Abstract
Unethical behavior within organizations early this century has undoubtedly impacted the world of business (Earley and Kelly, 2004). As a result, companies and universities are attempting to rebuild their responsibility through diverse methods. The topic of ethics in organizations, or the lack of it in some organizations, is not at all new. Researchers have studied ethics in business for decades (Brennar and Mollander, 1977; Beltramini et al., 1984; Whipple and Swords, 1992). Some studies have focused on attitudes of business professionals towards ethical situations while others have examined how college students view the role of ethics in business. Some studies have looked at the impact of demographics such as race, age and gender on ethical judgments, while others have examined ethics as it relates to specific areas of business such as marketing (Tsalikis and Fritzsche, 1989). The issue of ethics in business resurfaced especially after the financial scandals of 2001-2002 and 2008-2009 when large corporations went into financial distress due to the unethical shenanigans of their top managers and millions of investors saw their wealth evaporate before their eyes. Today, the reality still exists that unethical acts are carried out by individuals, groups of individuals, and even entire organizations. Therefore, an interdisciplinary approach to understanding unethical behaviour within organizations may be necessary.