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1 – 10 of over 33000Kiymet Tunca Caliyurt and David Crowther
Accounting is a social science. Recent developments in society have necessitated new regulations in accounting and required accountants to apply these regulations. In this…
Abstract
Accounting is a social science. Recent developments in society have necessitated new regulations in accounting and required accountants to apply these regulations. In this context, it is argued that accounting academics should revise their course material to educate students more appropriately to the current environment. After several accounting scandals in the world, especially in the USA, ethics course in business schools have become required by accounting related institutions like the American International Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). It is aimed to educate more ethical students by integrating ethics into accounting programs and thereby it is hoped / expected that it will be possible to reduce the level of fraud in the accounting world with more ethics educated accountants. A similar level of pressure is not seen with regard to fraud education in business schools. We argue however that even if an accountant behaves ethically, he/she should know how to behave when faced with fraud in the business environment and so needs knowledge about fraud detection, fraud prevention, fraud investigation and fraud reporting. In the business schools of USA and Europe, fraud education has started to take its deserved place in the curriculum and research centers on fraud are being opened by universities. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiner (ACFE), which is the largest nongovernmental organization in the world with 31.000 members, supports universities and accounting academicians with different facilities like courses and books. ACFE supports 295 universities where there is at least 3 credit courses under the name of fraud examination in USA. The other nongovernmental organization which supports fraud education in the accounting programs is the American Instituation of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Turkey, IFAC member and candidate member of the European Union, tries to follow recent developments in the world of accounting. Even if there is no pressure by any institution, Caliyurt (2003) noted that 55.3% of the accounting academicians teach about ethics in their accounting courses. This study aims to determine the importance of fraud education as taught by Turkish accounting academicians to accounting students in public and private business schools. As the result it is found that 50% of the accounting academician teach about fraud in their accounting courses but, unfortunately, only 7.1 % of them had education on fraud during their personal education.
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Hussein J. Hejase and Hassana Tabch
The purpose of this paper is to closely assess the level of business ethics education in one of the Lebanese educational institutions, namely the American University of Science…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to closely assess the level of business ethics education in one of the Lebanese educational institutions, namely the American University of Science and Technology (AUST) through shedding light on how the Faculty of Business and Economics' curriculum is set to meet the national and regional markets' requirements of sound business education.
Design/methodology/approach
Descriptive, analytical and statistical analyses are used in this study.
Findings
The study reveals several factors that affect business ethics education at AUST, namely students' ethics literacy and ethical perceptions, students' attitudes towards ethical issues, ethics and personal actions, personal morality, religious and ethical business conducts. This is in addition to the impact of formal business ethics education as implemented in the university's curriculum.
Research limitations/implications
Several insights could be inferred from this study. First, business ethics could be taught if a comprehensive formal and purposeful direction exists in an institution to make students internalize their perception of business ethics. Accordingly, the Faculty of Business and Economics is recommended to provide formal coverage of an ethics chapter in all business fields, and objectively expose the differences in applications as related to culture and national preferences; and third, reinforce the use of case studies on ethics dilemmas and make such studies obligatory for all majors. Another insight that is considered an important outcome of the study is its academic contribution to the few publications found on the subject matter in Lebanon and the region. Its results can be used by Middle Eastern educational institutions to analyze the reported western ethics' know how and practices and perform a series of research projects to address the differences between these two cultures in perception, applicability, sensitivity to beliefs and their influence on the way business is conducted in Lebanon and the surrounding Arab nations. Finally, this paper is an eye opener to the fact that individual's religious entity and beliefs may make a difference in the formation of ethical judgment and decision making. However, further research studies on the latter issue is needed, knowing that Lebanon is considered a mosaic religious community with 18 different official religions.
Practical implications
The findings presented in this research can be used by Middle Eastern as well as by Western academicians, managers, employees, and students as an eye opener to the implications of business ethics education on decision making.
Originality/value
The paper adds to the minimal body of knowledge of business ethics education in the Middle East; and its findings constitute a catalyst for further research on how ethics education enhances students' future decision making in the real world.
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Ethics education in accounting has become more of an issue after the Enron collapse. The aim of the study is to evaluate the importance given to accounting ethics education in…
Abstract
Purpose
Ethics education in accounting has become more of an issue after the Enron collapse. The aim of the study is to evaluate the importance given to accounting ethics education in business schools in Turkey and to discuss the possible problems by comparing the results with developed countries.
Design/methodology/approach
For the evaluation of the ethics education in Turkey, a questionnaire was sent to all accounting departments of business schools.
Findings
In this study low rates of ethics education in Turkey were found but, if an academician has received accounting ethics education, he/she is shown to be more likely to teach ethics.
Originality/value
These experiences would be a good guide for Turkish academics for development of ethics education in accounting programmes of business schools.
