Ethical Beliefs and Behaviors of Future African-American Business Professionals

Abstract

With the increasing diversity of the workforce, the ethical standards of business students are a major concern to business educators and employers. The main concern is the differing ethical perceptions of workers. Since individuals come from different cultural and sub-cultural environments, there is little agreement on basic ethical issues relating to the performance of the job. Indeed, businesses face a growing challenge in instilling ethical behavior in the workplace (Burns, 1993). Because an individual's ethical perceptions are believed to be formed in his or her childhood environment, it is assumed that workers' ethical perceptions will reflect their culture or subculture and their future behavior in the workplace (Berkman and Gilson, 1986). Some studies (England, 1975; Tat, 1981; Tsalikis and Nwachukwu, 1988) have concluded that business practices considered ethical by the white culture in the United States are not necessarily viewed as such by the black culture. The difference in ethics, according to Tat may be the type of environment under which the two groups (black and white) of students were raised (1981: 215). Today's African-American business students are tomorrow's business employee, managers, and administrators. It is, therefore, important to understand their ethical beliefs and behaviors. How ethical are they? What

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