Dwindling Ethics in Modern Times: A Study of Young Indian Managers

Mrinalini Pandey
Assistant Professor, Department of Management Studies, Indian School of Mines University, Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India

Abstract
This is an era of have more and want more. No one is satisfied by what he or she has, and thus, in the quest
to quench the insatiable thirst for more, people often take on to corrupt practices at the cost of their ethics
and values. The cut-throat competition of the modern times has led to dwindling ethos. This article broadly
speaks about dwindling ethics of youth of modern India. It posits a discussion on the ethical orientation of
new managers. Through a theoretical enquiry substituted by empirical research, the study tries to determine
the ethical standards of the newly appointed managers of a leading coal mining company of India. The
broad objective of the paper is to understand the effect and role of ethical environment and culture of an
organization on ethical practice of new entrants. The findings of the empirical study indicate that ethical
standards of employees are dwindling in the modern times. As such, the paper contributes to developing an
insight on ethical practices and has implications for managers, government, employees and society at large.
Introduction
Renowned business guru Clayton Christensen at
the end of every class at Harvard Business School
discussed with his students about the purpose of
life. He asked his students to consider three
questions of which one was How can I be sure I'll
stay out of jail? This is a very pertinent question to
ask the working youth of today because they are the
future of any organization. More so, when every
now and then, we hear news of unethical activity or
scam happening in some reputed organization.
Thereby, the newly appointed managers have a
greater responsibility to bring positive changes in
the work environment of the organization.
Presently, there is a growing concern towards the
moral functioning of the companies. In this
scenario, the newly appointed managers are hub of
the attention to bring phenomenal positive
changes, as they are insiders of the organization,
and can affect corporate culture more than any
outsider. The recent multicrore scam in one of the
leading coal companies of India makes it even
more important to gauge the prevailing perception
about the ethical standards of the employees
working in that Company.
Literature Review
Vol. IX, No. 1, March 2016- August 2016

There is vast expanse of literature available in the

area of ethics. The literature reviewed included,
studies of ethics by gender, ethical perception at
work and attitudes towards ethics. Donaldson and
Werhane (1993) referred ethics as a study of
'whatever is right and good for humans'. In the
same line business ethics was referred as 'a study of
the human values of people in business practice'.
Most of the studies on ethics are centered around
perceptions, attitudes and values of people in the
society. It is commonly researched that ethical
perceptions and beliefs affect people's attitudes and
the degree to which they accept or do not accept
unethical practices, or the manner in which they
view ethical decisions made by other people
(Lantos, 1987).
The studies on ethics can be segregated into two
level; one organizational or macro level and other
individual studies or micro level studies examining
the individuals' ethics and belief and attitude about
ethics. At the macro level the researchers examined
managers' ethical perceptions in different
organizational and national settings. Financial
crises, giant corporate failures, and the increased
public concern for fairness and ethical practices,
show that there something wrong in corporate

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Dwindling Ethics in Modern Times: A Study of Young Indian Managers

businesses and their environment. It is found that

poor ethical decisions made by managers in larger
corporations have far reaching effects on society,
either as a result of financial losses to investors or
negative publicity brought to the firm or the
country. Thus it is imperative for an organization to
implement a code of business because it can be
great source to get higher profitability and
performance (Fatoki & Merembo, 2012). At the
individual level it is seen that the ethical decisions
individuals make widely manipulate through their
personal background, culture, and gender (SigmaMugan et al., 2005). Kohlberg (1981) proposed
that virtue is based on principles of justice and that
during their lifetimes individuals move through
several stages of cognitive moral development.
The basic values which constitute these stages are
necessarily developed through formal training but
are embodied in social institutions (Borkowski &
Ugras, 1992) and cultivated within a group-based
moral atmosphere (Kohlberg, 1987).
Also it is found that an individual's years of
experience are linked to an adult's moral
development. Dees and Starr (1992) argue that
research in this area has been limited, and that
additional research can be useful in highlighting
changes in behavioural patterns and perceptions of
managers. Also, it is contended that managers
think that ethical standards are lower than in the
previous decades (Vitell et al., 2000). In addition,
Vogel (1992) found evidence to suggest that
business ethics are not universally similar, but vary
by country. Further they state that business ethics
and business civilization can even become
engrained in the national psyche of people.
Most of the empirical research in India has focused
on ethics and professional values in business but
there is a limited research on what is the perception
of newly appointed managers of an organization
about ethics. Since it commonly believed and seen
that there is a vast difference in ethics as is studied
in classroom and what is practiced in
organizations. So it is interest to see how the new
entrants of an organization feel about ethical
practices and to what extent they are ready to

