The effect of groupwork on ethical decision-making of accountancy students
Journal of Business Ethics 75 (3) (2007)
| Abstract | Recent accounting scandals involving the collapse of large corporate firms have brought into question the adequacy of ethics education within accounting programs. This paper investigates the ethical decisions of accountancy students and in particular analyses the effect of group (as opposed to individual) decision-making on ethical decisions. Final year accountancy students (sample size of 165) were randomly allocated into two experimental conditions. The participants were then presented with five (5) ethical vignettes. One experimental condition involved completing the ethical decisions as individuals (60). The other involved completing the ethical decision-making as a group of 3–4 participants (34). A consistent pattern of behaviour was observed in the analysis of individual versus group responses. Individuals displayed stronger tendencies than groups to take the extreme actions of acting either unethically or ethically (whistleblowing), whereas groups displayed stronger tendencies to take the safer (neutral) options. It was concluded that groups reached consensus decisions, in an ethical context, probably as a result of peer pressure. The significant implication of this finding is in relation to the emphasis accounting programs place on group work. Group work may enhance students’ abilities to work as a team. However, as revealed in this study’s results, group work may not be an effective means of producing the optimal decision in all subject matter areas, especially complex areas such as ethical decision-making. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,701 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesKieran Mathieson (2007). Towards a Design Science of Ethical Decision Support. Journal of Business Ethics 76 (3):269 - 292.
Ethan P. Waples, Jason H. Hill, Alison L. Antes, Lynn D. Devenport, Stephen T. Murphy, Shane Connelly, Michael D. Mumford & Ryan P. Brown (2009). Field and Experience Influences on Ethical Decision Making in the Sciences. Ethics and Behavior 19 (4):263-289.
Ethan P. Waples, Jason H. Hill, Alison L. Antes, Lynn D. Devenport, Stephen T. Murphy, Shane Connelly, Michael D. Mumford & Ryan P. Brown (2009). Field and Experience Influences on Ethical Decision Making in the Sciences. Ethics and Behavior 19 (4):263-289.
Michael D. Mumford, Shane Connelly, Stephen T. Murphy, Lynn D. Devenport, Alison L. Antes, Ryan P. Brown, Jason H. Hill & Ethan P. Waples (2009). Field and Experience Influences on Ethical Decision Making in the Sciences. Ethics and Behavior 19 (4):263 – 289.
James J. Cappel & John C. Windsor (2000). Ethical Decision Making: A Comparison of Computer- Supported and Face-to-Face Group. Journal of Business Ethics 28 (2):95 - 107.
Jon M. Shepard & Linda S. Hartenian (1991). Egoistic and Ethical Orientations of University Students Toward Work-Related Decisions. Journal of Business Ethics 10 (4):303 - 310.
Barbara Libby & Vincent Agnello (2000). Ethical Decision Making and the Law. Journal of Business Ethics 26 (3):223 - 232.
Jeffrey R. Cohen, Laurie W. Pant & David J. Sharp (2001). An Examination of Differences in Ethical Decision-Making Between Canadian Business Students and Accounting Professionals. Journal of Business Ethics 30 (4):319 - 336.
Conor O'Leary & Gladies Pangemanan (2007). The Effect of Groupwork on Ethical Decision-Making of Accountancy Students. Journal of Business Ethics 75 (3):215 - 228.
Suzanne C. Wagner & G. Lawrence Sanders (2001). Considerations in Ethical Decision-Making and Software Piracy. Journal of Business Ethics 29 (1-2):161 - 167.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads5 ( #160,428 of 549,128 )Recent downloads (6 months)0How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
