Industry-specific lessons: How to make ethics “sexy”

Abstract

Professors are often the first to introduce students to career-specific ethical dilemmas. Standard teaching methods for ethical classwork are mundane, typically involving lectures and case studies; however, research concludes that students have the best results from educational experiences when able to influence course composition. The authors examine career-specific teaching methodologies as recommended by students. Through a qualitative design, students were asked how professors could help them recognize and respond to ethical dilemmas. The authors explore what new behavioral approaches hold the most promise in helping students engage in ethical training so that ethical tendencies carry beyond graduation. In a survey of 59 students, participants preferred to practice facing ethical dilemmas in a safe classroom setting to learn how to respond to challenges in professional environments. Most respondents felt that instruction was most effective when field-specific (e.g. auditing courses for accounting majors) rather than approaching ethics broadly in a general business context.

Keywords

Accounting business ethics education ethical training ethics instruction marketing student engagement

For years, the proper methodology of teaching ethics in business school curricula has been the topic of several research agendas, predominantly in the accounting and marketing fields (Collins and Wartick, 1995; Edwards and Gallagher, 2018; McPhail, 2001; Park, 1998). Both of these disciplines have received ample negative publicity regarding ethical failures. Professors are often the first to introduce students to career-specific ethical dilemmas, with the objective of helping them develop a better understanding of society’s ethical expectations. Professors provide this guidance and instruction in an attempt to instill ethical tendencies and to prepare students for the realities of such decisions in their postgraduation lives.

Whether or not the student becomes an ethical business individual is dependent on two main aspects: the perception of an ethical problem and the retention of ethical training. First, the student must perceive the situation as an ethical dilemma; the more important an ethical issue is to an individual, the more critical that individual will be in evaluating the issue (Robin et al., 1996). Second, the student must be able to recall the ethical training in a meaningful and applicable manner. According to Edwards and Gallagher (2018), the traditional manner in which accounting, finance, marketing, and management are taught is not equipping students with the skills needed to translate those values into a professional setting.

The purpose of this article is to examine pedagogical tactics that resonate with college students in such a way as to make ethical behavior attractive beyond college. Although areas of specialization in business studies enjoy a certain amount of commonality, they vary in the extent to which theories, procedures, and even faculty are rooted in other disciplines. Thus, this article focuses on marketing and accounting ethics.

Literature review

Ethics in business: Marketing and accounting

The level of moral awareness and ethical perception of business school graduates is continuously called into question (Cory, 2015; Schneider, 2002). According to Duly (1997), the method of teaching ethics in business schools fails because ethics are taught as a reaction to events that have already occurred. Rather, ethics training should enhance a student’s ability to identify ethical concerns within industry and increase ethical sensitivity to these issues (AACSB, 2004). Sims and Felton (2006) noted that teaching business ethics effectively requires the course to focus on four questions: (1) what are the objectives or targeted learning outcomes of the course; (2) what kind of learning environment should be created; (3) what learning processes need to be employed to achieve the goals; and (4) what are the roles of the participants in the learning experience?

For years, there has been a twofold push in teaching ethics in business. First, professors have been encouraged to focus on ethical differences among areas of specialization within the business school (Cohen et al., 1998). Second, studies have indicated that ethics should be integrated into the curriculum as opposed to haphazardly implemented in response to corporate ethical transgressions. Demonstrating ethical sensitivity to industry-related issues is essential to ethical decision-making (Jones, 1991). Once an ethical issue is realized, an ethical judgment regarding an appropriate course of action must be made.

Due to specific and very public scandals (e.g. Volkswagen emissions testing and the Enron audit failure), marketing and accounting are two areas in which ethics research has been prolific over the past decade. Surveys of business schools show a wide range of approaches to teaching business ethics, with the majority being via lectures or case studies; however, these methods may not be the most effective way to teach marketing and accounting ethics.

Focusing on marketing education, Chonko (2004) argues that teaching ethics requires an integration of the topic throughout the marketing curriculum. Recent marketing literature reviews confirm that concerns regarding ethical marketing continue to grow in importance in the marketing industry (Schlegelmilch and Öberseder, 2010); however, the level of interest in integrating ethics into marketing education has been conflicting (Ferrell and Keig, 2013).

