Accounting Faculty Ethical Codes: A Time for Action?
AACSB eligibility standards state that accounting academic units must establish expectations for ethical behavior by faculty and administrators. Obviously, this requirement can be met in a variety of ways but the most direct is to establish an accounting faculty ethical code. This paper reports on a two phase empirical study of 70 AACSB accredited accounting doctoral programs in the U.S. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which the accredited accounting doctoral programs have adopted separate faculty codes of ethics. No separate codes for accounting academic units were found. Implications of these findings are discussed in this article. We believe the lack of specific ethical codes for accounting educators is of concern given the importance of ethics in both the educational process and in the business world. There is a need for a serious dialogue in the accounting academy about this issue.
The ethics of accounting research
Abstract Doctoral students and many accounting professors and practicing accountants conduct theoretical or empirical accounting research. Human subjects have been recruited in increasing numbers to participate in behavioral and attitudinal accounting studies. However, the ethical obligations of accounting researchers to other researchers and readers, to subjects, and to participating organizations have received little attention. In this paper, the history of research ethics codes in other disciplines and the ethical obligations of accounting researchers are discussed. A tentative code of ethics is presented for the purpose of stimulating discussion about ethical issues in accounting research.
Project management education: The human skills imperative
Abstract This paper is intended to provide an insight into the importance of human skills in project management success and the apparent lack of emphasis placed on this within the context of university education. The discussion will call upon the viewpoints of many notable authors in respect to the human or ‘soft’ skills that are necessary in the management of projects. Against this background a review will be conducted into how well project management literature and university education equips potential project managers in the area of human skills. As the PMBOK ® Guide is one of the major recommended texts in Australian universities offering project management education, the paper will identify that it predominantly emphasises the required ‘hard (technical) skills’ at the expense of the ‘soft (human) skills’. Subsequent discussion will highlight the need for a balance between hard and soft skills within project management education in universities. It will conclude that educators within this discipline should recognise the importance of incorporating greater human skills aspects into their educational programs.