The Business of Cheating


Page 263 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 44, 2017 

 

ABSTRACT 
 

The days of the library card catalog and physically opening a 
book to research a topic are long gone.  Innovation and ease of 
access to information opens the door to knowledge and 
exploration beyond one’s belief and imagination.  That ease of 
access also brings with it the temptation of plagiarism, fraud, 
and academic and professional dishonesty.  It is through 
brainstorming and collaboration that ideas are developed to 
reshape the foundations of accountability and personal 
integrity. “I would prefer even to fail with honor than to win by 
cheating” Sophocles (n.d).  This paper addresses events, 
behaviors, reactions, and damage caused by cheating in the 
classroom and the workplace. The cause for concern is that 
experiential learning, originality and creativity are at risk.  

 
INTRODUCTION 

 
“In one of the nation's largest cheating scandals of its kind, 

11 defendants were convicted Wednesday of racketeering for 
their roles in a scheme to inflate students' scores on 
standardized exams.” (Brumback, 2015). When thoroughly 
examined, there are so many wrongful behaviors involved in 
this case, it is difficult to know where to begin and the excuses 
for the behavior would fill a book. Perhaps the most unsettling 
element is the arrogance and refusal to accept responsibility for 
the behavior. It was discovered that the cheating dated back to 
2005 and that the actions were orchestrated and designed to 
fulfill multiple desired outcomes. From passing schools to 
bonuses for those in power, the actions became the catalyst for 
being successful by deception. As time marched on, the 
behavior became the accepted culture.  

From the classroom to the board room cheating and 
corruption are on the rise in all cultures (Juyal, Thawani, & 
Thaledi, 2015; Heneghan, 2012). With the increased ease of 
access to information, perhaps the perception of cheating is 
skewed and does not resonate with the concept of doing 
something wrong. By reinforcing the precepts of academic 
honesty early during the learning process, we strengthen the 
foundation for personal accountability, ethical integrity and 
credible behaviors throughout the learning journey and through 
the career of the student. By taking a comprehensive look at 
specific examples of the similarities between classroom and 
career based plagiarism, the proposed reasoning behind the 
behavior, and the seemingly indifferent reaction to the act of 
cheating we are able to develop a protocol for the urgency in 
strong ethical character.  

This important concern applies to all that teach and lead 
given that we all have a duty to identify and reconcile 
plagiarism and cheating. Each action is laced with clues that 
help to identify the intentional plagiarized submission from the 
submission by those that lack the understanding for proper 
formatting and author recognition. Instructors must understand 
that the plagiarized assignment is more than a problem when 
grading a paper. Understanding the damage of plagiarism is an 
important step to changing the behaviors of the offender. 

THE CONCEPT OF CHEATING 
 

Cheating comes in many forms. Russell (1997) said “Most 
people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so”.  
(Russell, B. quotes). Dishonesty is so much more than just 
copying words from a source and not providing proper credit 
for the work. Academic dishonesty may be in the form of 
plagiarism, collusion, the falsification of records, selling of 
papers for profit, or buying of papers or coursework. Business 
world dishonesty behaviors include falsification of records, 
falsification of finances, plagiarism, embezzlement, piracy, and 
copyright or patent violations. What is evident is that the 
concept of cheating is similar in both the classroom and the 
board room or organization. The stealing of ideas is a behavior 
that requires a specific design and energy to carry out the 
process. The utilization of keywords and a search engine 
provides content for every imaginable topic. The availability of 
too much knowledge prohibits the rigors of critical thinking.  

 
DEFINING THE CULTURE 

 
Common between both worlds, we got away with it once 

and then twice and then it becomes part of the culture. As with 
the ATL school system, the behavior becomes easier and easier.  
However, there comes a point that the discovery of the actions 
will create such disappointment/shock, the behavior cannot 
stop.  The consequences are too large therefore the behavior 
must continue.  The actions and behaviors define the culture of 
cheating in both the academic and professional setting. Some 
individuals are looking for the easy way out or are lazy with 
poor time management skills and the result is to cheat or buy 
content.  Some do not understand the moral implications of the 
action and that coupled with a lack of knowledge or confidence 
takes them to a behavior that is perhaps out of the norm.  For 
others, the outcome is so important they are willing to take the 
risk of not being caught by any means available. Is there a 
changing culture of acceptable behaviors that could be playing a 
role in the process of academic dishonesty? 

 
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY 

 
One must wonder about the impact of copy and paste on 

the integrity of scholarly writing and originality.  The action of 
copy and paste has diluted the originality of the source to the 
point of not being able to actually identify the resource. It is 
unclear if the student understands that quoting a source and not 
having ever seen the original document is in and of itself 
cheating. Many times we find an article or resource and neglect 
to write down the website and are unable to find the information 
at a later date. Students do this and assume that the information 
is in space or the cloud and therefore it is free to use as their 
own. Little do they realize that one or two lines is considered 
plagiarism, even if it is “just a little bit”. 

Komarraju, Weston, and Dollinger (2007) looked at the 
imagined futures of academically dishonest students and found 
that cheating has the potential to be a precursor to wrongful 

The Business of Cheating 
 

Conni Whitten 
Ashford University 

Conni.Whitten@ashford.edu 

mailto:Conni.Whitten@ashford.edu?subject=ABSEL%202017%20The%20Business%20of%20Cheating


Page 264 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 44, 2017 

 

behaviors during their future careers.  Three areas of wrongful 
academic behavior were identified as possible predicators to a 
furtherance of norm-violating behaviors. Something as simple 
as sharing answers with a fellow student and not getting caught, 
has the potential to set the stage for future behaviors in the 
business world.  

