Business Ethics Perception of Thai Workforce: A Study. of Age, Gender, Education, Management Experience. and Ethics Training

Transcription

1 Business Ethics Perception of Thai Workforce: A Study of Age, Gender, Education, Management Experience and Ethics Training by Sorasak Paul Silanont A research paper submitted to the School of Business and Technology of Webster University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree in Masters of Business Administration Webster University October, 2012 Bangkok, Thailand Sorasak Paul Silanont ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2012 The author hereby grants to Webster University permission to reproduce and distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this document in whole or in part for educational purposes.

2 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In Thailand, business ethics is relatively a new discipline and academically, the topic has many aspects which have yet to be explored. The main objective of this research is to find and report the factors of unethical behaviors in the Thai workforce. This research is designed and developed to determine correlation between various factors (gender, age, education level, managerial experience, and ethic training experience) with PBES. The PBES (Perception Business Ethics Scores) is a measuring unit in use for indication of behavior through asking a set of questions which have representation of complete circumstantial ethical situations. After the empirical data is gathered with a total of 236 surveys collected, the t-test method is performed to produce a set of comparisons between the means scores in each factor. The aim in data collection is towards Thai works with high proficient English skills, since the questionnaire distributed are in English. In result of the findings, the statistical analyzes concluded an indication of no correlation in terms of age, gender, education level, and managerial experience. The PBES mean scores in those factors is shown in the statistical analysis results which are the indifference in the fore mention factors. The unexpected result in finding no correlation between those factors can be attributed in sampling errors which will be discussed in the following chapter. However, in result of the analysis, a significant correlation in mean score is found in ethics training. In other words, participants who have had ethics training at workplace have better PBES. And therefore, this finding is evidence for ethics training leading to ethical behavior in workplace. ** My acknowledgement and gratitude go to Dr. Lam Nguyen with his aid, counsel, guidance of this MUA paper.

3 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary Introduction and Problem Statement Introduction Problem Statement Significance of Research Thailand Background Reviews of Related Literature and Studies Thai Culture Ethical Dilemma Hofstede s Culture Map Moral judgment Moral Factors Research Design and Methodology Personal Business Ethics Score (PBES) Design Methodology Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of Data Hypotheses Testing & Findings Implications and Limitations Implications Limitations Managerial Comment Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations Summary of Findings Conclusions Recommendations Reference....38

4 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 4 1. Introduction and Problem Statement 1.1 Introduction Business ethics is widely used in many different ways, but as for the concern of this research, business ethics involves the field of management, an essential aspect in operation management, organizational behavior, behavioral economics, and philosophy. In Thailand, where business ethics certainly has its own history and characteristics, the awareness and practice of business is widespread and common. However, the understanding of issues in academia of implications, and, impact is still in its infancy. The aim of this study is to create an understanding in the preliminary constructs of business ethics in Thailand. That is, the perception of ethical behavior is dependent on the following variables: age, gender, education, management experience and ethics training. The main purpose for this research is to find which ones of these factors are significant as a determinant for business ethics perspectives, and then assessments resources and efforts can be correctly allocated to rectify unethical behavior in the Thai workforce. The main assumption, in this research is that unethical perceptions will lead to unethical behaviors such as cheating and corruption (Warsta, 2004). Therefore, measuring perspectives leads to conclusion of behavioral implications. Also, another assumption, socioeconomic situation can be improved if unethical behavior is minimized. In other words, it is both good and positive for Thailand if unethical behavior is minimized. The commentary of ethics considered for all sectors, that is, government, private, and non-profit organizations, and not, exclusive for any particular sectors.

5 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 5 The final main assumption adds more emphasis to the nature in human behavior, when a behavior is perceived to be acceptable by the community, that action is considered as fitting to situation regardless of cultural contexts (Singhapkdi et al., 1994, p. 68). In other words, when action is deemed acceptable in one culture, it is not necessary acceptable in other cultures. For example, in Thailand, the normative attitude towards bribery to public officials is accepted as daily condition in the Thai culture environment. However, in contrast, the same attitude does not apply to the United States or Singapore. It is uncommon and outright unlawful to observe a policeman being bribed with cash to not write that parking tickets such actions in the United States or Singapore would not be tolerated, whereas in Thailand, such as action is a normal occurrence in daily life. So when societal norms allow for a perception of an action, that society will provide acceptance attitude and high level of tolerance for that action. Therefore, on a micro level, the same logic applies, if ethical behavior can be unified through organizational management, then subsequently, the practice should lead to a normative, ethical behavior as a standard, and practical way conducting business processes or operations is improved. When employees are facing an ethical dilemma, issues which involve consequence of one s decision to highly affect others and high level of impact in terms of physical well-being or financial well-being, moral judgment is required for assessment of the situation. Non-ethical issues are easier to deal with, such as issues with low involvement and with consequences that do not affect others, while a decision of ethical dilemma is much more difficult due to high involvement and high impact on others. In an ethical dilemma, the choices for an individual to decide are varied by a spectrum. A spectrum with one end as good or right and the other end is bad

