Confused and conflicting awareness of business ethics?: The case of Australian business

Abstract

This paper's motivation is to investigate ethical issues that have recently attracted interest and public scrutiny. Our survey of a sample of 87 practicing Australian middle level managers gives new insight into these executives' awareness of unethical practices, whether they would offer a bribe, or accept an offer to engage in unethical practices, and their reaction to a request or order from a senior manager to engage in unethical practice. The very personal and unique nature of the survey indicated a distinctive and contemporary contribution to the current state of Australian business ethics. Most of the managers surveyed indicated they had experienced unethical practices in their organization. Our survey highlights that applied ethics practices in Australian business seem both confused and conflicting, and unsystematic and inconsistent in application.