A study of ethical practices in educational and corporate environments: Is the climate changing?

摘要

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the ethical issues in personnel management as experienced by presidents of colleges, universities, secondary school superintendents, and CEOs in Georgia. Data were collected using a survey instrument developed by researchers at Kennesaw State University in conjunction with the Southern Institute for Business and Professional Ethics. This study was designed to determine if similarities in personnel issues existed by comparing the survey results collected from these groups. Descriptive statistics were utilized to summarize the data collected. Frequency distributions and mean analyses were used to analyze the results with these being converted to percentages to allow for a more useful comparison of the responses. Survey responses indicated that leaders in educational and corporate settings were aware of their ethical responsibilities as the moral leaders of their organizations. In addition, some similarities in ethical management issues occurring between these groups were identified and many of these leaders responded to these issues with similar solutions. The solutions included utilizing board-level committees on ethics policies, ethics officers, ethics training programs, and by using clearly stated ethics policies and value statements to guide employee conduct. Leaders identified the most important motivators for implementing ethics initiatives within their organizations as being socially responsible, ensuring legal compliance, and for employee recruitment and retention as their top three reasons for implementing ethics initiatives. Responses regarding ethical issues between respondents differed somewhat; however, most leaders surveyed agreed that educational and corporate leaders in Georgia operate with about the same level of ethical standards as their counterparts in other states. Respondents in this study also identified diversity management as an important component in employee management and retention. They also agreed that diversity among employees helps their organizations achieve their goals for recruiting and retaining students, faculty members, and employees. Many leaders reported having assigned diversity officers, while very few organizations reported having formal budgeted programs for managing diversity-related issues among employees.