STUDENTS’ EXPOSURE TO COMMON GOOD ETHICS AND THE PERCEIVED LINKAGE BETWEEN ETHICS PRACTICE AND DEMOCRACY OUTCOMES

Abstract

This study focuses on the effect of exposure to business ethics as a proxy for common good ethics on students’ perceptions of the linkage between ethics practices and democracy dividends, or democracy’s outcomes indicated for corporate social responsibility. Using a stratified sampling approach, 435 university students were randomly selected from the population of approximately 2206 to participate in the study. The instrument titled “Perceived Role of Ethics and Democracy’s Outcome Scale” (PREDOS) was used for data collection in the study. A survey questionnaire was also used to measure exposure to common good ethics among the respondents. Descriptive analysis – tables and Analysis and of Covariance (ANCOVA), were used to analyze the data collected in the study. The findings show that exposure to common good ethics has a significant positive effect on students’ perceptions of the linkage between ethics practice and democracy outcomes. When controlled for personal characteristics, increased academic status and religion showed a low-interaction effect, while gender did not significantly affect the students’ perception of the linkage between ethics practice and democracy’s outcomes. It was concluded that a thorough exposure of students to common good ethics is vital to ensure that future democratic citizens, political leaders, politicians, and other public office-holders understand the importance of ethical conduct and its impact on democracy’s outcomes.