Abstract
Prior research on the impact of ethics education within the business curriculum has yielded mixed results. Although the impact is often found to be positive, it appears to be both small and short-lived. Interpretation of these results, however, is subject to important methodological limitations. The present research employed a longitudinal methodology to evaluate the impact of an M.B.A. program versus a law program on the values and ethical decision making behavior of a cohort of students at two major universities in the northeast. The results suggest that the M.B.A. curriculum remains a value-neutral experience for most students. In contrast, the law school program had a significant impact on both values and ethical decision making.
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Additional information
Donald L. McCabe is Associate Professor of Management at the Graduate School of Management, Rutgers — The State University of New Jersey. His research focuses on ethical decision making, interpretive processes under conditions of uncertainty, and issues of student values and ethics.
Janet M. Dukerich is an Associate Professor of Management at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on individual and group decision making and interpretation processes in organizations.
Jane E. Dutton is Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at the University of Michigan. Her research interests center on organizational adaptation processes, and in particular, organizational responses to value-laden issues.
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McCabe, D.L., Dukerich, J.M. & Dutton, J.E. The effects of professional education on values and the resolution of ethical dilemmas: Business school vs. law school students. J Bus Ethics 13, 693–700 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00881328
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00881328