How Indian Students See Ethics and Society

Volume 14, Number 4 Article by Rishikesha T Krishnan and C Manohar Reddy December, 2002

How Indian Students See Ethics and Society: A Survey :

In an effort to have a more empirically grounded picture of the values and beliefs of their students, Profs Rishikesha T Krishnan and C Manohar Reddy of IIM Bangalore collaborated on a survey of 321 IIMB Post Graduate Programme students, divided across the first year and second years; and 51 students of a private management institution, for comparative purposes. The survey was based on an instrument developed by the authors consisting of 37 items on ‘Perceptions and Attitudes about Business, Society and Ethics’ and 17 items on ‘Religious and Spiritual Beliefs’.

The findings revealed that overall, IIMB students were idealistic when confronted with general statements but put in a bind when required to make a trade-off between potentially conflicting factors (such as employee welfare and profits). They did not actually take a systemic view unless confronted by systemic variables. They were caught between ideals and the world as it is. They came out as somewhat self-centred and individualistic but not in a vicious sort of way. They were clearly performance-driven and had imbibed much of the ethic of modern capitalism

The cluster analysis reveals an ‘ethical but practical’ group consisting of about 50% of the group, about 30% constitute the ‘anything for performance’ group and at the other extreme are the ‘aggressive moralists’, about 20% who would take an ethically principled position on eleven items compared to the ‘ethical but practical’ group.

Compared to other management students, IIMB students are more business-oriented, self-oriented and performance-oriented. At the same time they are more idealistic as far as bribery or ethical conduct is concerned. By the end of the first year of the MBA programme at IIMB and summer training, the students have less belief in the social responsibility of business and are more willing to do what it takes to make a business succeed. At the same time, they see a slightly larger space for personal conscience and values than before. Women students are more sensitive than men to human issues, are less tolerant of unethical behaviour and see a higher role for conscience and individual values.

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