support for the proposition that ethical ideology was related to the ethical behavioral intentions. This suggests more research is needed to establish the links between ethical positions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Finally, there were little differences in EPQ scores by practice or demographic variables, the only significant result being that general surgeons are significantly more idealistic than family practitioners.     

Ethical Attitudes of Accounting Practitioners: Are Rank and Ethical Attitudes Related?

We address a previous finding in the business ethics literature in which accounting professionals in higher rank levels, i.e., “manager” or “partner” of auditing firms, appear to have lower moral reasoning ability than their junior counterparts. Prior investigations have relied upon a similar methodology for estimating ethical beliefs, namely testing “moral reasoning ability” using either the Moral Judgment Interview or Defining Issues Test. In the present study, we use a multiple vignettes approach to test for the existence of the inverse rank-ethical beliefs effect. With only 2 of the 30 vignettes resulting in both managers and partners being more accepting of the ethically charged behaviors, the results presented here using this alternative methodology are generally not supportive of the inverse rank-ethical beliefs phenomenon. We also use a multivariate analysis in order to control for demographic characteristics. Our results suggest that the most robust predictor of ethical attitudes among accounting practitioners is age, not rank within a firm.     

Ethical attitudes of students and business professionals: A study of moral reasoning

A questionnaire on business ethics was administered to business professionals and to upper-class business ethics students. On eight of the seventeen situations involving ethical dilemmas in business, students were significantly more willing to engage in questionable behavior than were their professional counterparts. Apparently, many students were willing to do whatever was necessary to further their own interests, with little or no regard for fundamental moral principles. Many students and professionals functioned within Lawrence Kohlberg's stage four of moral reasoning, the law and order stage. Individualism and egoism remain strong patterns in the moral reasoning of many professionals, but they influence moral reasoning patterns among students to a much greater degree.John A. Wood is Associate Professor or Religion at Baylor University.Justin G. Longenecker is Emeritus Chavanne Professor of Christian Ethics in Business at Baylor University.Joseph A. McKinney is Professor of Economics and Co-Director of Master of International Management Program at Baylor University.Carlos W. Moore is an Edwin W. Streetman Professor of Marketing at Baylor University.     

Applying Ethical Theories: Interpreting and Responding to Student Plagiarism

Given the tremendous proliferation of student plagiarism involving the Internet, the purpose of this study is to determine which theory of ethical reasoning students invoke when defending their transgressions: deontology, utilitarianism, rational self-interest, Machiavellianism, cultural relativism, or situational ethics. Understanding which theory of ethical reasoning students employ is critical, as preemptive steps can be taken by faculty to counteract this reasoning and prevent plagiarism. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that unethical behavior in school can lead to unethical behavior in business; therefore, correcting unethical behavior in school can have a positive impact on organizational ethics. To meet this objective, a content analysis was conducted on the written records of students formally charged with plagiarizing at a large West Coast university. Each case was classified according to the primary ethical reasoning that the student used to justify plagiarism. Results indicate that students predominately invoke deontology, situational ethics, and Machiavellianism. Based on these findings, specific recommendations are offered to curb plagiarism. This research is the result of a long-standing interest in new technology and plagiarism. Very early ideas on this subject were presented by the authors at the ABC West Conference in New Orleans in March 2003. Dr. Neil Granitz teaches Marketing at Cal State Fullerton. He has published articles in the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Marketing Education, and the Quarterly Journal of E-Commerce. Moreover, Neil is a consultant for the fast-food industry, the airline industry, and an Internet advertising agency. Before earning his MBA at McGill University in Montreal and a Ph.D. in Marketing at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, Neil Granitz gained extensive corporate experience in market and consumer research. Neil’s research focuses on three areas: (1) Instilling meaning and motivation into marketing education, (2) E-Commerce: Development and effect on marketing educators and practitioners, and (3) Awareness of ethics: Its influence on the internal culture of organization. Dr. Dana Loewy teaches Business Communication at Cal State Fullerton. Having earned a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California in English and translation, she is a well-published freelance translator, interpreter, and brand-name consultant. Fluent in several languages, among them German and Czech, Dana has published critical articles in many areas of interest and various poetry as well as prose translations, most notably the 1997 volume The Early Poetry of Jaroslav Seifert from Northwestern University Press.     

Retail Ethics as Appraised by Future Business Personnel in Malaysia and the United States

Differences in ethical perceptions among individuals from varying cultures have been suggested as a source of concern for business firms involved in global activities. This study investigates a hypothesis based on the writings of Thorelli, that “lower” ethical perceptions exist among the residents of developing nations. This was accomplished by investigating the retail ethical perceptions of business students from a developing nation and comparing these perceptions with those of business students from a developed nation. The results suggest the retail ethical perceptions of students from different cultures attending collegiate institutions in their home countries differ, supporting the hypothesis. Implications are explored.     

