Shifting foci of ethical concerns: a new generation enters the corporate world

Abstract

ABSTRACT As a new generation enters the workforce, it is important to understand the ethical concerns of these emerging professionals and future leaders. Crucially, because forces such as technology, globalization, and social responsibility are transforming the business environment. The present study defines ethical concerns as topics of ethics that are important to oneself that are influenced by the social context and affect attitudes and behaviors. Inspired by past studies and trends, this research examines a four-decade historical perspective of ethical concerns of college students in the United States. Our findings indicate that the foci of concern for business-related ethical issues among incoming professionals have significantly shifted – focusing more on environmental, collective, and corporate social responsibility concerns of bettering society, but less on ethical standards meeting the needs of organizations. Of cautionary note, incoming professionals feel increased pressure to act unethically and to overlook ethical concerns related to application of new technologies in order to succeed. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.