Hospitality Educators' Perceptions of Ethics Education and the Implications for Hospitality Educators, Practitioners, and Students

Abstract

Ethics is a growing concern for American society, particularly in the hospitality industry. It is a topic that is hard to define and hard to grasp. Educators and practitioners alike are struggling with this issue. The results of this study have generated a number of implications for hospitality ethics education. Although not generalizable, the results imply that many hospitality programs have not incorporated and implemented ethics education into their curricula, however faculty members tend to think that they have. These results support the literature review. Furthermore, most hospitality educators, the International Council on Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Education members (I-CHRIE), believe that business ethics can be taught and ethics courses or seminars have been of benefit to them. Most hospitality educators have not taught any ethics related courses or seminars at their academic programs within the last year. Most hospitality educators have not conducted any research projects related to ethics in the past year. In conclusion, there is a need to incorporate and implement ethics education and training for students and employees. Ethics education may enhance students' business ethics knowledge and hospitality employees' ethical conduct to improve the overall quality of the hospitality industry since most hospitality educators believe that business ethics can be taught and ethics courses or seminars are of benefit to them. Hospitality industry and hospitality programs may consider incorporating ethics across the curriculum and using scenarios and case studies to teach ethics.