Students' Perceptions of Questionable Workplace Behaviors: The Effects of Perceiver and Actor Attributes

Author(s): Jason R. Jones, Andrew N. Christopher, Pam Marek, David F. Reinhart

DOI: https://doi.org/10.65030/idr.03002

Abstract: Our research probed the influence of participant sex, Protestant work ethic (PWE) endorsement, and target affluence level on the acceptance of ethically questionable travel-related (extra-organizational) and office (extra-organizational) behaviors (Jones, 1990). American undergraduates (N = 228) read one scenario about a person of greater or lesser affluence, completed the Jones (1990) scale pertaining to the target, and the Mirels and Garrett (1971) PWE scale. Extra-organizational bebaviors were more acceptable for affluent than less affluent targets, low than high PWEs, with these effects qualified by an interaction between these two variables. Intra-organizational behaviors were more acceptable to low than high PWEs and to men more than women. We relate our results to previous contradictory findings in the area of business ethics, as well as research concerning PWE endorsement and affluence cues. Future research directions are also discussed.

Keywords: Protestant work ethic; Business ethics; Ethical decision making; Social perception; Individual differences; Gender differences; Attitudes toward deviance

Pages: 14-26

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