6 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 6 or wrong (Darwall, 2007). In other words, ethics is not in absolute terms of right and wrong, regarding to moral judgment, one action can be ethical for a particular societal environment while the same action is ridiculed and unaccepted in another setting. This ambiguous area exists in our moral assessment of the dilemma, and thus decision making in dilemma is very difficult, where values and beliefs are competing in making the right decision. Since, no single choice of action can be deemed by every person in an organization to agree a choice as perfectly ethical or perfectly unethical, imagine a spectrum of right and wrong and good and bad. There is difference in moral values and judgment for every individual because of perception. Precisely, that spectrum is a range of perceptive, such as outcome from a certain decision can be seen differently due to different perspectives, and because perspectives are subjective. This research is an aimed approach to collect and analyze business ethics perception. In the standards of social science, the most effective means of measure is the matter of opinion for the individual s behavior (Treviño et al., 2006). In other words, taking the assumption that the behavior of an individual can be predetermined and measured by the observation of his/her attitude or perception of something through the means of questionnaires, in this case, business ethics. Data is collected and analyzed for interpretation and assumptions. Another important aspect to consider in business ethics and ethical development is the factor associated between economics and ethics. Two discerning factors which constitute ethics in a culture is the mixture between science and human decision (which is less definable). The factors behind motivation of ethical behaviors can be attributed to several contending variants (Islam, 2011, p. 84). The goal is to determine which factors

7 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 7 are most influential to ethical behavior of Thais. Not all cultures are alike. Various cultures are different and each individual culture is unique in their own ways. The factors which attributes to their behaviors must be also different. The moral judgment in each culture contributes to different factors, and weighting differently across cultures (Singhapkdi et al., 1994, p. 72). The explanation for human behavior concerning with ethics is the theory of moral development. The theory states that a person s view on ethics is developed in the expansion of one s lifetime (Kohlberg, 1969). The progress is continuous and systematic. Ethical beliefs are developed with moral standards or moral code for the judgment of behavior. With normative moral code, it establishes rules for basic guidelines, and conduct as the guiding principle on the grounds of moral judgment. For moral justification of ethical behavior, the logic is, if the moral rules are based on agreed upon ethical principle within a societal framework, and the decision is made the grounds of the moral rules, then the action is justified and accepted by society. Ethics then can be the standard of justification of good or bad behavior, guiding people to behave in a universally accepted standard. The behavioral implication of behavior is directed for the conducts of living either by encouraging or discouraging ways of living, thinking, and moral judgment (Treviño et al., 2005). Thus, people can pursue their lives in ways not to disturb or be in conflict with interests of others in the community. The rise of ethics becomes an obvious constraint on how people choose to pursue their lives (Singer, 2006, p. 115). In a study done by Lawrence Kohlberg (1969) on moral reasoning between age and gender states, there are stages of definable traits in moral reasoning as moral sense is

8 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 8 developed differently in various stages of life. The studies took place in 30 countries including Thailand. The stages of moral reasoning are as follows: 1. First Stage- 0-7 years old: obeying orders to avoid punishment. 2. Second Stage- 10 years old: behaving to get the rewards. 3. Third Stage- 13 years old: confirming to group norms and belonging. 4. Forth Stage- 16 years old: focusing on law and order. 5. Fifth Stage- Pre-adult ages: principled morality- autonomy and responsibility. 6. Sixth Stage- Middle-adult ages: universal morality. 1.2 Problem Statement In United States, since the 1960s, the periodic occurrences of business scandals, in reaction, society give its attention to the situation, and eventually results in a surge of interests in business ethics. In economic terms and the private sector, motivation of business is based on profit, the maximization of value and utility, without ethics at the core of business, unethical practice can persist without reformation. In other words, ethics is not, essentially, at the core of business, but rather, the interest of ethics for business is initialized by scandals. Business ethics is driven by scandals, then, increases the interest in ethics, and later the interest is diminished until another scandal comes along and restarts the whole cycle once more. However, in recent times, the relevance of ethics has been integrated into the core of businesses with concepts of the stakeholder theory, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and sustainability (Freeman, 1984). These