New product adoption by pharmacists

The objective of this paper is to report a study into the new product buying behaviour of retail pharmacists in Britain and their ways of handling product and marketing information. The research was of an exploratory and qualitative nature, involving in‐depth personal interviews with a relatively small sample of 37 retail pharmacists within the Greater Manchester and Mersey area.

The results show that retail pharmacists in general are indifferent to and reluctant to accept new pharmaceutical products. Retail pharmacists normally are too busy to attend any professional meetings but those who do attend meetings regularly seem to be more innovative, which indicates the existence of opinion leadership in the pharmaceutical community.

With respect to the sources of information, commercial sources are useful for creating awareness, but personal channels are more influential in the later stages of the decision‐making process. Finally, the results indicate that lack of information and poor communications amongst retail pharmacists, physicians and manufacturers are possibly a major reason for new product failure. Using these findings the authors highlight important lessons which may apply to a wide range of product marketing. In particular the risks/opportunities of new product development and marketing are discussed.     

An Exploratory Study of Chinese Accounting Students’ and Auditors’ Audit-specific Ethical Reasoning

This study uses three audit-specific ethical dilemmas to assess the level of ethical reasoning between Chinese accounting students (as proxies for new entrants to the auditing profession) and experienced auditors. A sample of U.S. accounting students is used as a base for comparison. Consistent with expectations based on particularly salient aspects of Chinese national culture, we find the Chinese students’ levels of ethical reasoning to be significantly lower than those of their U.S. counterparts in the two cases that invoked these cultural attributes. In contrast, the Chinese students’ level of ethical reasoning is slightly higher than that of the U.S. students in the third, control case. We further find that the Chinese auditors’ levels of ethical reasoning are even lower than those of the Chinese students in two cases, while not being significantly different in the third. Together, these findings suggest that cross-national differences in auditors’ ethical reasoning depend on the nature of the ethical dilemma and caution against wholesale inferences about ethical reasoning levels in China.     

Are Students Really Less Ethical Than Business Practitioners?

Past research provides evidence of lower ethical standards amongst the student population when compared to business practitioners, using business-based survey instruments. This study examines the adequacy of this conventional research tool by assessing the influence of scenario context (university or business setting) on ethical intentions using data from 243 commerce tertiary students.Students tended to respond more ethically to issues set in a university context than to equivalent issues in a business setting. The tolerance level for unethical behaviour in both contexts was also found to decline with full-time work experience and age. However, full-time work experience appears to be the major variable influencing ethical ratings set in a business context, whereas age was found to predict the ethical judgements of students in the university scenarios. The overall pattern of responses indicates that ethical standards vary according to scenario context.The study illustrates the importance of considering respondents' exposure to the settings concerned when conducting ethical studies using scenario-based instruments. Respondents should have adequate knowledge and exposure to the type of setting they are asked to evaluate. Results of this study argue for caution in the interpretation of past findings involving student samples responding to ethical issues in business settings.     

Righteousness and Profitableness: The Moral Choices of Contemporary Confucian Entrepreneurs

This paper explores the relationship of various trait emotions to the ethical choices of 189 college students who completed a managerial decision-making task as part of an in-basket exercise in a laboratory setting. Prior research regarding emotion influences on ethical decision-making and linkages between emotions and cognition informed hypotheses about how different types of emotions impact ethical choices. Findings supported our expectations that positive and negative emotions classified as active would be more strongly related to interpersonally-directed ethical choices than to organizationally-directed ones, and that passive emotions would be less related to ethical choices than active emotions. Implications for ethical decision-making research and organizational practices are discussed.     

Corporate Governance as Part of the Strategic Process: Rethinking the Role of the Board

Commercial food health branding is a challenging branch of marketing because it might, at the same time, promote healthy living and be commercially viable. However, the power to influence individuals’ health behavior and overall health status makes it crucial for marketing professionals to take into account the ethical dimensions of health branding: this article presents a conceptual analysis of potential ethical problems in health branding. The analysis focuses on ethical concerns related to the application of three health brand elements (functional claims, process claims, and health symbols) as well as a number of general concerns that apply to health branding as such. Being a pioneering analysis, this article advances the academic understanding of health branding and provides practitioners with knowledge of important concerns to take into account when marketing health brands.     

Ethical Ideology and the Ethical Judgments of Marketing Professionals

The present study extends the study of individuals' ethical ideology withinthe context of marketing ethics issues. A national sample of marketing professionals participated. Respondents' ethical ideologies were classified as absolutists, situationists, exceptionists, or subjectivists using the Ethical Position Questionnaire (Forsyth, 1980). Respondents then answered questions about three ethically ambiguous situations common to marketing and sales. The results indicated that marketers' ethical judgments about the situations differed based on their ethical ideology, with absolutists rating the actions as most unethical. The findings are consistent with those of two earlier studies that utilized samples of business students (Barnett et al., 1994, 1995). The results suggest that personal moral philosophy is an important influence on ethical decision making that should be considered in empirical studies of business ethics. The results also support the utility of the Ethical Position Questionnaire (Forsyth, 1980) as a means for researchers and practitioners to assess individuals' ethical ideology.