Assessment of Ethical Values of Students and Its Impact on Their Work Ethics
Assessment of ethical values of students and its impact on their work ethic
Minoo Ghoreishi, Millersville University of PA
Dariush Rezaei, Kent State University
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to assess ethical values of college students and employees. This paper examines recent occurrences in unethical activities of American corporations, evaluate students’ ethical values, and compare it to the ethical values of employees. The results of this research indicated that some students and workers underestimate selected unethical behaviors and do not perceive them as “unethical”. This research points to the fact that undervalue of unethical activity in college lead to unethical activity at workplace.
Introduction:
History of American corporations recorded corruptions in past and has been increasing. It is indicated that public confidence in the executives had declined significantly from 55 percent in 1966 to 16 percent in 1976 and even greater in the 1980’s. The observation was that corporate executives were interested in profit above public interest. Mistrust in an industry will harm participants in the industry and distrust of a single company may rapidly turn to bankruptcy. (Solomon, 1994) Corporate fraud in the United States threatens the trust in business and the reliability of the American corporations. Top managers have led companies to bankruptcy and jeopardize investment of their employees and investors for their self interest. Recent statistics indicated that American market has confronted with a major setback since World War II due to the corporate scandals that had demoralized the investor’s confidence (Investor 12). Enron was America’s largest bankruptcy in December 2001, followed by WorldCom, Global Crossing, Tyco, Arthur Andersen, Adelphia, due to their deceptive activities. Recent incidents gave more significance to ethical behavior in the society. Managers, employees and corporations need to be
Minoo Ghoreishi, Millersville University of PA
Dariush Rezaei, Kent State University
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to assess ethical values of college students and employees. This paper examines recent occurrences in unethical activities of American corporations, evaluate students’ ethical values, and compare it to the ethical values of employees. The results of this research indicated that some students and workers underestimate selected unethical behaviors and do not perceive them as “unethical”. This research points to the fact that undervalue of unethical activity in college lead to unethical activity at workplace.
Introduction:
History of American corporations recorded corruptions in past and has been increasing. It is indicated that public confidence in the executives had declined significantly from 55 percent in 1966 to 16 percent in 1976 and even greater in the 1980’s. The observation was that corporate executives were interested in profit above public interest. Mistrust in an industry will harm participants in the industry and distrust of a single company may rapidly turn to bankruptcy. (Solomon, 1994) Corporate fraud in the United States threatens the trust in business and the reliability of the American corporations. Top managers have led companies to bankruptcy and jeopardize investment of their employees and investors for their self interest. Recent statistics indicated that American market has confronted with a major setback since World War II due to the corporate scandals that had demoralized the investor’s confidence (Investor 12). Enron was America’s largest bankruptcy in December 2001, followed by WorldCom, Global Crossing, Tyco, Arthur Andersen, Adelphia, due to their deceptive activities. Recent incidents gave more significance to ethical behavior in the society. Managers, employees and corporations need to be
References: Aguilar, Francis J. Managing Corporate Ethics. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. Carter, R. Employees theft often appears legitimate, Accountability, 100 (1127), 75 – 78. Carter McNamara. 1999. Marrella, Len. In Search of Ethics. Florida: DC Press, 2001 The “Numbers Game”: Arthur Levitt, The Securities and Exchange Commission Tracinski, Robert W. “Ethics”, The Intellectual Activist. 25 Jan. 2002.