Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the attitudes and orientations of Hispanic business students regarding ethical and unethical actions as well as what rewards or punishments are considered appropriate for specific scenarios. A survey was developed using a 2 × 2 randomized experimental design to measure students’ ethical orientations and 38 items were developed to measure students’ attitudes regarding factors that can influence the decision to cheat or not to cheat. The results suggest that Hispanic business students are predominantly concerned with the ethical dimension of an act relative to the outcome of the act. Also, contrary to previous studies findings, some Hispanic business students are likely to cheat on any type of graded work based on the reason for cheating rather than the type of graded work. The paper utilizes an established framework for measuring ethical attitudes and orientations. The study offers a preliminary inductive path towards a more in depth understanding of Hispanic business students which is a rapidly growing population segment whose influence will become more widespread in the coming decades. Some of the findings are not consistent with previous research that examined student bodies as a whole. This might suggest that student ethics researchers may be missing valuable information regarding differences between student body segments that can further inform our understanding of students’ ethical views. Further, this insight may provide an avenue for a more effective approach to guiding the ethical development of students.
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Appendix 1
Appendix 1
Experimental Treatment Scenarios
Scenario 1 |
− Ryan, a senior sociology major, has an exam next Monday morning. Over the weekend Ryan plans to go to a football with friends in a city 300 miles away. Ryan did not study for his exam before leaving and decided to take his study materials with him over the weekend intending to study, but he was not able to study. Two of Ryan’s friends who also went on the trip and have the same exam on Monday morning made a cheat sheet to help them pass the exam. He remembered an old axiom that cheating is wrong therefore he wanted to remain honest. A week after the exam, the professor returned the exams. Ryan received an F on the exam causing him to fail the class. Also, because the class was a prerequisite for two other classes Ryan was to take the following semester, he had to drop those two classes and could only take again the same class he failed. This put him a semester behind his intended graduation date and cost him thousands of dollars more in student loans. |
This scenario represents a situation where an ethical act resulted in a negative consequence. Three other iterations of this scenario included in the random sample of questionnaires include: |
○ Ethical act resulting in a positive consequence |
○ Unethical act resulting in a positive consequence |
○ Unethical act resulting in a negative consequence |
Scenario 2 |
− Trisha, a senior business major known by other students and all her professors as a smart and dedicated student, is in her last semester with only 2 weeks of school left before her graduation. Trisha attends school only because she needs a business degree to receive a promotion where she works. In one of her classes Trisha has a paper due in 6 days. Being so close to graduation Trisha has lost her motivation to continue working hard. Trisha does not want to write her paper. One of her friends suggests that she purchase a paper from an internet service that has a paper on the topic assigned in class. Purchasing the paper would clearly constitute plagiarism and Trisha is aware of this fact. Despite the temptation, Trisha’s integrity leads her to write the paper instead. Trisha turned in the paper and earned a D. Another student purchased the same paper Trisha considered buying and received a B. Trisha needed a C on the paper to pass the class, graduate, and receive her promotion. But Trisha failed the class, could not graduate, and someone else in her company received the promotion she would have gotten had she passed the class and graduated. |
This scenario represents a situation where an ethical act resulted in a negative consequence. Three other iterations of this scenario included in the random sample of questionnaires include: |
○ Ethical act resulting in a positive consequence |
○ Unethical act resulting in a positive consequence |
○ Unethical act resulting in a negative consequence |
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Flores, J., Vasquez-Parraga, A.Z. Ethical Orientations and Attitudes of Hispanic Business Students. J Acad Ethics 7, 261–275 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-010-9100-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-010-9100-5