Both accounting educators and practitioners believe that the inclusion of ethics in the curriculum is imperative, particularly in terms of topics related to professional practice, if the profession is to regain public trust and maintain its right to self-regulate (Blanthorne et al., 2007; Jackling et al., 2007). Auditor reports add value to the public because of the trust in auditors as ethical and objective evaluators of financial statements. The goal is for accounting educators to facilitate this by nurturing the moral belief systems of accounting students.

Defining ethics

To incorporate ethics into the curriculum, it is important to define ethics as each discipline outlines it. Using these parameters as guidance will yield a greater understanding of the ethics for each field and define a better path for developing ethical curriculum.

The most used marketing organization in the United States is the American Marketing Association (AMA). The AMA lists six ethical values that marketers should adhere to: honesty (to be forthright in dealings with customers and stakeholders); responsibility (to accept the consequences of our marketing decisions and strategies); fairness (to balance justly the needs of the buyer with the interests of the seller); respect (to acknowledge the basic human dignity of all stakeholders); transparency (to create a spirit of openness in marketing operations); and citizenship (to fulfill the economic, legal, philanthropic, and societal responsibilities that serve stakeholders) (AMA, 2020).

In accounting, the two most authoritative organizations are the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Both organizations list integrity as a defining characteristic. PCAOB focuses on integrity and objectivity, stating, “In the performance of any professional service, a member shall maintain objectivity and integrity, shall be free of conflicts of interest, and shall not knowingly misrepresent facts or subordinate his or her judgment to others” (PCAOB, 2020). AICPA states, “Members should […] act in a way that will serve the public interest, honor the public trust, and demonstrate a commitment to professionalism […] In the absence of specific rules, standards, or guidance or in the face of conflicting opinions, a member should test decisions and deeds by asking: ‘Am I doing what a person of integrity would do? Have I retained my integrity?’” (AICPA, 2020).

Seeking input from the target market

Academics agree that ethics is important; however, it is imperative that ethics be taught in an effective way; as Forsha points out, merely adding an ethics component to courses does little to improve students’ ability to transfer that ethicality to action in the workplace (Forsha, 2017). One component of successful ethics instruction that may have been long ignored is the input of the student. Students want to take a more active role in course design (e.g. Emery and Titan, 2001). To become more of an active participant in the learning process, students should have a voice in the content and context of certain course material. Requesting and implementing student input may change the way ethics lessons are perceived, since research has found that a student has the best results from the educational experience when able to have input into the course composition (Leavell, 2006).

Based on the questions proposed by Sims and Felton (2006), the questions addressed in this article become: (1) how can professors help students recognize and best respond to ethical dilemmas, and (2) what new behavioral approaches hold the most promise in helping students engage in ethical training so that ethical tendencies carry beyond graduation? According to the learning orientation literature, it is important to build an effective learning environment in the class (Gonzales et al., 2004). This environment will stimulate more collaboration, commitment, and community in a class. In other words, for a learning orientation, the focus of the class shifts from teacher to student (Gonzalez et al., 2004; Tanner and Roberts, 1996). Thus, the authors turn to the students to address how best to teach ethics in the classroom.

Methodology

The purpose of this study is to gather student input on how to better engage students in ethical coursework. Through a qualitatively designed survey, students were asked how professors could help them recognize and respond to ethical dilemmas. To test the current ethical perceptions of students, two ethical scenarios faced by marketing and accounting professionals were used as an opening. Several demographic variables were also captured. In addition, students were asked three questions concerning their perception of ethics:

Research Question 1 (RQ₁): How do you think ethics could be made more interesting within your major?

Research Question 2 (RQ₂): Studies find that females tend to be more ethical than males in business situations. Why do you think that is?

Research Question 3 (RQ₃): What would you recommend be done when teaching ethics to increase ethical perceptions of males?

Gender and discipline

The type of behavior or ethical issue involved is a significant moderator of gender differences (Franke et al., 1997). Harris (1989) found that, when given the same scenarios, females significantly differed from their male counterparts; females were more likely to take a position that would help the greater good versus a position that involved self-interest. Okleshen and Hoyt (1996) found that females significantly differed from their male counterparts in the United States with respect to issues involving fraud, influence dealing, self-interest, and deceit. Cody (2015) noted that female business students were significantly less likely to justify unethical behavior through moral disengagement. Interestingly, Wang and Calvano (2015) found that, while females tended to exhibit a higher degree of ethically in the absence of ethical instruction, males had a greater degree of responsiveness to business ethics courses. According to Lopez et al. (2005), gender was significantly related to mean differences in ethical perceptions for several constructs: fraud, influence dealing, self-interest, and coercion. Because these specific areas can be discipline-specific, student majors were also captured.

