Ethics in Retail Buying and Retail Sales: Relationships Between Perceptions and Gender of Future Retail Personnel

The effects of gender on perceptions of collegiate business students are examined based on a number of potentially ethically troublesome situations existing in the retail buying and selling environments. The results suggest that ethical perceptions may vary between male and female future retail personnel. Specifically, female future retail personnel were observed to be more ethically aware of retail sales situations involving interpersonal relationships, and of retail buying situations involving order problems and employee training deficiencies than were males. These results may suggest the need for differences in retail management trainee programs for new male and female hirees.