9 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 9 are relevant topics in the modern business world. So, business ethics courses and/or code of conduct have been integrated into businesses as a growing trend in businesses. The conflict in concern of discussion is the balance between economics and ethics. Economics can be described as the means of achieving maximum utility or satisfaction from limited resources. Ethics can be described, as well as in philosophical terms, the study of human motivation, and in the core of ethics is human decision. Often enough ethics is outshined by the focus on economics and obtaining maximum utility becomes the only goal. When ethics is allocated to least expected concern in moral judgment, corruption is in the end result. Many leading economists also suggest the development of a healthy economy can be slowed by corruption and unethical behavior (Haller, 2004, p. 17). 1.3 Significance of Research Business ethics has increasingly gained more prevalence and importance in the field of management. Therefore, it requires the attention for specific evaluation in different cultural backgrounds. In this research, the determination is finding and evaluating the influential factors in contribution of human behavior and moral judgment. This research studies the behavior of working Thais who are fluent English speakers and data collected is based on their perception towards ethical behavior. This research aims to contribute for future studies of business ethics in Thailand. to suggest changes for improvement in ethics perception in Thailand. to make acknowledgement current condition of ethics perception in Thailand.

10 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE Thailand Background This research is conducted in Thailand which is considered as part of Southeastern Asia countries. It has access to sea via the Gulf of Siam and Andaman Sea to the west and boarders with Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. For governance, Thailand has a constitutional monarchy. The capital city of Thailand is Bangkok (Central Intelligence Agency, 2012). Geography Thailand consists of mostly low plains with many rivers and canals which carry water from the north to south and out to the sea. The daily lives of Thais revolve around these terrains. As tradition would dictate, Thai New Years is celebrated with water as the central theme and schedule in the middle of summer when it is the hottest time of the year (Central Intelligence Agency, 2012). Society The Thai society is an agrarian society since about 80% of people are involved in some form for agriculture business. Thus, Thai life, ritual, and special holiday revolve around the seasons. As well as the holidays and celebrations, they are central around seasonal characteristics (Central Intelligence Agency, 2012). Values The values and behavioral patterns create and define a culture. Some values are more at core of culture. For Thais, the core is enjoyment of freedom and independence.

11 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 11 Thai culture defines itself with the expression of freedom and independence (Mujtaba et al., 2009). Religion Thai culture is heavily influenced by a combination of two religions, that is, Buddhism and Hinduism. Even though, when most Thais identify themselves as Buddhists, but there is denying as Hinduism in deeply ingrain in Buddhism. When visiting Buddhists temples in Thailand, it is more common to find Hindu figures alongside the Buddha than not finding any Hindu figures. The influence of Buddhism can be traced back to its origin in Sri Lanka and the Hindu influences can be traced back to cultural influence of Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia (Mujtaba et al., 2009) The moral judgment of Thais is profoundly influenced by religion which will be discussed later in this paper. Western culture The extension of western culture refers to the spread of globalization and the recent explosion of information technology. The extension of western influence can be detected in Thai society by clothing, speech, entertainments, and sports. Although cannot be definitely determine the extent of these influences is life styles and values. Further examination of this phenomenon is needed to confirm a direct influence from western cultures (Mujtaba et al., 2011, p. 18).

12 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 12 2 Reviews of Related Literature and Studies 2.1 Thai Culture In observation of Thailand, its tradition and culture is ubiquitously a part of the Eastern world with affected influences on the social level as well as their behaviors. From this standpoint, Thailand s fundamental values in general and in terms work-related values is significantly different from the Western cultures and societies. To put these values in perspective, Thais dominant values are caring for others in the community and emphasis on health as wealth or as a quality of life, whereas, Americans dominant values are personal achievements and material wealth. Hence, the cultural difference between Thais and the Western culture: Collectivism vs. Individualistic. The general behavior is oriented towards the characteristic of its dominant trait in culture. The collectivist will act with accordance towards the community as a whole rather than behaving on personal ideologies and preferences. In turn, the collectivist will have a lower power distance than its counterpart, he/she are more acceptance of power and influence from the community leader (Mujtaba et al., 2011, p ). Therefore, the elderly in Thai culture have more influence over the community and he/she is expected to be the decision maker for the group. To illustrate example, the typical Thai 18 year-old teenager in this expected to stay with his/her family for college or if they leave, they are expected to return to live at home once their college education is complete whereas the American teenager are expected to move-out complete from his/her parents home, if they return and come back to live with their again, that American teenager is considered as failure. Similarly, for adults, an 18 year-old son living at the parents home is perfectly an acceptable norm and