Work experience, age, and classification

Su (2006) called for future studies to examine the effects of work experience and education on ethical decision-making. Students were asked to specify all fields in which they had work experience, whether or not it was in the area in which they were studying. Work experience, age, and classification were captured, as they are often correlated.

Results

A survey was emailed to all business students enrolled in the College of Business at a small public liberal arts university in the Southeastern United States. In order to compare thoughts on ethicality and how to teach it effectively, surveys were collected from all business majors late in the spring semester when students would be nearing the end of the academic year, regardless of major (accounting, finance, management, and marketing). The goal was to capture students at different stages in their academic careers in order to see the progression of ethical understanding.

To maximize response rate, the survey was conducted online and was limited to 15 questions. Of these questions, seven were open-ended, with two being ethical scenarios (one marketing and one accounting) to gauge student ethical perception. The survey was estimated to take no more than 15 min, with the average completion time of 9 min.

Surveys were sent out from SurveyMonkey on behalf of the university. A reminder email was sent out 7 days later. Of 300 students, 60 attempted the survey, and 59 completed it. Responses were analyzed based on the demographic variables. Of the respondents, 41% were male and 56% were female, with a majority of responses coming from the upper-level classification, reflective of the college’s population (see Table 1).

Table 1.

Demographic variables: Response rates.

Variable	Frequency	Percentage
Gender
Male	25	41.7
Female	34	56.7
No response	1	1.7
Academic standing
Freshman	2	3.3
Sophomore	9	15.0
Junior	14	23.3
Senior	15	25.0
Postgraduate	18	30.0
Unknown	1	1.7
First-generation college?
Yes	13	21.7
No	46	76.7
Work experience in field of study?
Yes	25	41.7
No	34	56.7
Field of study
Accounting	27	45.0
Finance	5	8.3
Management	8	13.3
Marketing	14	23.3
Business minor	3	5.0
Marketing/Management	2	3.3

How do you think ethics could be made more interesting within your major?

RQ₁ found that, overall, students felt that the best way to disseminate ethics instruction was through real-world application (13 responses), while a case-study approach and specific application to field of study were also frequently suggested. Interestingly, male answers to this question had a broad range of responses with only one noticeable pattern—all responses that a separate course on ethics was required were male. Female answers tended to focus on real-world application, with a concentration on consequences for unethical behavior and knowing how to react to an ethical situation if it should arise. Females also were more inclined to offer specific suggestions, such as:

Look more into deceptive marketing and ethical managerial practices.

Classes that involve group projects in which each person has a chance to role play as either the person giving unethical behavior in a work environment, and then as the person receiving the unethical behavior from a subordinate.

When examining responses by academic major, correlation to real-world experience was the most highly touted method for ethics instruction in all majors except for finance, preferred by 35% of accounting respondents, 20% of management respondents, and 40% of marketing respondents. Comments included the following:

I feel that the real-life examples we are given regarding ethical studies/issues make the topic very interesting. (Accounting major)

Give more examples of how people lose their jobs for not being ethical. (Management major)

It’s a hard subject to teach, but I think making more real-life examples would bring more interest into the topic. If students are faced with decisions that others had to make, then maybe they will take a different look at it. (Marketing major)

Another frequently suggested pedagogy for making ethics instruction more interesting was that of applying it to specific fields of study. The distribution for requesting this type of instruction was equal among males and females, both occurring at the rate of 20%. When examined by academic major, this method was frequently cited by marketing majors (30%) and accounting majors (15%).

Females tend to be more ethical than males in business situations. Why do you think that is?

RQ₂ dealt with the perception that females have a higher degree of ethicality than males in business settings. The majority (53%) of respondents to this question felt that women’s predisposition toward ethical behavior stemmed from the fact that women are, both by nature and by nurture, bent toward emotions and caring for others; they are also more prone to feeling guilt/remorse over unethical behavior. Men, on the other hand, are geared toward “survival,” whether in a literal or financial sense. Survey participants submitted the following responses in answer to this question:

I have found that females tend to be more ethical than men in most circumstances. This is probably from how the female brain works compared to the male brain. Men are wired to think more towards survival and logic so if a man thinks that it would be logical to be unethical to survive then he would most likely do that. A female’s brain is wired to think more towards caring about others and emotions. A female would act unethical more often if it was to protect someone she loved/cared for. That is also why I think males tend to be more unethical than females. In the business environment, rarely does a business threaten someone you care about while it does threaten your own job security if you aren’t a good enough employee.

