Comparing the Ethical Attitudes of Business and Criminal Justice Students

Abstract

Objectives. To compare and explain differences in the ethical attitudes of criminal justice (CJ) and business students, and explore their ethical malleability. Methods. Students rated the ethical acceptability of 25 scenarios using a self-administered survey. A cross-sectional comparison of the ethical responses of sophomores and seniors measured their ethical malleability. Results. Business students were less willing to condemn unethical conduct than were criminal justice students, but were more receptive to corporate charity. Business students were also moderately receptive to the inculcation of ethical principles. Conclusions. Self-selection and socialization are important factors explaining, respectively, ethical differences between CJ and business students and the latter's ethical malleability. However, the assumption underlying many studies that business attracts morally compromised individuals because it is immoral cannot easily accommodate conflicting findings such as that businesspeople can be charitable and ethically malleable. A more nuanced understanding of how self-selection works in business is proposed.Most studies comparing the ethical attitudes of people in different fields offer little, if any, theory to explain these differences. To the extent that studies discuss theory, there is little agreement on whether ethical differences can be explained by socialization, the mechanism whereby people in a certain field learn its values and mores by being exposed to them, or self-selection, the mechanism whereby people with certain values and predispositions gravitate toward one field or another.Further, as will be discussed, studies that advance self-selection as the mechanism to explain differences between the values of business and nonbusiness students assume a model of businesspeople as so Machiavellian as to virtually preclude the possibility of their being receptive to inculcation of ethical values through social channels. Yet, as will be discussed, there is empirical research that shows that the moral inculcation of business students is possible.

Moral Disengagement in Science and Business Students: An Exploratory Study

“…For example, Neubaum, Pagell, Drexler, Mckee-Ryan, and Larson (2009) found no differences in personal moral philosophy between business and non-business students. However, these findings are consistent with Segal, Gideon, and Haberfield (2011) who found that business students were more willing to accept unethical conduct than criminal justice majors and Cory and Hernandez (2014) who found that business students demonstrated higher levels of moral disengagement than humanities majors.…”

Academic Integrity in Social Sciences

“…The greatest gains may, however, appear after the age of 24 (Segal et al 2011). More mature students may rely more on their own moral code than do younger students, who may be more vulnerable to peer pressure and other external factors (Kidwell and Kent 2008).…”

“…Students with a greater tolerance for cheating and dishonesty have been shown to be more likely to behave in a dishonest manner in their subsequent work (Nonis and Swift 2001). Business students' comparatively greater tolerance for unethical behavior has been associated with self-selection and students' understanding of business as amoral (Segal et al 2011). The relationships between the evolution of values, features of the learning environment, and disciplinary norms and cultures deserve more attention in future studies.…”

“…In studies comparing the cheating behaviors among students in different fields, business students have been shown to be more likely to cheat than others (McCabe and Treviño 1995;Smyth and Davis 2004;McCabe et al 2006) and more tolerant of unethical behavior (Segal et al 2011). Common forms of dishonesty among business students include exam cheating and unauthorized collusion (Brown 1995).…”

“…It has been suggested that teaching in business should take more advantage of the "can do" ethos in the world of business (Segal et al 2011). Rather than approaching the topic by telling students what not to do, emphasis should be on what can be achieved through focus on ethical decision-making and ethically sustainable decisions.…”