Ethical Decisions and Gender Differences of European Hospitality Students

Abstract

KEYWORDS: ethics , gender , hospitality , infl uences , students , European The purpose of this paper is to assess the sources influencing an ethical decision-making process of European hospitality students. Ten scenarios were used (1) to indicate whether the action posed was ' ethical ' , ' unethical ' , or ' not a question of ethics ' and (2) to indicate what they would do if they were in this situation. We found that of the nearly 400 European hospitality students, 54 per cent females and 46 per cent males, both genders indicated that parents, close friends, and business management courses influenced their ethical beliefs the most. Additionally, we found that responses were significantly different for only one of the ten scenarios with regards to gender.The action responses to the proposed scenarios were, however, statistically significant for five scenarios; four of these five were business scenarios. Female European hospitality students were more likely to engage in ethical behaviour and are generally less tolerant of questionable practices than their male peers.

Identifying Gender Differences in Destination Decision Making

“…The thesis that "gender differences exist" has long prevailed in the social science (Royo-Vela, Aldas-Manzano, Küster, & Vila, 2008). Among demographic variables, gender is the main indicator of consumer behavior (Wilborn et al, 2007). It has been and continues to be one of the most common forms of segmentation and the basis of marketing strategy used by marketers in particular (Kim, Lehto, & Morrison, 2007).…”

“…However, given the importance of gender differences in consumer decision-making (Wilborn et al, 2007), this study attempts to clarify the impacts of gender differences on the justifiability of destination decisions.…”

“…Gender difference has been studied in great detail than other personal attributes (Wilborn, Brymer, & Schmidgall, 2007) owing to its strong ability to interpret consumer behaviors. The literature on gender and consumer behavior has led to the establishment of two theses: gender differences exist (e.g.…”

Delineating the Gray Areas in Hospitality Workplace Ethics: Perceptions of International Interns

“…The appearance of numerous descriptive studies related to ethics within the hospitality industry indicates ethics is considered to be important (Brymer, Wilborn, & Schmidgall, 2006;Calvert, Martin, Beck, & Lin, 2008;George, 2008;Stevens, 1997;Stevens & Brownell, 2000;Stevens & Fleckenstein, 1999;Vallen & Casado, 2000;Wilborn, Brymer, & Schmidgall, 2007). Yet, attempts to tie ethical theory to either ethical beliefs or ethical behaviours have been limited.…”

“…Other researchers that emphasize the importance of culture in ethical decision making include Robertson and Fadil (1999), Wines and Napier (1992), and Sower and Sower (2004). In the hospitality literature the inclusion of culture in research related to ethics is more recent, less developed, and focuses on comparisons between U.S. and European respondents (Josiam et al, 2008;Brymer et al, 2006;Wilborn et al, 2007). Although the existing knowledge base does not facilitate specific predictions regarding culturally based ethical assessment, the precedent to investigate the impact of culture on ethical orientation is clearly supported.…”