I think males have a natural instinct to make things work, and somewhat by any means possible. This could lead them to acting unethically in order to “make ends meet” or be successful. On the contrary, I think females operate under a maternal instinct that values honesty and care, thus leading to ethical behavior.

Females are more likely to feel guilty because of our close ties to our emotions and nurture. Men are not as close to her emotions therefore guilt may not be felt.

A significant number of respondents (23.5%) also cited men’s competitive nature as a predominant reason for less ethicality than their female counterparts, alluding to a “win at any cost” mentality. These respondents felt that societal constructs encouraged male workers to employ an “end justifies the means” mentality, while females were more prone to consider ethical ramifications of their actions. The following are examples of responses supporting this perception:

Men tend to be more aggressive when making decisions and in the short run sometimes it is easier to take the low road and make a little more money for now, but it will eventually come full circle.

Men feel they always need to be on top no matter how they get there.

As a guy, we tend to have that “must win” approach with everything we do, so we can look good.

The remaining responses cited the following reasons for the perception of a higher degree of ethicality of women in business settings, each garnering just below 6%:

Males feel that they can participate in unethical behavior without repercussions.

There are more men in the workforce, and therefore more opportunities for them to behave unethically.

The workplace environment fosters expectations of unethical behavior in males.

Interestingly, with regard to RQ₂, the major and gender of the respondent did not appear to impact student responses.

What would you recommend be done when teaching ethics to increase ethical perceptions of males?

Considering the implications of RQ₂ responses, the authors further examine the data for RQ₃. Overall, 24% of students advocated for explaining the importance of ethical behavior and the ramifications of not operating ethically as the best way to enhance the ethical perception of males. Additionally, 15% of respondents felt that gearing ethical instruction toward male-oriented concepts would enhance the efficacy of the male learning experience. An additional 15% felt that males would benefit from instruction involving specific examples of ethical male behavior. There were two other statistically relevant areas of commentary: the first suggested simulations/reenactments of ethical scenarios (10.8% of respondents) and the other stated that the question was irrelevant, as the respondents believed that ethical perceptions could not be changed through academic instruction (10.8%).

RQ₃ received easily the most gender-biased responses, with 41% of females suggesting stressing the importance of ethical choices and nearly 30% of female responses suggesting gearing the instruction toward male-relevant concepts (no male responses suggested the latter approach and only 10.5% the former). While 15.7% of male respondents felt that more examples of ethical male behavior could overcome the negative impression of male ethicality in the workplace, an astounding 31.5% felt that there was no effective way to address the perception in a classroom setting. Specific comments included:

There is a problem in our society where we think if we do enough, we can fix others’ problems. Teaching can only go so far; if a man, or a woman, wants to be unethical then they will even when they know it is bad. That is because they will just rationalize that they need to do it, a necessary evil, in order for the greater good that the person believes needs to get done. Ethics and morals need to be taught in the home, college shouldn’t be the place where we hold their hand and tell them the difference between right and wrong. Major classes for ethics in each major would be the way I would think a college can increase that ethical perception. That way those men have to take that class.

As I stated earlier, I doubt that teaching someone about ethics will change their future behavior. People are going to act the way that they want, whether you tell them it is bad or not. Those people who care about their actions being ethical will act ethically and those who do not care about their actions being ethical will not hesitate to act unethically.

Recommendations and implications

Standard teaching methods for ethical classwork are mundane, typically involving lectures and case studies. Pedagogy that emphasizes the natural progression of consequences from unethical choices would have the most impact on student perceptions (Lang and Jones, 2010). In combining the feedback from the three research questions, several recommendations emerge with regard to making ethics more interesting in the classroom.

One effective approach to making the topic more intriguing and relevant may be to invite guest speakers from local organizations. These speakers should be discipline-specific and address classes about ethical dilemmas they have witnessed or faced themselves and what the impact of the event was on them both personally and professionally, as well as on the business as a whole. In an accounting scandal, the presentation might focus on any punitive action taken against the perpetrator, such as jail time, license revocation, and so on, the financial losses suffered by affected parties, and the repercussions on the business from a tarnished reputation. A marketing professional might address a scenario in which they had been asked by the client to employ unsavory tactics for selling a product, or when it is recommended by the agency not to return unbilled media funds to the client. Such presentations would not only show students the real-world application of the ethicality involved in their profession but would also allow them to have a dialogue with the speaker about any alternative ways they might have handled the situation.