13 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 13 indifferent whereas the American counterpart will be considered a failed expectation in the judgment of society. The Thai social structure has respects of elders, superiors, and patrons. The combination of social foundation has different determinant of relationship as social status, seniority, and personal connection (Mujtaba et al., 2011, p. 22). Thus, the social structure, itself, is opted for creating a vacuum of power towards the few and privilege, much more so than their western culture counterpart. Nevertheless, class difference in wealth and power will always exists in societies to certain degree (Mujtaba et al., 2009). However, there s a distinction for Thais, due to the importance of relationship as fact power maintenance. Saving face is an important concept and practice in Thai culture, if shame or other type embarrassment is brought upon person power. It can be extremely detrimental to his/her credential in the community. Thus, the notion of honor is much more prominent in eastern cultures. Thais will input comparative more efforts to save face than its western culture counterpart. 2.2 Ethical Dilemma Ethical dilemma, moral judgment becomes a difficult task for an individual when the choices conflicts and there is high involvement and high impact. The dilemma is an inner debate between two completing principals of ethics in the individual s mind. There are no clear answers for this dilemma, because the answer is not clear wrong, but rather a spectrum of right answers in the mind, in other words, an individual will make a choice base on what they feel is more right. The cases of conflicts in the choices individuals

14 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 14 make are almost endless (Ariely, 2008, p. 221). The spectrum of values can be categorized into four types: 1. Truth vs. loyalty two spectrums between truth and loyalty and which side of the spectrum is valued more and action is based on the chosen value. Whether the individual values the loyalty of group over the truth. For example, the usual whistleblower has chosen truth over the loyalty of his/her colleagues (Boyle, 2006). 2. Self vs. community two spectrums between self and community and which side of the spectrum is valued more and action is based on the chosen value. For example, certain types of culture, generally the western culture will clearly choose self over community (Boyle, 2006). 3. Short-term vs. long-term two spectrums between short-term or long-term and which side of the spectrum is valued more and action is based on the chosen value. This category type is not bound by cultural difference, but rather life experience. The logic states, as an individual accumulate experience he/she will chose long-term over short-term (Boyle, 2006). 4. Justice vs. mercy two spectrums between justice or mercy and which side of the spectrum is valued more and action is based on the chosen value. This category type is based on punishment or forgiveness, and bound by cultural difference. Some culture will be more inclined for punishment, more so than others (Boyle, 2006).

15 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 15 Once, at every crossroad, people have to make important and difficult decisions, not every decision is easy, sometimes, specifically, a difficult business decisions has to be made. The decisions are made by the individual base on various variables: cultural, social, economics, and different personal factors. This paper will focus on the personal factors of Thais and what ethical perceptions can be derived from personal factors, such as age, education, and experience (Islam & Liangrokapart, 2006). It is because ethical dilemma decisions are highly involved, that is, they require attention and care which makes the judgment process very difficult (Ariely, 2010, p. 186). 2.3 Hofstede s Culture Map Geert Hofstede is a Dutch researcher in fields of organizational and cultural studies. His researches have become a standard model for developing systematic framework for assessing and evaluating cross-cultural phenomenon. This works is known as the cultural dimensions theory which divides four cultural dimensions into a framework which can provide great insights to a specific culture and its attributes or characteristics. According to Hofstede s cultural dimensions (1984), Thai culture is a collectivist culture, the values are also different, it is beneficial to retain certain values such approval seeking, compliance behavior, and submissive. For example, in a Thai classroom, if the teacher misspoken or mistakenly state a fact, a student will never correct the teacher, but knowingly choose to keep quiet, whereas in the Western classroom, the student is only encourage to speak, but even rewarded for speaking out. In summary, on Hofstede s culture map, for Thais have scored in following dimensions:

16 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 16 Power Distance (High) Collectivism (rather than individualistic) Uncertainty Avoidance (High) Feminity (rather than Masculinity) Power Distance (high vs. low) The high score of power distance insists a strong power dynamic in relationships between individuals. The relationships involving high power distance culture require higher involvement of mutual respect between parties. Respect is required of subordinates and in return, the superiors are expected to treat their subordinates with a certain level of respect that allow one to retain his/her dignity. More respect and power rests with the superior. The culture will accept the difference status base relationship types in social, may that between co-workers, teacher/student, or family members (Ghemawat & Reiche, 2011). A low score of power distance insists a weak power dynamic in relationship between individuals. There is a great magnitude of indifference within the culture. The culture is uncomforted by difference in power. Everyone should maintain similar power levels. The level of high or low power distance does not suggest a better approach to situation, but rather how preferences or priorities differ across cultures (Hofstede et al., 1993). Past implication of high power distance is its correlation with abuse and taking advantage of their position in power. This is a characteristic associated individual with the position of power in a high power distance culture. As far as its implications, Thai

