**1. Introduction**

The formation of the human being includes the personal and the professional, as well as the formal and the informal; therefore, it is relevant to be aware of the impact of formal education and, with it, the commitment of higher education institutions to the holistic formation of citizens, based on ethical reflection.

The term ethics refers to customs as well as to character, good living, and coexistence. In general terms, it is the branch of philosophy that studies the good; therefore, ethics is responsible for the foundation of those actions that come from the human will and have an impact on the well-being of oneself and others. Thus, Cortina recognises that ethics as a philosophical theory has the task of directing actions, as she expresses it in the following terms:

"The ethical task consists, then, in my opinion, in accepting the moral world in its specificity and giving a reflexive reason for it, so that people may grow in knowledge

about themselves and, thus, in freedom. Such a task does not have an immediate impact on everyday life, but it has that enlightening power proper to philosophy that is irreplaceable on the road to freedom" [1].

Corruption levels in the country where the study was carried out are high; in the Transparency International publication, Ecuador is ranked 105th out of 180 countries in terms of perception of corruption, with a score of 36/100. This publication highlights the need for a systemic approach to corruption because "while the fight against corruption stagnates and deteriorates, human rights and democracy are under attack" [2].

Koris and his colleagues [3] question the approach of business schools oriented exclusively from a business perspective, without considering the propositional criteria of new professionals aimed at the common good. Employees of institutions should develop ethical knowledge, behaviours, and skills that help organisations compete in their markets [4]. Thus, American universities have implemented specialised centres for teaching business ethics, believing that these courses should prepare students for moral decisions and not just for making profits, ignoring the undeniable role of companies as co-responsible actor in social issues [5].

Shah et al. [6] argue that, despite repeated calls for reflection in business schools and business education, the narrative of responsible business has been muted and overshadowed by the prominence given to issues of employability and profit maximisation. With these objectives in mind, priority is given to the development of hard skills, minimising in the curriculum those subjects that contribute to an integral education. Consequently, it is necessary for managers and teachers in institutions that train managers to focus their efforts on developing these other types of skills. In this context, it makes sense to reflect on the ethical aspects of the profession and, therefore, the importance of analysing this issue in university classrooms. For this reason, the study focuses on the ethical culture of students in degree courses related to the field of business.

Ethical culture is understood as the way things are done in an organisation and refers to integrity and honest behaviour. Ultimately, this concept can be thought of as a set of unrelated systems, the complexity of which lies in the fact that these systems need to be aligned to promote honour and integrity [7]. According to Julian Pitt-Rivers [8], honour is both a feeling and an objective social fact that prevents unworthy actions, while integrity is defined by Cortina as a match between what a person does and the values he or she claims to uphold, as long as those values are universally upheld [9]. Maintaining a culture of honour and integrity is a challenge, particularly in higher education, where the community is made up of students, faculty, and staff. The student body, the largest part of the community, changes from semester to semester and year to year. On the other hand, it is not easy to maintain the momentum of these efforts in the midst of changes in the leadership of the institution.

Through their educational work, universities could contribute to the promotion of ethical culture. Studies such as those by Ohreen [10] and Kreismann and colleagues [11] show the effectiveness of ethics training and suggest an active learning approach, especially with interaction between participants through discussion of ethical dilemmas and case studies. In addition, peer discussion can improve most students' moral reasoning by exposing them to multiple perspectives. Decisions can be modified or validated after being discussed and debated, a process that benefits even shy students who participate in these discussions [11].

*The Role of the University in Building an Ethical Culture from the Students' Perspective DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.112341*
