Podlage za presojanje etičnosti dejanj: ali študenti različnih študijskih smeri izhajajo iz različnih filozofskih konstruktov?

Abstract

This paper examines differences in the basis for judging the ethical acceptability of selected actions between genders and between accounting and auditing students and other business and economics majors. The empirical part is based on multiple regression analysis on a sample of 144 first-year students at the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana. We found that students' different bases for judging ethics in relation to the five philosophical constructs were statistically significant both between genders and between fields of study. Females primarily assess the ethics of an action based on the construct of justice, while the importance of justice is less prevalent among males. Compared to the other fields of study, auditing students evaluate ethics primarily in terms of compliance with rules, contracts, and promises (construct of contractualism).

Keywords

• ethics
• accounting and audit
• moral philosophical constructs
• multidimensional ethical scale
• multiple regression analysis