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Ethical Value Positioning of Management Students of India and Germany

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Abstract

This study attempts to compare ‘the ethical value positioning’ of students of Business and Management studies from India and Germany. A complete enumerative survey was conducted for management students using the Ethical Positioning Questionnaire (EPQ) of Forsyth (1980). There were 134 respondents from India and 57 from Germany. The objective was to confer the differences in ethical positioning of students of two economically and culturally diverse nations. By the end of the research, it was constituted that both German and Indian students demonstrate a high degree of Idealism and Relativism and can be qualified as situationists. Exploratory analysis of the responses resulted in extraction of four factors (values): Non-Violence, Individualism, Non-Consequential, and Situational value. Within the analysis, Indian students displayed a higher preference for Individualism compared to their German counterparts. This study contributes to the literature in cross-cultural ethical value positioning of young managers. This study also opens a window for future research in the factors such as educational qualification, closed social groupings, and background of the students.

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  1. For example: In the battle between Ram and Ravan (two characteristics of Ramayana, an Indian epic), Vibhishana brother of Ravan joins Ram’s troop by adhering to the Dharma (truth), whereas his other brother Kumbhakarna remains in Ravan’s camp. When Vibhishana meets Kumbhakarna in the battle field, he tries to reason out as to why he joined the camp of Ram by pointing to the fact that he is taking the side of truth by going against his own brother, Ravan. In the eyes of Vibhishana, Ram stands for universal truth of liberation of the oppressed (in the context of liberating Sita, wife of ram who was kidnapped by Ravan). As against universal reasoning, while defining Vibhishana as a traitor who stands against his own family, Kumbhakarna says his duty and Dharma (truth) is to stand by his brother and family. That is what is ethical and righteous. Therefore, just like Kumbhakarna any situation can be viewed in a manner that suits the situation and the frame of mind at that point in time. Case of Kumbhakarna presented here and his style of reasoning is an example to demonstrate how relativists could reason out their belief.

  2. BA: Bachelor of Arts, B.com: Bachelor of Commerce, BCA: Bachelor of Computer Application, and BSc: Bachelor of Science.

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Correspondence to Sonali Bhattacharya.

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Bhattacharya, S., Neelam, N. & Murthy, V. Ethical Value Positioning of Management Students of India and Germany. J Acad Ethics 16, 257–274 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-018-9303-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-018-9303-8

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