Indian MBA managers less ethical: Study

If a study conducted by a professor in Mumbai University is to be believed, then Satyam or even the Enron scandal is not the end of the road for the country. According to the study, Indian managers are less ethical than their counterparts in the United States and even in Thailand.

A three-nation study conducted by a professor from a management college affiliated to the university concludes that Indians are less ethical in nature due to their emotional behaviour and managers in the West are more ethical owing to their rational thinking.

The study which was started in two cities in India - Mumbai and Raipur - later also was conducted in a couple of cities in US and Thailand. “We found that young managers in our country think collectively and therefore are bounded by emotions. Whereas in US or any other European country for that matter, the behaviour of managers is more individualistic and therefore they think rationally,” said professor RK Srivastava, who is also the director of SIES College of Management Studies in Navi Mumbai.

Srivastava came to the above conclusions after asking a question on traffic violation to respondents from Mumbai University, and a university each in Texas, California and Thailand. The question asked was, “A friend was driving at 35 miles per hour instead of 20 miles per hour. He hit a pedestrian during the drive. The young MBA students were asked if they would lie and claim that the friend was actually driving at 20 miles per hour and save him with lesser punishment.” Their response to this question was recorded on the board and analysed. (See box)

Srivastava added, “This is due to the collective thinking of Indians, who are more dependent on heart. In a collectivist nature of thinking, the right brain dominates the thinking and therefore decisions are more emotional. While in individualistic nature, left brain dominates, and the decisions are more logical.”

An interesting aspect of the study, however, is that young Indian managers are shifting towards more ethical decisions. “Due to several media exposes and awareness, several students were determined to be more ethical in future. Corruption in the country is affecting the mindset of youngsters,” added Srivastava.