Perceived ethics among business students: Gender makes a difference

Abstract

The authors examined the ethical perceptions of 262 college students. The present study follows prior studies using 10 scenarios that cover four categories: societal responsibilities, personal gains, corporate gains, and ethical principles. The findings indicate that social issues and ethical principles are more important to students, while personal gains have more significance than corporate gains. Gender plays a significant role in moral perceptions, with women being less tolerant of unethical behavior. Women who encountered ethical concepts in classes and participated in religious practices were less accepting of unethical behaviors. Ramifications for ethics education are shown, with gender being an intermediate (control) factor.

Keywords:

• Business ethics
• business students
• ethical scenarios
• gender