A Depiction of Workplace Ethical Dilemmas Faced by Graduate Students

Richard Callaway, PhD, Robert McElrath, EdD

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of graduate students when confronted with workplace ethical dilemmas in light of the ethics education received through the curriculums of a Lasallian University. The architecture for the research was based on a descriptive strategy that employed a mixed methods approach which utilized a population base of graduate level students from the Schools of Business and Technology, Education, and Health and Human Services. The data was gathered quantitatively through survey methods and qualitatively through four focus groups that also utilized an attribute-descriptor attitude mapping measurement protocol. The constructs researched for both the quantitative as well as the qualitative components were: (a) common ethical dilemmas encountered in the workplace; (b) how ubiquitous is the formal adoption of workplace ethics policies; (c) adequacy of current graduate school ethical training; and (d) areas for improvement in ethical training within the graduate school curriculum.

KEYWORDS

ethics, education; dilemma; workplace; curriculum; graduate

FULL TEXT

A Depiction of Workplace Ethical Dilemmas Faced by Graduate Students