Sustainability and Ethics: Graduate Dispositions in Business Education

Petocz, Peter; Dixon, Peter

doi:10.5539/ass.v7n4p18

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Students will acquire both discipline-specific and generic knowledge and skills throughout their programmes of study (Petocz and Dixon, 2011). A shared understanding of sustainability issues and their implications for future business practice is needed in order to: (a) develop effective curriculum which provides appropriate knowledge and skills; (b) challenge students' current perceptions of major issues impacting on sustainability; and, (c) encourage students to take a critical approach to current and future business practices informed by better understanding of the issues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes of undergraduate business students toward sustainability issues

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Case

et al. 2015

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education

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Abstract:Purpose -This paper reports on findings from the first phase of a longitudinal study of undergraduate business students' attitudes, beliefs and perceptions concerning sustainability issues.Design/methodology/approach -In order to improve understanding of the potential effects of changes in the curriculum, business students enrolled during the academic year prior to a redesigned, sustainability-informed, curriculum were surveyed. Familiarity with key sustainability terms was tested using a semi-structured questionnaire applied across two campuses of James Cook University, Australia. Quantitative data were complemented by use of open-ended questions that yielded qualitative insight into a range of student knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and normative influences relating to sustainability and climate change.Findings -Findings reflect naïve awareness of the potential impact of individual contributions to sustainability and environmental challenges. They reveal a tendency to regard major issues as beyond personal control and to view solutions as being the responsibility of others. This is coupled with reluctance to consider major lifestyle changes.Social implications -Universities are increasing their focus on sustainability related issues and the ways in which these can be effectively communicated via curricula. This article carries implications for this societal agenda, particularly in relation to the need to address disconnections between awareness of issues, personal relevance and effective strategies for addressing sustainability issues.Originality/value -The findings shed fresh light on the attitudes and behavioural dispositions of undergraduate business students and could help guide the development and delivery of curriculum content.2

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attitudes of undergraduate business students toward sustainability issues

Eagle

Low

Case

et al. 2015

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education

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“…Clearly, there are challenges to be met, but we found the students embraced the program with such enthusiasm, and it was so effective in influencing their approach to sustainability, that we would support the model's use in a range of situations. Further discussion of the use of the model in the project can be found in Petocz and Dixon (2011) and Daly et al (2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The graduate skills project recognised this need, focusing on four graduate attributes: teamwork, critical thinking, ethics and sustainability. Petocz and Dixon (2011), in a discussion of some of the project findings, suggest that whereas critical thinking and teamwork could be regarded as discrete skills, sustainability and ethics should be regarded rather as "dispositions". They note that:…”

Section: Sustainability In Business Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Business graduate skills in sustainability

Mather

Denby

Wood

et al. 2011

Journal of Global Responsibility

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to review research and strategies in Australian business education that aim to foster graduate capabilities in sustainability concepts and practices, also to present a case study of teaching practice along with ideas for future development. Design/methodology/approach -The authors report on a research project by seven Australian universities, with financial support from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC), on how to develop and grade graduate capabilities with sustainability identified as a core graduate skill. An example is presented from the Faculty of Business and Economics of a strategy in action -the use of a case study (centred on sustainability practices at the university) to enhance the skills of merit scholars. Findings -Corporate social responsibility is a well-established concept in business management theory, with sustainability principles emerging as a core feature. In the higher education sector, the spirit may be willing, but training in the application of these principles has been implemented as an add-on rather than an embedded part of the curriculum. Although efforts are being made to find ways of nurturing graduate capabilities in sustainability practice, a significant obstacle is the lack of teaching models and materials. The authors offer findings from the ALTC graduate skills project as well as a case study of implementation. Originality/value -The authors report on practical innovations in fostering business graduate skills in implementing sustainability principles, assess the utility of current education practice and present some suggestions for future learning and teaching strategies.

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“…On their part, [24] perceive a link between story vignettes and the improvement of learners' ethical ideologies; while [20] relate story vignettes with improvement in learners' critical thinking and ethical sensitivity. Similarly, Odundo & Gunga [35] opine that personal perceptions developed through story vignettes can influence ethical ideologies of learners; while [40] argue that story vignettes expose learners to information on a wide range of virtues, including truthfulness, honesty and fairness, which form the basis for ethical sensitivity in decision-making.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Content of Vignettes and Ethical Sensitivity in Decision-Making: Case of Undergraduate Business Education Learners at University of Nairobi, Kenya

Oluoch¹,

Odundo²,

Mwangi³

2020

TECS

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Vignettes are instructional resources for experiential learning, which have been applied to train professionals in health sciences. Vignettes positively influence learning outcomes, learners' perceptions, as well as ethical sensitivity in decision-making by promoting higher order thinking skills. At the University of Nairobi's Department of Educational Communication and Technology, most instructors remain slow to embrace experiential learning and are inconsistent in applying vignettes in business ethics unit courses. This study examined the relationship between the use of vignettes and learners' ethical sensitivity in decision-making at the Department. The article focuses on content of vignettes. Cross-sectional survey design guided the research process, and data were collected from 116 learners at the University of Nairobi in 2018. The study required quantitative data to assess learners' perceptions on ethically sensitive issues, as well as qualitative data from interviews and focus group discussions. Results show vignettes derived from personal experiences, interviews and case studies were key influencers of learners' ethical sensitivity in decision-making. The study concludes that the more learners appreciate the relationship between vignette content and ethical sensitivity in decision-making, the stronger the odds of making ethical decisions and vice versa. Inclusion of vignettes derived from the cited contents as an instructional approach is likely to improve the probability of learners making ethically sensitive decisions.

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Sustainability and Ethics: Graduate Dispositions in Business Education

Cited by 9 publications

References 13 publications

Attitudes of undergraduate business students toward sustainability issues

Attitudes of undergraduate business students toward sustainability issues

Business graduate skills in sustainability

Content of Vignettes and Ethical Sensitivity in Decision-Making: Case of Undergraduate Business Education Learners at University of Nairobi, Kenya

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