Generation Y Perceiving Ethics - Implications for Marketing and Management Education

Abstract

It is in a human nature of every single individual to live in a society and communicate and collaborate with people by building relationships and communities. These relationships are based on mutual understanding and collaboration. But, if individuals are not taking into account wellbeing of other people, their relationship suffers and finally it is doomed to an end. Ethics of care is normative ethical theory taking into consideration those particularly vulnerable to our choices and their outcomes deserve our extra consideration. More specifically, focus in a relationship is shifting towards understanding individuals involved in that relationship and their needs to be completely satisfied (Eisler, 2007; Held, 2006). Consequently trust among stakeholders is augmented and strengthen (Dobson & White, 1995). For organizations this means that they will be successful at the marketplace even when their business is based on ethical premises (Liedtka, 1996). Students entering business world are under strong peer and environmental influences. Their mind set about ethical conduct is severely endangered (Giacalone & Promislo, 2013). Some of them are adapting to the unethical organizational norms. Others have built their attitudes based on family relationships, taking care about others and assuming that each individual will be better off if everybody is taking care about each other. This other group has better possibilities in today's business world. Research showed that students’ ethical perception is in contradiction to the normative ethical theory of care. Moreover students perceive their future business environment as extremely pessimistic, and unethical. When students perceive themselves working within the organization they value much higher the individual values and ethical standards than organizational point of view on ethical issues. Concluding, students have a very low level of acceptance of normative ethics of care viewpoints; perceive their future working environment as extremely unethical. Nevertheless they do not easily accept the passive status of the individual being in conflict with the organizational understanding of the unethical behaviour. Furthermore, paper offers implications for developing ethics of care among business major students. Hence, there should be a systematic approach of raising the level of students’ acceptance on normative ideas of ethics of care. Students, that are generation Y, are raising their voice if feel under the pressure and not willing to let go the personal ethical norms. The formal education, with the special emphasis from marketing and management standpoint, should offer them support in the fight for the future resistance and against turnover towards organizational unethical behaviour.