The Impact of Gender on Ethical Work Climates : A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Business School Faculty

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship that Ethical Work Climates and National Culture have on business faculty in universities based on gender. Most studies involving ethics focus on students or professions outside academia. Since business faculty form the frontline between student and the professional, their role becomes one that should be analyzed as a critical link in the study between organizational and national culture and their effect on the student. In our study the results showed that Ghana demonstrated an overall benevolent climate more conducive for ethical decision-making where the student is concerned. The United States of America and Taiwan showed a greater reliance on rules, laws, and codes to govern their decision-making. One distinguishing result revealed Taiwan to be stronger in egoism, usually associated with individualist cultures. One possible explanation is the way Taiwan structures its incentive programs. They are more designed to drive faculty to achieve more personal gain beneficial to their academic career than the United States of America. This difference could negatively impact ethical decision-making at the organizational level