DOES MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE CHANGE THE ETHICAL PERCEPTIONS OF RETAIL PROFESSIONALS - A COMPARISON OF THE ETHICAL PERCEPTIONS OF CURRENT STUDENTS WITH THOSE OF RECENT GRADUATES

The purpose of this study was to extend the previous research on ethic s in retailing. Prior research of Dornoff and Tankersley (1985-1976), Gifford and Norris (1987), Norris and Gifford (1988), and Burns and Ra yman (1989) examined the ethics orientation of retail sales persons, s ales managers, and business school students. These studies found the c ollege students less ethically-oriented than retail sales people and r etail managers. The present study attempts to extend the research on e thics formation to a geographically and academically diverse sample, a nd to determine if retail management experience in the form of a profe ssional practicum or internship, or entry level management training pr ograms, such as experienced by recent graduates, are critical factors in the formation of business ethics. The sample consisted of thirty-th ree students majoring in Human Ecology with a concentration in Retail Merchandising and 51 recent graduates of the retail Merchandising prog ram. The series of fourteen vignettes developed by Dornoff and Tankers ley (1975-1976) was used. An acknowledged limitation of this study is the validity of the questionnaire developed by Dornoff and Tankersley due to the method of development and new laws concerning warranties an d credit etc. which have occurred since 1976. The instrument was used, however, to maintain consistency with earlier studies for the purpose of comparison of groups. No significant differences were found in the students' perceptions of the fourteen actions presented in the vignet tes, but the range of the responses in the post-internship tests incre ased in many cases. The alumni appeared to be slightly more ethical th an the students but not as ethical as the managers surveyed in 1986 by Norris and Gifford. Indications are that the critical point of ethics formation may be at the mid-management level and that internships and management training programs have little effect on the ethical percep tions of participants. These findings are consistent with studies such as Gable and Topol (1988), and Jordan and Davis (1990) which showed h igh Machiavellian scores among young retailing executives, often buyer s, as opposed to upper level retailing management. Scales with measure Machiavellianism, or manipulativeness, have been used as an alternati ve method of examining business ethics.