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There is limited research that utilizes the consequential‐conflictual (CC) approaches, which utilized radical orientation of double loop, second order and reorientation of…
Abstract
Purpose
There is limited research that utilizes the consequential‐conflictual (CC) approaches, which utilized radical orientation of double loop, second order and reorientation of organizational learning strategies. Both the functional‐institutional (FI) and CC approaches are integrated with the sustainability and ecological resources management literature. The aim of this paper is to fill this research gap.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper applies FI and CC sociological approaches.
Findings
This paper's contribution to the managerial auditing education literature is based on the proposition that ethics education can improve the moral and ethical reasoning of auditors, when the educational processes incorporate both the FI and CC sociological organizational learning strategies. The paper suggests that ethics education in auditing could benefit from experiential teaching methods utilized in allied applied disciplines of medicine, engineering, and educational psychology.
Research limitations/implications
Sociological approaches have been commonly applied in behavioral managerial accounting and control systems research. This paper extends the FI and CC framework to ethics education in managerial auditing research.
Practical implications
The subject of accounting ethics education is important to auditors. When accounting ethics education utilizes both the FI and CC teaching approaches, the managerial auditing education processes become interactive and cooperative by bringing experiential organizational experiences to the classroom.
Originality/value
Accounting ethics education is shaped by ecological and environmental sustainability concerns. Recently, business school interest and growth in sustainability management has contributed to the integration of ethics education in managerial auditing and accounting contexts, overcoming the shortcomings accounting programs experienced from stand‐alone ethics courses.
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Robert Allan Cooke and Leo V. Ryan
Ethics training is important in the preparation of current or future managers, but many people have misconceptions about ethics in general, and business ethics in particular…
Abstract
Ethics training is important in the preparation of current or future managers, but many people have misconceptions about ethics in general, and business ethics in particular. Those who question the wisdom of business ethics education are ignoring the fact that ethical dilemmas are a standard part of managerial decisions.
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Pak K. Auyeung, Ron Dagwell, Chew Ng and John Sands
This study is an exploratory examination of cultural differences in accounting educators’ epistemological beliefs of accounting ethics education. It is motivated by a renewed…
Abstract
This study is an exploratory examination of cultural differences in accounting educators’ epistemological beliefs of accounting ethics education. It is motivated by a renewed global interest in accounting ethics in recent years following the reported breaches of ethical conducts by individuals from different cultures. In Pratt’s model, conceptions of teaching should be an interdependent and internally consistent trilogy of beliefs, intentions and actions. The purpose of this empirical study is to sketch an outline of how accounting ethics education is broadly understood by accounting educators from three different cultural backgrounds, the Anglo‐influenced Australian, the Chinese and the Moslem‐dominated Malaysian. It explores the cross‐cultural variations in their epistemological beliefs of what to teach, objectives to achieve, the ethics educator, and the learning process. Results suggest that Australian and Malaysian accounting educators differed significantly in their epistemological beliefs on the source of knowledge as well as the acquisition of knowledge. Interestingly, there were no significant statistical differences in the epistemological beliefs held by participants in this study concerning other issues in accounting ethics education, i.e. the delivery of ethics education, transferability, goals of ethics education, separate course, and qualification.
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Manuel Larrán Jorge, Francisco Javier Andrades Peña and Maria Jose Muriel de los Reyes
This paper aims to examine how the Master of Business Administration (MBA) curricula of top-ranked business schools are offering stand-alone courses on ethics and corporate social…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how the Master of Business Administration (MBA) curricula of top-ranked business schools are offering stand-alone courses on ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR). To provide additional evidence, this study tests some hypotheses to contrast the effect of different variables on the inclusion of stand-alone courses on ethics and CSR. Also, the paper provides a comparative analysis in two ways: one comparison aims to analyse how the presence of ethics and CSR stand-alone courses in the MBA programmes over the past 10 years has evolved, and the other comparison seeks to explore whether there are differences between different rankings with regard to the inclusion of ethics and CSR stand-alone courses in the MBA curricula.
Design/methodology/approach
A Web content analysis was conducted on the curricula of 92 of the top 100 global MBA programmes ranked by the Financial Times in their 2013 ratings.
Findings
The findings show that there is a trend towards the inclusion of stand-alone courses on CSR and ethics as electives. Empirically, the findings suggest that the presence of ethics and CSR elective stand-alone subjects in the MBA programmes is explained by the following variables: public/private, business school’s accreditation and cultural influence. Comparatively, the findings suggest that requiring CSR and business ethics stand-alone courses in the MBA programmes ranked by the Financial Times have not increased over the past 10 years. In addition, when we have compared the results of this study with other rankings, we have appreciated that there are important differences between top MBA programmes in accordance with the aims and scope of rankings.
Originality/value
The findings of this study seem to suggest that business schools included in the Financial Times ranking have not changed their view based on a shareholder approach, which is focused on providing an economics-centred training.
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Natalia Ermasova, Stephen Wagner and Lam Dang Nguyen
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how individual differences predict personal business ethics of business students with a particular focus on how these factors moderate…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how individual differences predict personal business ethics of business students with a particular focus on how these factors moderate the relationship between ethical organizational interventions and personal business ethics perception.
