Ethics Education Effectiveness and Business Decision Making: Perspectives of Management School Graduates

The importance of business ethics as a subject in management schools has its roots in the study published by Paul (1987). The main aim of education is to equip the learner with wisdom of choosing the right over the wrong, and making sensible decisions in his / her personal and professional life. The perception level of an individual affects one’s ethical behavior which forms ethical attitude. Unethical behavior may stem from lack of proper education / ethical orientation at school level. (Alleyne et al.; 2014). The debate remains, whether including “business ethics” as a subject in management education at post graduate level, changes their ethical attitude in their personal and professional lives? Does ethical education play a significant role in making ethical decisions in business? Does the ethical attitude depend on the level of maturity and work experience of individuals? This study explores the attitude of management graduates towards business ethics, its importance in their personal and professional lives, and the role of ethics education in managerial decision making. The results show that age and maturity level in management graduates influence ethical behavior. Overall, the study supports the theory of reasoned action (Ajzen and Fishbein (1974).