17 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 17 culture is associated and prone to abuse of power, and thus, corruption cultures (Hofstede et al., 1993). Collectivism (vs. Individualism) This dimension refers to the relative tendencies for cultures to show preference toward the group or the individual. In situations, the approach for evaluation, in personal moral judgment would consider different factor the group s interests or the individual s interests. In a collectivist culture, more consideration is weighted on the group s interests rather than the individual s interests and vise-versa in an individualistic culture. As a common dimension, a culture with high power distance is usually, collectivists and a culture with low power distance is individualistic in nature, but there are exception like France, where it scores a high in power distance, but is consider as an individualistic culture (Ghemawat & Reiche, 2011). Uncertainty avoidance (high vs. low) This dimension refers to the degree of which an individual will try and avoid an ambiguous situation. Thai culture has a high degree of uncertainty avoidance, meaning Thai will prefer a higher degree of predictability to the end results. The preference extends to behavioral standpoint which desire a higher degree of risking taking, for example, as changing employees, accept new methodology, and entrepreneurial activities. A culture of low uncertainty avoidance would prefer the opposite, that is, ambiguity, in favor of risking taking, more accepting of new methodologies and innovation, and acceptability of different point of views (Ghemawat & Reiche, 2011). Feminity (vs. Masculinity)

18 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 18 The fourth and last dimension is Masculinity vs. Feminity. It refers to the general accepted values of a culture. In terms of Masculinity, the following values are great appreciated and can be identify with the male characteristic are: achievement, assertiveness, competition, and material success. In association with a Masculinity culture is a well define role in society, a clear distinction between the roles/duties of men and women. In contrast, a Feministic culture, like Thailand, prefer more tender values as characterize with females such as personal relationships, care for others, and quality of life. It is an important is mention the association in cultures of Masculinity with abuse. Similar to the dimension of power distance, Masculinity is associated with the likelihood of abuse. Since, the values upheld in cultures Masculinity tends to gravitate toward male traits and more aggressive characteristics. The norms of those cultures are also more acceptable towards behavior of the masculine nature and prone to abuse, more so than, its Feminity culture counterpart (Ghemawat & Reiche, 2011). 2.4 Moral judgment In terms of moral judgment, the inclusion of religion implications cannot be ignored. In Thai culture, where Buddhism is the dominant religion, it is absolutely imperative to describe the basic thought process of Thai Buddhism. There are direct impacts of these religious values on moral judgment and ethical norms in Thai culture. The basic concept of right and wrong action is determined by merit and sin. Thais will mentally evaluate their base on this concept. They will avoid doing wrong which is sinful to act upon. And they will seek merit by righteous actions such as charity to the needy and especially

19 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 19 charity devoted to monks by donation of either goods, wealth (money) or mediation and prayer. Of course the guiding principle is rooted in the teachings of the Buddha which is the Five Percepts and can be thought of as the Buddhist code of ethics. Traditional Thai Buddhists will make moral judgment based on the Five Percepts as guidelines, due of their beliefs, they believe their actions will merit or demerit on each person s karma (Harvey, 2000, p ). There are higher sets numbered of precepts for different groups, but Five Precepts is the most basic and easiest to retract back to normative ethics. The Five Percepts requires absentee from: 1. Taking life of animals, especially other humans, and one s own life. 2. Taking what is not given specifically stealing, but cheating is not exclusive stated by implied. 3. Sexual misconduct abuse, rape, and taken wives of others. 4. False speech basically lying and not telling the truth (include white lies) 5. Fermented drink that causes heedlessness consumption of any type of alcohol 2.5 Moral Factors According to Kohlberg s theory of moral development, each individual will reach the highest sense of ethical notions or universal ethics, at mid-adult age. By reference, mid-adult age is 25 years old. In theory, there should be no further development of morality after the age of 25 years old. However, if theory is to be contested, there should be evidence of moral development after 25 years of age, and analysis of data should provide clear evidence of moral development further as individual continue to be more ethical as they grow older (Kohlberg, 1969). If not, the data analysis should show

20 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 20 similarity in ethics values all across different age groups. In past findings, data analysis has shown difference in the mean Personal Business Ethics Score between different age groups in Thai law students (Mujtaba et al., 2009). Finding a difference between college student groups of freshmen and seniors law students is rather focused to a very narrow range of age, and it is likely a testament of the theory of moral development. However, this research is more interested in a wider range of age. In study a done by Freeman (2007), he found no significant difference between age and moral maturity (Freeman, 2007, p. 92). But not completely ignoring the moral theory development, Freeman also suggests a significant influence of age to moral maturity (Freeman, 2007, p. 107). Furthermore, Kolberg (1984) contested that an individual s cognitive moral development continues to change well beyond their twenties. With that in mind, the following hypothesis is proposed: Hypothesis I: Thai respondents who are 25 years of age or older will have Personal Business Ethics Scores (PBES) that are similar to those who are younger. From a biological standpoint, women are left-brain dominant, allowing better verbal skills and abilities, while men are right-brain oriented, allowing better visualspatial skills and abilities (Renzetti & Curran, 1989). Men and women pass through different stages of moral development in time and through different ways of learning moral percepts as women learn by relational interactions while men learn by rules and codes (Mujtaba et al., Jan. 2011, p. 20). According to past research, there is no evidence for the difference in ethical values between gender roles, although other researchers have concluded there is difference in the moral development periods between males and females. It has been suggested females have an earlier development of morality than

