NSBE - Fall 2009 - 32

21st AnnuAl EmployEr prEfErEncE survEy Continued from page 31 bad, are at issue. The third climate focuses on the broader culture within the organization and employees’ awareness of and sensitivity to moral issues. In this ethical climate, people are very sensitive to ethical problems, recognize a moral dilemma right away and, if a rule or law is broken, people are quick to notice. To summarize, the first two ethical climates refer to an individual’s ethical behaviors within the organization and to how those behaviors are judged. The third climate, however, is more about how the organization, as a whole, believes that paying attention to ethical problems should be rooted in the organi- ENGINEERING STUDENTS The most successful problem solvers look at things differently and see solutions no one else can. Who would have thought to use fish protein to stop gas freezing in subsea pipes? One of our people did. And right now we’re looking for more people who can bring a fresh perspective to the energy challenge. We’ll provide training, support and career choices to develop your potential. We’ll get you working with some of our most accomplished problem solvers. And together we can help build a responsible energy future. Think further. Visit www.shell.com/careers/usgrad to apply. Shell is an Equal Opportunity Employer zation’s foundations and values. Clearly, there is a variety of ethical climates that organizations may espouse, but do NSBE members have a preference? To assess whether or not ethical climates relate to an organization’s attractiveness, NSBE members were each given the names of two well-known employers in the industry of their choice and were asked to rate each on the three ethical climates described above. NSBE members also provided ratings of the employers’ performance in three major categories: recruiter performance, such as how helpful and knowledgeable recruiters were; organizational support, including an employer’s work-life balance policies and its relationship with the African-American community; and an employer’s professional development and rewards, such as the availability of co-ops and internships, career advancement opportunities and initial salary. With this information, we were then able to examine whether employers with certain types of ethical climates were rated as more attractive to NSBE members and whether ethical climate made a difference after factors such as recruiter performance, organizational support and professional development and rewards were also considered. Do Ethics mAttEr? As expected, employers were more attractive when they performed well in the three categories mentioned above. In fact, better performance in these areas related to greater likelihoods of acceptJWT EC - St. Louis ing a job offer, going on a job interview I/O: HO20148 and rating the organization as a firstClient: Shell choice employer. However, performance in Media: those categories was most one of NSBE Color: 4/c influential. Issues relating to professional Size: 4.6875 x 7.75 development and rewards were of most importance to NSBE members, more imDate: 01.27.09 portant than both organizational support Artist: ll and recruiter performance. These findV: 2 ings are not unexpected. Organizational PROOFING performance is a critical facet in the PA: employment decision-making process, AC, Initial: and organizations should be aware that AC, Final: their promotion of professional development and rewards is crucial in increasing their chances of being considered as a potential employer. 32 • nsbe magazine • fall 2009 www.nsbe.org

NSBE - Fall 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NSBE - Fall 2009