Stand-Alone Ethics, Social Responsibility, and Sustainability Course Requirements

Abstract

This article analyzes the extent to which Australian and New Zealand marketing educators use dedicated or stand-alone courses to equip students with alternative views of business. A census of marketing programs in degree-granting universities was conducted. Program brochures were obtained via the Internet and were content analyzed. This study reports a lower proportion of universities requiring students to take a course dedicated to society and environmental issues than previous studies have. Only 27% of universities in Australia required students to take a dedicated ethics, social responsibility, and/or sustainability course. Only 8% of universities offered a dedicated core marketing ethical or social responsibility course. Previous sample estimates may have overstated ethical, social responsibility, and sustainability course requirements. There is considerable room for improvement in Australia and New Zealand if universities are to equip their students with the skills, knowledge, and ideas to benefit themselves, the organizations they choose to work for, and society as a whole.