21 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 21 males (Mujtaba et al., Jan. 2011, p. 20). If the latter claim is an actual phenomenon, then the limitation of this research should prevent findings of advance confirmation. However, if past research stands correctly, then in the data analysis, there should be no difference between male and female respondents. With that in mind, the following hypothesis is proposed: Hypothesis II: Thai female respondents will have Personal Business Ethics Scores (PBES) that are similar to Thai male respondents. In terms of moral development, education level is associated with higher moral development. Along with moral development, moral judgment is also shown to have a positive correlation with education level (Rest et al., 1986). Also, in another study, difference of mean score is found in the evaluation between groups of individuals with a Bachelor Degree or equivalent and higher vs. individuals with lesser or no degree (Mujtaba et al., Jan. 2011). In contrast, the parameter of group inclusion is different in this study that is, in the data analysis, the two groups of participants with high school diploma through Bachelor Degree is marked as lower education level and participants with Master Degree and higher is marked as higher education level. The parameter in Mujtaba (2010) research is designed to also compare with character traits and moral judgment, as a distinction in their character traits, individual with a 4-year diploma vs. individual without a 4-year diploma are compared, and past research and Mujtaba (2010) research have concluded a differences between the groups. Therefore, character traits can be attributed to difference in ethical perspectives. Most jobs now require a Bachelor Degree or higher (Career overview, 2012). This research parameter is designed for measuring character traits between the two groups if there are distinguishable character

22 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 22 traits between Bachelor Degrees and higher in the Thai workforce. With that in mind, the following hypothesis is proposed: Hypothesis III: Thai respondents who have Master Degree or higher will have Personal Business Ethics Scores (PBES) that are similar to those who Master Degree or higher. With an examination of Hofstede s culture map, power distance implies Thais will seek guidance from persons of authority or persons with more experience. Thais will use this form of relationship to obtain a sense of normative behavior as far as the implications of ethical standard in the workplace are concerned. Thais will look towards persons of greater experience for behavioral norms, and thus, ethical values of both groups should reflect more similarity rather than difference. If indeed, ethical values resonate through power distance, there should be evidence of similar ethical values between the two groups of with and without managerial experience. Past research from Freeman (2007) has concluded of finding on relation between knowledge management and non-knowledge management. Furthermore, a study by Kennedy (2003) suggests a similar indication in managerial experience and moral judgment level, that is, principled reasoning and emphatic concern, in his study of leaders from a bank, an insurance company, a computer company, and a military command. With that in mind, the following hypothesis is proposed: Hypothesis IV: Thai respondents who have more years of management experience will have Personal Business Ethics Scores (PBES) that are similar to those who have no management experience.

23 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 23 The evidence for difference of ethics training program has on ethics perspective in business setting is fairly strong. A study of Columbia University Graduate School of their own alumni members between the years on the impact of ethics training program, about one-third of the participants have ethics training program implemented in their company, the study has shown a positive relation between implemental of ethics training program and its effectiveness (Delaney & Sockell, 1992). Although the sample selection is narrowed to a particular group, the alumni members of Columbia University, and accordingly, the sample selection is no very representative of the population of United States, they concluded that it may be worthwhile for firms to provide form ethics training to their employees (Delaney & Sockell 1992). However, the study did not focus on the levels of impact on business ethics training program, that is, the influence of impact should be measure on different levels. The influence of ethics trainings can be attributed and measure on two levels, that is, perception level and instrumental level (or intrinsic level). Only on the perception level which training can influence, in contrast, in the instrumental level, training has shown no difference on training. William (2005) past research has shown impact of ethics trainings on the perception level. In other words, ethics trainings have measurable impact on how participants view on ethical dilemmas (William et al., 2005). For the scope of this research the impact of ethics training is only concerned for the perception level since the research is focus on the perception level to measure PBES. With that in mind, the following hypothesis is proposed: Hypothesis V: Thai respondents who have ethics training will have Personal Business Ethics Scores (PBES) that are similar to those who have no ethics training.

