Ethical Judgment of Undergraduate Accounting Students at a South African University

Influence of business ethics course, gender and race

  • Oluwatosin Adenitan University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
  • Mishelle Doorasamy University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9320-3461
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34624/ijbi.v1i1.27667
Keywords: accounting students, ethical judgment, business ethics education, gender, race

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to examine the influence of a business ethics course, gender and race on the ethical judgment of undergraduate accounting students at a South African university. This study employs the use of primary data through a self-administered questionnaire to the students, using an 8- item instrument multidimensional ethics scale (MES). A regression technique and t-test are used to determine the influence of the business ethics course, as well as gender and race, on the ethical judgment of the students. The findings of this study illustrate that there are significant differences in the ethical judgment of students who have taken a business ethics course, and those who have not taken such a business ethics course. Findings also reveal that male students tend to be stricter in their judgment than their female counterparts, reflecting important differences. Furthermore, the study reveals that there are significant differences in the ethical judgment of racial groups. Finally, this paper contributes to studies on ethical judgment, specifically, in South Africa, by providing insights into how these aforementioned factors influence the decision-making process of undergraduate accounting students when faced with ethical dilemmas.

International Journal of Business Innovation Vol 1 Issue 1 2022
Published
2022-03-30
How to Cite
Adenitan, O., & Doorasamy, M. (2022). Ethical Judgment of Undergraduate Accounting Students at a South African University. International Journal of Business Innovation, 1(1), e27667. https://doi.org/10.34624/ijbi.v1i1.27667
Issue
Volume 1 Issue 1 (2022)
Section
Accounting

Copyright (c) 2022 Oluwatosin Adenitan, Mishelle Doorasamy

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