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Developing Ethical Confidence: The Impact of Action-Oriented Ethics Instruction in an Accounting Curriculum

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A Correction to this article was published on 11 September 2018

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Abstract

While there is considerable support for integrating ethics education in accounting curricula, research presents conflicting evidence on how best to incorporate it. A review of accounting ethics scholarship highlights criticisms of the literature, including limited research into actual behavior and a lack of theory. We report the results of a study that is theory based, captures behaviors rather than attitudes, and explores the effect of repeated practice to develop voice efficacy. We examine the impact of two types of ethics instructions. Across four classes in an accounting curriculum, one student cohort participated in traditional ethics instruction, while the other cohort participated in Giving Voice To Values (GVV) instruction. We collected student responses to an ethical challenge and conduct a between-subject analysis. The results reveal consistent unethical behavior in the traditional cohort but not in the GVV cohort, indicating that faculty should consider the use of this pedagogy in accounting ethics education.

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Change history

  • 11 September 2018

    In this article the logistic regression results in Table 4 Logistic regression results were unfortunately misinterpreted with respect to one hypothesis (H5). The original article states that H5 Levels of observed unethical behavior by accounting students are lower for students who self-identify as politically liberal, than for students who self-identify as politically conservative. While the variable “Self-identified Political Ideology” is statistically significant, the negative sign on the coefficient indicates the result is hypothesized in the opposite direction. Thus the correct interpretation is that accounting students who self-identify as conservative have lower levels of observed unethical behavior than accounting students who self-identify as politically liberal. We regret any inconveniences this may have caused.

Notes

  1. Several frameworks were developed to assist individuals in resolving ethical conflicts, and these frameworks tend to have several similarities. Josephson (2002) delineates a seven-step framework: stop and think, clarify goals, determine facts, develop options, consider consequences, choose and monitor and modify. The Markkulla Center for Applied Ethics (2016) describes the following steps: recognize an ethical issue, get the facts, evaluate alternative actions, make a decision and test it, act and reflect on the outcome. Arens et al. (2014, 2006) used the following approach: obtain the relevant facts, identify the ethical issues from the facts, determine who is affected by the outcome of the dilemma and how each person or group is affected, identify the alternatives available to the person who must resolve the dilemma, identify the likely consequence of each alternative, and determine the appropriate action. The students in the traditional cohort were introduced to these various frameworks for use in completing their ethics case analyses.

  2. The meta-analysis includes studies that employed the DIT or the later version DIT-2, which became available in 1998.

  3. We present the faculty member’s approach using specific GVV exercises and cases and provide the information needed to access the materials. As noted earlier, the program provides faculty members with flexibility to design other approaches best suited to their curriculum. Faculty members are encouraged to review the additional resources at http://www.babson.edu/Academics/teaching-research/gvv/Pages/curriculum.aspx. Faculty members are also encouraged to read ‘Discussions about Ethics in the Accounting Classroom: Student Assumptions and Faculty Paradigms,’ found on the GVV website for particular insight on pitfalls related to approaches for teaching ethics in an accounting classroom and how the GVV curriculum can assist in avoiding those pitfalls. http://www.babson.edu/Academics/teaching-research/gvv/Documents/Student/Discussions-about-Ethics-in-Accounting_S.pdf.

  4. Segment 1 resources in order of description are found at: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/teaching-research/gvv/Documents/Ways-of-Thinking-About-Our-Values.pdf; http://www.babson.edu/Academics/teaching-research/gvv/Documents/Student/An-Action-Framework-for-GVV_S.pdf; http://www.babson.edu/Academics/teaching-research/gvv/Documents/Student/A-Tale-of-Two-Stories_S.pdf; http://www.babson.edu/Academics/teaching-research/gvv/Documents/Student/Profits-and-Layoffs_S.pdf.

  5. Segment 2 and 3 resources in order of description are found at: http://www.babson.edu/Academics/teaching-research/gvv/Documents/Student/Personal-Professional-Profile_S.pdf; http://www.babson.edu/Academics/teaching-research/gvv/Documents/Student/Reasons-and-Rationalizations_S.pdf; http://www.babson.edu/Academics/teaching-research/gvv/Documents/Guidelines-for-Peer-Coaching.pdf; http://www.babson.edu/Academics/teaching-research/gvv/Documents/Student/Part-Time-Job-With-Full-Time-Challenge_S.pdf.

  6. Our results do not change when age is included as a continuous variable.

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  1. Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Montana State University, P.O. Box 173040, Bozeman, MT, 59717-3040, USA

    Anne Christensen

  2. Carson College of Business, Washington State University Vancouver, 14204 NE Salmon Creek Avenue, Vancouver, WA, 98686-9600, USA

    Jane Cote & Claire Kamm Latham

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Appendices

Appendix 1

See Table 5.

Table 5 Ethics instruction in accounting curriculum: traditional cohort
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Appendix 2

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Table 6 Ethics instruction in accounting curriculum: GVV cohort
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Christensen, A., Cote, J. & Latham, C.K. Developing Ethical Confidence: The Impact of Action-Oriented Ethics Instruction in an Accounting Curriculum. J Bus Ethics 153, 1157–1175 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3411-4

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