Sarah Meisinger
3-30-05
Eng 300 Dr. Fife

Ethical Concerns in Business Education—An Annotated Bibliography

Introduction

My paper will contain an overview of what is believed to contribute to unethical behavior and what solutions there have been to decrease the number of corporate scandals. Many of the articles are of the opinion that the lack of ethics classes and training in business schools, especially those of accounting, are mainly responsible for scandals like Enron. The MBA classes have become the main target of analysis because graduates are often the ones involved in the scandals. However other studies have shown that cultural background and a person's upbringing are mostly responsible for ethical reasoning. They argue that it is something that cannot be re-taught in a college class. Still others believe that the structure and pressures of corporations may also have a factor in a person's ethical behavior. Unrealistic expectations and skewed reward systems have been shown to cause people to behave unethically regardless of schooling or background. The question then becomes what is to be done to make business persons more honest about their financial records. Several proposed methods of correcting ethical reasoning deficiencies are incorporating ethics into undergraduate and graduate coursework and reevaluating corporate reward and promotion policies. Overall the purpose would be to inform on the current debates on the subject and to show possible solutions for the current problem. Anyone in the Accounting and business profession should be aware of ethical dilemmas, but since the focus of this paper is mainly on ethical accountability in undergraduate and graduate programs, then college students and professors would find it the most enlightening.

Castellano, Joseph F., Kenneth Rosenzwig, and Harper A. Roehm. "How Corporate Culture Impacts Unethical Distortion of Financial Numbers." Management Accounting Quarterly 5.4 (2004): 37-41.
The corporate structures of MBO/MBR can contribute to employee behavior in a negative way by setting unattainable goals either by lack of analysis of abilities or by no considering time constraints. The systems don't promote harmony in the workplace and make it competitive to the point that people will resort to unethical behavior when they might not otherwise have. This article illustrates one of the viewpoints that I will discuss in my paper about how workplace environment and structure can cause people to behave unethically. Management Accounting Quarterly is a peer review journal written by professors and prominent management accountants.

Chuang, Chiulien. "The Ethical Reasoning Abilities of Accounting Students." The Journal of American Academy of Business March 2005: 200-207.
The article analyzes the difference between Taiwan students and American students in the areas of ethical reasoning. The article illustrates another argument that I want to represent in my paper that cultural background and upbringing also contribute to unethical behavior. The Journal of the American Academy of Business is an accredited scholarly journal.

Culpan, Refik and John Trussel. "Applying the Agency and Stakeholder Theories to the Enron Debacle: An Ethical Perspective." Business and Society Review 110:1 (2005): 59-76.
This article shows that when basic economic theories are violated then people's behavior becomes unethical and therefore disadvantageous to the stockholders and other people within the company. This article illustrates the idea that workplace structures and theories contribute to ethical behavior or lack thereof. Business and Society Review is a peer review journal read by people working the business world.

Earley, Christine S., and Patrick T. Kelly. "A Note on Ethics Educational Interventions in an Undergraduate Auditing Course: Is There an 'Enron Effect'?." Issues in Accounting Education 19.1 (February 2004): 53-71.
This article shows that in a study of students over semester- they could be taught to improve their ethical reasoning and judgment. The article also mentions that they found no correlation between current events and a student's view on ethical decision making. This article shows a solution to the lack of ethical reasoning in college graduates and shows that it can be effectively done in a classroom. I will use this in showing some of the proposed solutions to the ethical dilemmas faced in the business world. Issues in Accounting Education is a scholarly peer reviewed journal.

Elliot, John. "Business Schools and Social Responsibility: A Dean's Perspective" Business and Society Review 109.4 (May 2004): 567-576.
This speech outlines many of the societal causes of greed and reward systems. The dean also addresses what his university and others are doing to help their students deal with ethical problems. Many of the points made are useful in my societal and structural contributors. There are several good quotes in the article about the challenges students face in the business world. The examples along with statistics should be useful in supporting some of my main points. Business and Society Review is a peer review journal read by people working the business world.

Koehn, Daryl. "Transforming Our Students: Teaching Business Ethics Post- Enron." Business Ethics Quarterly 15.1 (2005) : 137-151.
This article details a specific teaching techniques along with student reactions. The author explains why he thinks his students were able to respond to his techniques better than in that of a normal ethics class. There are some good quotes from students about ethics classes and the application of them after they left the MBA program. Business Ethics Quarterly is a peer reviewed journal.

Madison, Ronald. "Is Failure to Teach Ethics the Causal Factor?" Strategic Finance (December 2005): 24, 63-64.
This article examines both auditing errors and academic causes for unethical behavior in the case of Enron. There is some good background historical data as far as the progression of ethics classes in the business world the I intend to use as a base for some of the academic arguments in my paper. Strategic Finance is not a peer reviewed journal, however the author is a professor of accounting at John Carroll University.

McAlister, Debbie. "Building Ethical Capacity in Business Schools." Marketing Education Review 14.3 (Fall 2004): 55-62.
This article further pursues the techniques used to education students at an undergraduate level while supporting the idea that ethics training is necessary to creating future ethical behavior. Like many of the other articles it shows different methods as well as their application in future situations. I plan on using this article in connecting the need for ethics in education and the need for ethics in the post-college world. There are several new ideas not explored in other articles that will expand the arguments and solutions. Marketing Education Review is a peer-reviewed journal.

Poneman, Lawrence, and Alan Glazer. "Accounting Education and Ethical Developmen: The Influence of Liberal Learning on Students and Alumni in Accounting Practice." Issues in Accounting Education 5.2 (Fall 1990): 195-208.
This article is a study of accounting students as freshman, seniors and then as alumni is a particular ethics test. The findings were that as students go along in college their ethical capability increases exponentially. This study is mentioned in several of my other articles as a reference point as well. I plan on using this study in the argument that ethics education is necessary for undergraduate business and accounting students. Issues in Accounting Education is a peer-reviewed journal.

"School for Scandal". The Economist (Feb. 2005): 13.
This article provides and opposing viewpoint to some of the above in that it attempts to show that there are no errors in the way MBA students are taught that causes them to make immoral decisions. The argument it makes is that students learn from past and present experiences not from what is taught in the classroom in the area of moral decision making. This goes along with the argument that cultural background and upbringing are the main factor in decision making. The Economist is a widely credited journal and is very widely read and well respected by business people.

Sivy, Michael. "When Stocks Get Smacked." Money 34.3 (March 2005.
This article is more for an overview of what recent scandals have occurred in the business world such as AIG, Citigroup and Fannie May. In my paper I plan to use these as examples that immoral behavior is a problem in the business world and specifically in the accounting profession. Money is a magazine for investors and is credible within the business community- similar to a Forbes type magazine.

Verschor, Curtis. "It Isn't Enough to Just Have a Code of Ethics." Strategic Finance (December 2005): 22-24.
This article examines what measures are currently being taken in companies to promote ethical behavior such as training and hotlines as alternatives to ethics codes. There is a lot of data and statistics in this article pertaining to the prevalence of unethical behavior in the workplace and how it not only goes unpunished but is often rewarded- all ideas I intend to bring up in my paper. Strategic Finance is not a peer reviewed journal, however the author is a CMA as well as the editor of the magazine.