The Ethical Outlook of Micro Business Operators

A survey was conducted of 103 micro business operators in Australia (46 male; 42 female) over 30 years of age who held a diploma or a degree and who had been in business for less than five years in Australia. Two broad categories of questions were posed. The first set of questions was aimed to determine whether there are any dominant set of values that apply to the micro business sector in Australia. The second set of questions asked about micro business operators' views on a range of issues that have an ethical focus and that have been identified as important in business ethics literature. The results revealed that no single ethical perspective was dominant, and non- religious beliefs and principals were found to be the significant determinants of ethical values. Some variation was noticed in business operators' attitudes based on their age gender and education levels. Micro business operators held ethical considerations to be insignificant in the context of their businesses. Non-religious personal beliefs and principals were found to be the predominant influence on operator's business ethics, followed in importance by an awareness of the consequence of operators' actions both for themselves and for other people. (VRS)