A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Administration and Law in filfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Commerce in the Department of Accounting at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2011. / “We are conscious of the reality that corruption in many forms has deeply infected the fibre of
our society. Precisely because we face the challenge of dealing with systematic corruption, we
need a dispassionate and systematic approach to this question.”
Nelson Mandela, at the opening of Parliament (February 17, 1995)
It would appear that the integrity of leading organizations, and the ethical behavior of leaders in
the workplace, can have a positive impact on the organization as a whole. Many such leaders are
moulded and developed in our institutions of higher education. Is there then an onus on these
institutions to attempt to instill such ethical values into tomorrow’s leaders? Business ethics
courses have in recent years become prevalent world wide, and more recently here in South
Africa.
The question that begs asking however is: Does teaching an ethics course to students have an
effect on their moral judgment, competence and attitudes toward corporate ethics?
Many believe that integrity, and hence ethical behaviour, is not something that can be acquired
as an adult, but is dependent on your upbringing, social status and perhaps religion. These
aspects of life may form a foundation for thinking, but as we are constantly growing and
developing, especially in the formative years, they too can be developed.
Based on the undisputed need for ethical leaders the following hypothisis was developed. Higher
education institutions using a well-designed Ethics instruction programme can positively
influence the undergraduate student’s moral judgment competence and attitude toward corporate
ethics.
A literary review was conducted including both local and international studies. Based on this a
survey instrument was prepared, tested and distributed. Solomon’s four group design was chosen
as the most appropriate method of research.
Although this research showed no statistical or practical improvement in students’ attitude
toward business ethics I believe the teaching thereof at least provides the student with an awareness of the situations she/he may encounter on entering the business world. It also provides
methods for resolution of conflict both internal and external to which the student may later refer.
In this study there were not found to be any significant demographics affecting students’
attitudes, however the sample did have demographic limitations.
As significant resources are allocated to the teaching of ethics it would be prudent to conduct
further research into the effectiveness of teaching business ethics.
The purpose of further research would not be to justify no longer teaching ethics, but to develop
a standard of best practice in this regard.
We can not change the world overnight and we possibly can not even change the views of an
entire group, but if we can just create one ethical leader we have made a difference to the world.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uzulu/oai:uzspace.unizulu.ac.za:10530/1099 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Fourie, Sharon |
| Contributors | Contogiannis, E. |
| Publisher | University of Zululand |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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