Design/methodology/approach
Totally, 488 participants completed Clark’s Personal Business Ethics Scores (PBES) survey. ANOVA analyses were then performed.
Findings
Significant correlations were observed between personal business ethics and diversity professional development, age, and education. The authors found significant difference on ethical behavior and diversity professional development. Professional development focusing on diversity was positively related to reports of ethical behavior for women but no significant relationship was observed for men. Furthermore, professional development focusing on ethics was positively related to reports of ethical behavior for younger employees but no significant relationship was observed for older employees.
Research limitations/implications
Researchers and scholars in cross-cultural management and business ethics fields can benefit from this study as it provides more empirical results in understanding the impact of demographic, educational, and cultural factors on the ethical maturity of business students in different countries.
Practical implications
Leaders, managers and practitioners, can benefit from this study as it provides managerial implications in managing this workforce in the most effective and efficient manner. The results from this research suggest that ethics education and diversity training play the critical role in creating an ethical climate on workplace.
Originality/value
This study fills the gap within the literature and offers a unique analysis of the personal business ethics of Russian business students. Determining the types of business ethics education and training that are the most effective in Russia would be beneficial to researchers and practitioners.
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Anthony L. Fulmore, Julia A. Fulmore and Enoch K. Asare
The theory of planned behavior was used as a guiding framework to explore how undergraduate business students, employed full-time, perceived the influence of their first class in…
Abstract
Purpose
The theory of planned behavior was used as a guiding framework to explore how undergraduate business students, employed full-time, perceived the influence of their first class in business ethics on ethical awareness and ethical behavior in the workplace.
Design/methodology/approach
In this qualitative study, the perceived influence of ethics education on ethical awareness and ethical behavior in the workplace was explored. The sample consisted of eight concurrently employed undergraduate business students at a university in the Southwestern US.
Findings
Inductive analysis of primary data collected in the study suggests that ethics education increased ethical awareness. The increased desire to correct unethical behavior is another step toward ethical behavior. However, the participants in the current study did not report an increase in actual ethical behavior despite their increased ethical awareness and intent. Ethical awareness is only one component in the multidimensional process of ethical decision-making, and the increase in ethical awareness alone may not increase ethical behavior. Instead, attitude toward ethical behavior and perceived behavioral control needs to be considered as well.
Originality/value
The literature indicates that ethics education increases awareness of ethical norms and cognitive moral development. However, the question remains about how ethics education transfers to ethical behavior at the workplace. This study sought to investigate this question.
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Sarwar Mehmood Azhar, Rubeena Tashfeen, Jaweria Khalid and Tashfeen Mahmood Azhar
The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2016 shows Pakistan as among the more corrupt nations in the world with a ranking of 117 among 176 countries surveyed. This situation…
Abstract
Purpose
The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2016 shows Pakistan as among the more corrupt nations in the world with a ranking of 117 among 176 countries surveyed. This situation raises concerns about members of the society and especially about the business communities. This paper aims to examine whether the tendency to corruption is also prevalent amongst business students, the future leaders and executives of business organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses survey questionnaires in the manner of Parsa and Lankford (1999) to examine the ethical levels of business students. It uses Levene’s (1960) tests for equality of variances and the t-test for equality of means to examine whether there are difference in the ethical perceptions between: bachelors (BBA) and graduate (MBA) students; business students who have taken the ethics course and those who have not; and female and male students. The authors also examine the overall ethical perceptions of business students.
Findings
The results show that students seem to make a clear distinction in respect of what they consider as acceptable and unacceptable ethical behavior. They would not indulge in behavior that directly falls within the category of stealing, misusing of company’s resources and undertaking actions that are wrong or dishonest, which may stem from their religious indoctrination. However, they would consider as acceptable behavior the overlooking of safety violations, not telling on peers; and fudging of the truth to get the job done. The latter attitude appears to be in line with business objectives of achieving targets irrespective of the means employed and that inform business education. We do not find any differences between the behavior of women and men which may be the outcome of the same religious indoctrination and educational perceptions. While there is a difference in the ethical perceptions between students who have taken the ethics course and those who have not, the course is not able to counter the lack of ethics among business students. There is a need for some stronger measures to inculcate a set of ethical values within students. However, we did find that some of the unethical behavior is diluted at the MBA level in comparison to BBA students.
Originality/value
This study provides new insights into the ethical perceptions of students in an Islamic emerging country. There is a conflict between ethics conveyed through Islamic precepts, and the ethics of business education with a focus on profits/revenues, costs, performance and competition that endorses a Machiavellian attitude of achieving goals at any cost and the love of money (Tang and Chen, 2008). It is the first study to suggest a differentiation in the ethical behavior of business students that exhibit both ethical and unethical behavior. There appears to be a clear segregation between what students deem as acceptable and unacceptable ethical behavior that may result from their personal/religious beliefs, and their business attitudes that strongly informs their ethical behavior. It provides a basis for developing more customized and effective ethics courses in Pakistan and suggests more importantly that ethics needs to be integrated into business concepts imparted in business programs at universities.
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