24 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE Research Design and Methodology 3.1 Personal Business Ethics Scores (PBES) In the field of business ethics, John Clark is a true pioneer. The Clark s revolutionary contribution to business ethics is the methodology of moral measure in a business setting. In his published book, Religion and moral standards of American businessmen (1966), he developed a survey questionnaire which contains two sets of situation or dilemmas to measure Personal Business Ethic Score (PBES) and Social Responsibility Scale. The two sets are used to measure business and social responsibility of an individual, respectively. For the purpose of this research, 11 questions are utilized for measuring PBES. PBES is used to measure moral standards, integrity, and honesty of a participant. Thus, the PBES set of 11 business dilemmas is used to measure the level of commitment of the participant s integrity and honesty. The Clark s method implemented questions using a five-point Likert scale to provide the participants perception in degree of approval or disapproval because at interval level, the assumption of normality is the optimal to generalize result in a continuous data analysis to establish as a correlation (Fields, 2009, p. 650). 3.2 Design The results of Personal Business Ethics Scores (PBES) of Thai workforce is collected and input into PASW (SPSS) Statistics 18 for analysis and interpretation. Hypothesis testing is based on information gather from various variables. The testing is performed to accept or reject the hypothesis made based on the general information provided. The t-test will be used to compare the difference between data sets. The

25 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 25 independent variables affecting the outcome of PBES are gender, age, education level, managerial experience, management position, and ethics training. Survey research techniques have been successfully practiced in research to study and gather information on the values and beliefs of people. The analytical survey method has distinct advantages over other available methods. As self-administered questionnaires, it eliminates the errors associated with face-to-face and over telephone interviews. The self-administered questionnaire method also provides a greater deal anonymity which can be critical when conducting research in the area of ethics as people are sometimes reluctant to give true answer if their identity is exclusive. Moreover, the nature of questions is very personal dealing with their values, beliefs, and practices. Most importantly, the self-administered questionnaires allow for objectivity in analysis of data, leading discoveries of significant relationship within the dataset 3.2 Methodology The questionnaire has only an English version and not a Thai version due to foreseen difficulties of verification process if the questionnaire is to be translated into two versions. For clarity, a document written in Thai is attached along with the questionnaire, containing an explanation of purpose and directions for participation of the survey. The distribution is done by social network sites and to participants. The target group is working Thais who can understand and speak English fluently, regardless of education level and managerial experience. The difficulty of data gathering is extremely low response rate. The data collection was taken roughly 60 days in the months of July and August of Nevertheless, sufficient data is gathered and ready for analysis. A total of 242 surveys are collected, but only 236 surveys are sent back with complete data, 5

26 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 26 surveys are omitted due to incompletion of the questionnaire. As a result, in the total of usable surveys, there are 118 males and 118 females. The questionnaire consists of 11 questions. Each PBES question has five choices and those five choices are given a score of one to five. Accordingly, the lowest possible score is 11 while the highest possible score is 55. A t-test at the p < 0.05 of significance is used for determination of differences in the answers of respondents. A 95% confidence level is use in the analysis. The chosen value of p-value (0.05) level of significance is used because it is an appropriate level of significance for a significance difference test (Field, 2009, p ). The result of Thai workforce shows an average mean PBES of with a standard deviation of which falls in the moderately high range. The description of mean score is provided as follows: SCORES DESCRIPTIONS Very high range High range Moderately high range Moderately low range Low range Very low range

27 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of Data Hypothesis I: Age Findings A t-test analysis at 5% level of significance is used. The hypothesis cannot be rejected since the t-test does not show significant difference between the means; the p-value of is larger than the significance level of 0.05 and thus, showing there is no statistical difference between the mean scores of older and younger respondents. TABLE 1 THAI PBES: AGE Younger 25 years-old and younger Sample Size 146 Sample Mean Sample Standard Deviation Older 25 years-old and older Sample Size 90 Sample Mean Sample Standard Deviation Two-Tailed Test t-test statistic p-value *Significant at 5% (0.05) confidence level

28 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 28 Hypothesis II: Gender Findings A t-test analysis at 5% level of significance is used. The hypothesis cannot be rejected since the t-test does not show significant difference between the means; the p-value of is larger than the significance level of 0.05 and thus, showing there is no statistical difference between the mean scores of male and female respondents. TABLE 2 THAI PBES: GENDER Male Sample Size 118 Sample Mean Sample Standard Deviation Female Sample Size 118 Sample Mean Sample Standard Deviation Two-Tailed Test t-test statistic p-value *Significant at 5% (0.05) confidence level