A second method of increasing the effectiveness of ethical coursework would be to present real-world cases in which the subject suffered punitive consequences as a result of unethical actions or, conversely, business personnel were rewarded for acting in a principled manner. Based on student feedback, two ethical vignettes that could help increase male ethical awareness are sports and money; it was also suggested that males would respond better if the information were delivered in numerical or statistical terms. This could be accomplished simultaneously through the real-world cases cited above.

Thirdly, ethics are oftentimes taught in a past-tense setting. Specific examples such as the Ford Pinto memo scandal for business in general, Enron for accounting, and Phillip Morris for marketing are all from years past and seem very distant to today’s students. When we teach ethics or have ethical-based questions on exams, they are hypothetical examples and may seem very basic to students (e.g. violating a law or standard ethical procedure). A technique for increasing effective ethical teaching is to employ more current ethical cases, perhaps in the form of Ted Talks and other current video formats. Students tend to find these interesting and video formats can hold their attention.

Fourth, flipped classroom experience can be employed: an in-class ethical dilemma can be posed in which groups of students role-play (e.g. potential ethical offender, management, board of directors, customer, etc.) and each has to determine the appropriate outcome they develop together. Dunfee and Robertson (1988) argue that integration contextualizes ethical issues, signals to students that ethics is an important part of key business functions, and also broadens the range of addressed topic areas.

Limitations and future research

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine student-recommended approaches to teaching ethics in the classroom. While the article successfully presents thoughts and ideas of students and offers pedagogical responses, there are limitations to both this research and its recommendations; however, these also lead to opportunities for future research.

First, the data responses come from a small pool of 59 students. While more varied than a focus group, this is still limited in its overall scope. Because the sample size is small, there are no statistical differences in the responses. It is interesting to find that women feel the best way to curb “following the crowd” is to discuss the consequences of actions, while men believe that it is being your own leader/leading through example. While both of these approaches tie closely to developing individual thinking (the third highest-rated response), they represent different perspectives on how to do that. Further research on these differences could further tailor ethical training to meet the needs of each gender.

Second, the responses come from students in a liberal arts university, where total university undergraduate enrollment is approximately 3000. Upper-level class sizes in the College of Business are small, ranging from 15 to 30; some of these classes are often blended with other majors and minors (e.g. Family and Consumer Science majors seeking a business minor). It would be interesting to compare the student thoughts reported here regarding ethical teaching with those in a larger university, where 3000 students might be enrolled in the College of Business alone. Similarly, with corporate universities driving the mission of their parent companies, it may be beneficial to ascertain the ethical perceptions held by employees before and after on-site ethics training.

Lastly, when employing a “case study” using the flipped classroom method or watching videos like Ted Talks, the content available may seem “distant” from what the students think they will face in the real world or may not relate directly to the discipline the student is studying. These experiences can therefore be followed up by asking students to write a personal reflection on what they had understood or felt and on how the information could be applied to their discipline. The goal is to better engage students and help them to build a stronger ethical thought process, even if the scenario does not directly reflect their discipline. One way this can be addressed, particularly at a liberal arts university, is to include ethics throughout the student’s collegiate career, starting with humanities courses. Additionally, business students may benefit from greater interaction with nonprofits, whether it be through in-class projects or for-credit volunteer activities.

In conclusion, the student feedback on ethics instruction was varied; most of the responses, however, indicated a perception that the most interesting and beneficial pedagogy involves real-world simulation in some format. Several students expressed a preference for case studies as the most effective delivery vehicle for ethics instruction, with an emphasis on those cases that delineate consequences for unethical behavior, such as loss of employment or incarceration. Students also advocated role-play simulations giving them an opportunity to be both the party eliciting unethical behavior and the party being pressured to act unethically. They considered that it would be beneficial to practice facing ethical dilemmas in a safe, classroom setting so that they could learn how to respond when challenged in a professional environment. Most respondents felt that instruction was the most effective when it was field-specific (such as in auditing courses for accounting majors), rather than approaching ethics broadly in a general business context. Employing the strategies outlined in this article based on the comments made by students may effectively engage students in the ethical process and help them to retain ethical training, thus enabling them not only to recognize ethical dilemmas but also to address those dilemmas appropriately.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Amiee Mellon

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