RUNNING HEAD: INCORPORATING ETHICS IN BUSINESS 1
A Literature Review:
Incorporating Ethics Training in Business
Cristine Burgess
Liberty University
BUSI 600
May 8, 2015
Honor Code
I have neither given nor received any assistance on this assignment that has not been disclosed in
the document submitted. I have not violated nor observed any violations of the
Liberty University Honor Code as it applies to this assignment.
Cristine Burgess
Ethics Training 2
Abstract
As the need for showing the importance of ethical behavior standards has become more
prominent of the past decade, this review intends to show the need for standards of ethics in
businesses based on previous research. Ethical training within a business is a topic that has been
debated on importance. It has been discussed as a benefit and as more of a cosmetic topic.
There are many articles written that discuss what business ethics is, and then there are articles
that talk about the need for or against training of business ethics by businesses. This review is
aimed towards showing the pros and cons of ethics training by businesses as discussed in current
or recent surveys, studies, and articles.
Ethics Training 3
Introduction
Business ethics has been a controversial topic for many years. It is said to be a double-
edged sword and is seen as both an evil and as a proactive approach to preventing lies and
motive good behavior (Bayley, 2012). There have been many surveys and articles that have been
written on the subject matter. Many of these show the importance of ethical standards and
training within a business. There seems to be controversy on whether training on ethics in a
business is a benefit or just a cosmetic cover. It has been shown through several surveys and
discussed in many articles of the benefits of providing ethics training within a business.
However, some still believe that it is a short-lived benefit with no long-term gain. The
government has also seen the need for training of ethics in business and responded with the
United States Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations in 1991. This act alone shows the need to
incorporate ethics training programs within businesses. Following whether or not ethics training
is beneficial to improving company’s behaviors, is the method in which the material should be
delivered.
Ethics in Business
Ethical behavior in business has been highlighted especially due to recent business
practices that have been shown to be unethical in nature. It has been researched and surveyed
that recently in history the need for ethics training can supersede the unethical behavior. One
example of unethical business behavior or decisions is discussed by Petrick and Scherer with
their article on Enron. Enron was a strong example of the need for ethical training by businesses
as a standard practice. It was proven that the cause to the failure of the company Enron was due
to the neglect of integrity of its managers, which is broken down into judgment integrity capacity
and development integrity capacity (Petrick & Scherer, 2003). It was concluded that what was
needed in Enron was “an interdependent moral and legal framework that discloses the complex
roots of inappropriate managerial decisions and provides comprehensive practical remedies to
Ethics Training 4
reduce the likelihood of “Enronitis” and future white-collar crimes” (Petrick & Scherer, 2003).
In other words, this falls back into the need for ethics training in businesses. Payne (2001) in his
article on Business Ethics, talks about the necessity of the topic business ethics to be on the
agenda on the business’ board. Furthermore, the discussion of some of the consequences of
unethical behavior due to not having ethical standards in place, were “investigation costs, loss of
management focus, loss of customers, litigation and penalties” (Payne, 2001). It was pointed out
the major consequence would be the loss of corporate reputation which could be the downfall of
the business. This discussion of Payne is comparable to the article on Enron by Petrick and
Scherer (2003), in that the Arthurs have the same beliefs of the need for the ethics training, as
well as discussing examples of companies that have demonstrated lack of ethics in their
behavior. Payne (2001) gives examples such as Enron, WorldCom, Xerox, Regal Treasury, and