compromise their ethical values in order to stay in

an organization.
Objective
The broad objective of the study is to understand
the role and impact of ethical environment on
personal ethics newly appointed managers of a
leading PSU.
Research Methodology
The sample for the study was selected from
amongst public sector employees working in
Dhanbad. A non-probability sample in the form of
convenience sampling was used, and 60 usable
questionnaires were obtained. Convenience
sampling method was chosen because of the nature
of the Study. Secondary data played an important
part for this study and can be considered as the
backbone of the study. In this case, this was very
important issue because the research on the related
topic has been done but limited research has been
done in India with respect to newly appointed
managers. The literature review comprised of
academic work like research papers and other
published sources related to the topic. For
collection of primary data a questionnaire was
designed to understand respondents' views on
ethics and its practice in their organization. The
questionnaire containing 16 statements was
specially constructed. The questionnaire was
divided into two parts, part one contained questions
relating to age, gender etc. and part contained
specific questions relating to the topic. Since, the
most frequently used summated scales in the study
of social attitude follow the pattern devised by
Likert. Therefore the Questionnaire consisted of a
five point Likert scale. This five point scale ranged
from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree", with
the middle of the scale identified by the response
alternative "neither agree nor disagree".
A preliminary survey was carried out through a
questionnaire consisting of both open ended and
closed ended questions to get the initial feedback
on the issues concerned. The experts were
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consulted and their views suitably incorporated in
the Questionnaire. The validity of the scales used
in the questionnaire was measured through face
and content validity.

there was no willingness of the recipients to

cooperate since it is a sensitive matter. Table 1
below shows the Demographic Profile of the
Respondents.

The Alpha value was .816 for the instrument which

can be said to be an indicator of good reliability of
the instrument. The survey instrument used in the
present paper has adapted a set of 16 ethical items
to reflect the stages of ethical change. The
questionnaires were personally administered. The
alpha value for perspective of respondents
regarding experience of practice of ethics value
was measured by five items was .700 and
perception of respondents regarding ethical
environment was measured by four items was .765
respectively. Change in ethical practice was
measured by four items having an alpha value of
.768 and corresponding change in behaviour was
measured by three items having an alpha value of
0.753.

Analysis and Findings

The Questionnaire thus prepared was administered

on a sample of 130 respondents, drawn from those
working in a leading PSU. Out of a total of 130
questionnaires that was circulated and received
only 60 completely filled usable questionnaires.
The data was analyzed using SPSS 17.0. The
Analysis of Respondents showed that of 47%
response rate. As evident the response rate was less
than 50% which can be attributed to the fact that

The descriptive analysis was carried out and Mean

was calculated to find out how the maximum
number of respondents responded to each item.
Standard deviation was carried out to find out how
the responses of each item are varying around the
mean of the item. This indicates how far the
respondents' opinions are matching on every
individual item.
Testing of Hypotheses: T-TEST and ANOVA
1. H0: There is no experience of change in the
ethical practices among the respondents of the
study.
All calculated value is more than the Table value:
1.671, therefore Null Hypothesis is rejected. There
is change in ethical stand of the respondents of the
study.
1. H0: There is no effect of ethical environment on
the respondents of the study.

Table1: Demographic Profile of the Respondents

Age Group
Gender
Educational
Qualification
Marital Status
Total

Vol. IX, No. 1, March 2016- August 2016

Variables

No. of Respondents

21-30
31-40
Male
Female
Graduate
Post graduate
Married
Unmarried

57
03
48
12
36
24
24
36
60

Percentage of
Respondents
95%
5%
80%
20%
60%
40%
40%
60%
100

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Dwindling Ethics in Modern Times: A Study of Young Indian Managers

Table 2: Descriptive Statistics Results of the Variables

S.No.

Variable

1.