29 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 29 Hypothesis III: Education level Findings A t-test analysis at 5% level of significance is used. The hypothesis cannot be rejected since the t-test does not show significant difference between the means; the p-value of is larger than the significance level of 0.05 and thus, showing there is no statistical difference between the mean scores of respondents with Master Degree or higher and those with Bachelor Degree or less. TABLE 3 THAI PBES: EDUCATION LEVEL Bachelor Degree or less Sample Size 148 Sample Mean Sample Standard Deviation Master Degree and higher Sample Size 88 Sample Mean Sample Standard Deviation Two-Tailed Test t-test statistic p-value *Significant at 5% (0.05) confidence level

30 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 30 Hypothesis IV: Managerial Experience. Findings A t-test analysis at 5% level of significance is used. The hypothesis cannot be rejected since the t-test does not show significant difference between the means; the p-value of is larger than the significant level of 0.05 and thus, showing there is no statistical difference between the mean scores of respondents with management experience and those without management experience. TABLE 4 THAI PBES:MANAGERIAL EXPERIENCE With Managerial Experience Sample Size 78 Sample Mean Sample Standard Deviation No Managerial Experience Sample Size 158 Sample Mean Sample Standard Deviation Two-Tailed Test t-test statistic p-value *Significant at 5% (0.05) confidence level

31 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 31 Hypothesis V: Ethics Training at Work Findings A t-test analysis at 5% level of significance is used. The hypothesis is rejected since the t- test shows significant difference between the means; the p-value of is less than the significance level of 0.05 and thus, showing there is statistical difference between the mean scores of respondents with ethics training and those without ethics training. TABLE 5 THAI PBES: Ethics Training With Ethics Training Sample Size 185 Sample Mean Sample Standard Deviation Without Ethics Training Sample Size 51 Sample Mean Sample Standard Deviation Two-Tailed Test t-test statistic p-value *Significant at 5% (0.05) confidence level 4.2 Implications and Limitations Implications As far as age is concerned, the interpretation of data analysis suggests moral development is maturity continues beyond the age of 25. Because the lowest multiplechoice for age group is years old, if moral maturity is reached after the age of 25 years old, then the data would have shown a significant difference in PBES between participates younger than 25 years old and those older than 25 years old. Kohlberg (1969)

32 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 32 stated the final stage of moral development or universal morality develop beyond a definable age, and in accordance with the moral development theory, the result suggest a well defined sense of morality before the age of 25 years old. Since there are no difference of mean scores between participates younger than 25 years old and participate older than 25 years old, the implication of moral development theory is that moral maturity is limited to age 25 years old, however, further implication of this finding will be discuss later in the limitation section of the paper. After the data analysis, gender is reconfirmed the past research (Mujtaba et al., 2011). The data analysis shows there is no significant difference between the mean scores of males and females participants. Since, there are no discerning factors between males and females in PBES, the findings can confirm no difference in business ethic values between Thai males and females. Education level is a demographic variable hypothesized to have no differences in PBES. For the result of hypothesis testing, the result is evident that education level is a not factor of ethical behavior. This result is different from past study (Mujtaba, 2010). However, between the past study and the current study, the parameter in grouping is not the same. These parameters in grouping could be the contributing factor in the difference in findings. Moreover, Mujtaba (2010) study has shown different character traits to have impact on PBES between groups, therefore, it can be suggested character traits are not distinguishable between participants with Bachelor Degree and participants with Master Degree and higher.

33 BUSINESS ETHICS PERCPTION OF THAI WORKFORCE 33 Managerial position, in reference to Hofstede s culture map, specifically, is associated with power distance and its higher tendencies for unethical behavior. As Thais would gravitate towards their leader for direction and moral guidance, however, by this assumption, power distance is not a sufficient factor to attribute for shaping ethical perspective in Thai culture. And thus, this study confirms past research of Freeman (2007) on ethics perception with respect to managerial experience and Kennedy (2003) on moral judgment of managers with respect to managerial experience. The most important finding in this study is the Hypotheses V. A significant difference in PBES is found between participants with ethics training and participants without ethics training, because those are manageable circumstances according to the analysis. It is evident that training can be influential to one s ethical perspective, thus the outcome of moral judgment and ultimately, more decision. Ethics and sensitivity training leads to better PBES, thus an improved outlook on ethical issues. An ethical perspective eventually dictates the individual s behaviors, and if an organization can improve their ethics perspective, it can reduce unethical behavior such as cheating and corruption. When the norms of an organization reflect ethical values, unethical, cheating, and corruptible behaviors are eliminated as a result. And this is not arbitrary ideal beyond reach, but rather an achievable goal when proper training, workshop, and seminar are implemented into mandatory practice of an organization Limitations The limitation of this study is compromised by sample collection, and selection of sample size. Any postulations which infers to the findings, such as assumptions and