Undergoing change

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Feeling of ethical conduct as important

Difference between real and ideal world
Okay to cheat at times
Okay to take bribe.
My seniors indulge in unethical practices.
My juniors to me in designation indulge in
unethical practices.
There is favoritism
Most of the employees indulge in corrupt
practices

8.
9.

10. Okay to take office supplies home

11. It is okay to absent from work and make
attendance later
12. Bribe is important for survival
13. Okay to enjoy at the expense of organization
14. Recently I indulged in an unethical behavior
because of pressure
15. I feel that if I have to stay in this organization
I will have to indulge in unethical practices
16. I feel that if I do not engaged in unethical
practices I will be treated as an outcaste

Mean
Scores

Std.
Deviation

3.75

1.099

3.73
3.45
3.78
4.05
3.80

1.087
1.320
1.166
1.156
1.232

3.48

1.214

3.95

1.241

3.95

1.156

3.92

1.124

3.86

1.062

3.75
3.36

1.157
1.306

4.37

4.618

3.68

1.310

4.08

.897

Table 3: T-Test results for hypothesis 1

ONE SAMPLE
T-TEST

Test Value = 3
T*

Undergoing change

Feeling of ethical
conduct as important

5.267

5.225

Difference between
7.640
real and ideal world
Okay to cheat at
5.205
times
Okay to take bribe.
3.243
*At 5% level of significance

Degrees of
Freedom

Mean Difference

59

.750

59

.450

59

.785

59

1.050

59

1.050

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Table 5: T-Test results for hypothesis 2
Test Value = 3

My seniors
indulge in
unethical
practices.
My juniors to me
in designation
indulge in
unethical
practices.
There is
favoritism
Most of the
employees
indulge in
corrupt practices

T*

Degrees of
Freedom

Mean Difference

5.028

59

.768

5.670

59

.723

7.657

59

.655

59

.950

6.365

*At 5% level of significance

1. H0: There is no change in perception of ethics

among the respondents of study

All calculated value is more than the Table

value: 1.671, therefore Null Hypothesis is
rejected that is to say that there is effect of
ethical environment on the respondents of the
study.

Table 6: T-Test results for hypothesis 3

ONE SAMPLE
T-TEST

Test Value = 3
T*

Okay to take office

supplies home

9.426

It is okay to absent
7.783
from work and make
attendance later
Bribe is important
8.246
for survival
Okay to enjoy at the
expense of
6.531
organization
*At 5% level of significance
Vol. IX, No. 1, March 2016- August 2016

Degrees
Freedom

of
Mean Difference
733

59

59

.450

59

.755

59

.967

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Dwindling Ethics in Modern Times: A Study of Young Indian Managers

All calculated value is more than the Table value:

1.671, therefore Null Hypothesis is rejected. There
is a change in perception of ethics among the
respondents of study.

2. H0: There is no change in ethical behaviour

among the respondents of study.

Table 6: T-Test results for hypothesis 4

ONE SAMPLE
T-TEST

Test Value = 3

T*
Recently I indulged
in an unethical
5.028
behavior because of
pressure
I feel that if I have to
stay in this
organization I will
5.670
have to indulge in
unethical practices
I feel that if I do not
engaged in unethical
7.657
practices I will be
treated as an outcaste
*At 5% level of significance

All calculated value is more than the Table value:

1.671, therefore Null Hypothesis is rejected. There
is a change in ethical behaviour of the respondents
of study.
Conclusion and Limitations of the Study
This study examined the role and impact of ethical
environment on personal ethics newly appointed
managers of a leading PSU and issues related to it.
The findings related to the perspective of
respondents regarding ethical behaviour as
practiced in their organization. The results indicate
that there exists a negative view about ethical
practice among respondents of the study. There is a
change experienced by the respondents with
respect to their perception of ethics which they
held and what is practiced in their current
organization. This perceptual difference seems to
affect their behaviour and they are ready to

Degrees of
Freedom

Mean Difference

59

.668

59

.754

59

.655

compromise on their ethical stand in order to

survive in the unethical environment. The present
study is constrained by inherent certain limitations.
The sample was restricted to one geographical area
so maybe it will not be suitable for all geographical
regions. More robust statistical methods could be
used to analyze the data. Constraints of time and
seriousness and willingness of respondents were
another limitation. Thus, future research may be
needed to support this study.
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