The catalyst for behaviors is sometimes the lack of outrage 
over the act and shifting the blame to the overseer rather than 
the student. A prime example was seen in at a high school in 
mid-Georgia over a summer writing assignment. 83 students 
were suspended for cheating on an assignment at the beginning 
of the 2016-2017 school year. The group submitted the same 
paper and were appalled when the school determined that they 
plagiarized the assignment through the act of collusion. Just as 
appalling was the response of parents, many were outraged as 
this was, in their words “just a summer writing assignment”. 
The parents were accepting of a zero for the assignment; 
however, they felt suspension was overly aggressive. School 
Officials explained that what the students did was in violation 
of the school honor code and unacceptable behavior.  In 
addition to the suspension, many lost standing in school clubs 
of academic distinction. (Farner, 2016). 

Brent & Atkinson (2011) extensively researched the 
concept of student cheating and excuses for cheating. They 
discovered a gap in the research in that there was information 
lacking in the discussion of when might cheating be acceptable. 
While the majority of the student responders stated that 
cheating is never acceptable, there were also parameters when 
the same responders felt that cheating was more acceptable than 
at other times.  The results alluded to homework and online 
submissions being more likely to be plagiarized than quizzes 
and testing.  

 
ORGANIZATIONAL DISHONESTY 

 
Make no mistake, cheating is not limited to the world of the 

student. The business world is plagued with the same wrongful 
behaviors hampering productivity and credibility. Writers, 
politicians, scholars, CFO’s and CEO’s alike have purposefully 
made decisions to cheat, defraud, and misrepresent themselves 
through wrongful behaviors. The reputation of the organization 
relies on the integrity of those within the walls. When the 
credibility of the individual is questionable, the honor of the 
organization is tarnished and at risk. 

Wrongful behaviors in the organization are driven by many 
of the same concepts seen in academia. However, there are 
additional considerations for workplace cheating as presented 
by Gill, Prowse, & Vlassopoulos (2012). The authors’ find that 
there is a direct connection to the wrongful behaviors of 
cheating and the perceived fairness of the employer’s 
compensation structure. While this may drive the behaviors, it 
does not negate the energy required on part of the employer to 
investigate and discipline the actions. Nor do the actions of the 
employer condone the wrongful behaviors of the employee.   

The cost of organizational cheating is both financial and 
morale based. Because of our litigious society, unless 
egregious, the investigating party must dot the i’s and cross all 
t’s. Paperwork and documentation often prevent the event from 
being considered wrongful. Consider the time and energy 
involved in the following actions: Identify the wrongful 
behavior, document the behavior, verbal warning, counsel the 
employee, provide an improvement plan, continue to document 
behavior, written warnings 1, 2, and 3, termination, defend 
litigation and unemployment. It is no wonder that ‘just a little 
bit’ of cheating is sometimes overlooked. Time is money. Not 

only is the lead and investigation time costly, but the follow-up 
to the event equals in time and money.  

 
FOLLOW THE MONEY 

 
There are two sides of every problem and the problem of 

cheating is no exception. There is the cheated and there is the 
cheater. The cheater is the catalyst of costly outcomes and some 
of the behaviors include plagiarism, student loan mills, paper 
mills, stolen time fraud, financial fraud, falsified applications, 
and falsified resumes. The costly outcomes for the institute or 
organization are learning opportunities that are lost, business 
opportunities that are lost, the cost of litigation, the cost of 
production, the cost of personnel, and the cost of reputation. 
This process occurs within every organization: the discovery, 
the mitigation, the outcomes, the litigation, time, energy and 
money that could be utilized in so many other important areas. 
This wrongful behavior occurs in credible organizations, it is 
wrong to assume that it is the organization that is a fault, they 
are not always the bad guy. 

While the internet is often the blame for cheating, it must 
be remembered that one must copy and paste from the internet 
to actually create the event. One web search has the potential to 
provide an entire package of course work for the student. The 
money flow does not stop with the cheater and the cheated, it 
also moves to the entrepreneur that develops the tools to 
identify the plagiarized document. Miller (2013) believes that 
there are two implications for instructors – one, they must 
assume that students will cheat; and two, instructors have the 
ability to encourage strong ethical behaviors and moral 
character.  

 
GROWING ETHICALLY STRONG  

BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS 
 

Does the behavior and actions of the instructor or leader 
influence the behavior of the student or employee? As teachers 
and leaders it is important to define our fundamental dedication 
to establishing the value of personal and professional integrity 
and reputation. It is important to understand the scope and 
reality of the problem. Technology provides tools that identify a 
cheating problem; however, the user must be able to understand 
the constructs of the technology in determining whether the 
behavior was intentional or an actual lack of understanding.  

What is the appropriate level attention for addressing 
plagiarism issues? There are times that we become so focused 
on the issue of formatting or citing that we forget to explain the 
reason why the behavior is wrong.  The problem is more than 
formatting. “Educational institutions need to move beyond 
deterrence, detection, and punishment, and take a holistic and 
multi-stakeholder approach to address plagiarism.” (Bretag, 
2013). When forming ethical behaviors and moral character, the 
teacher or leader must be willing to take the extra step in 
defining why specific behaviors are wrong and violate the trust 
system both within academia and the organization. That same 
instructor or leader must be willing to lead by example and 
provide the template for proper presentation and submission. 

In the business world, all organizations have formats and 
templates that are used during the course of business.  Each 
business has its own language and requirements to meet 
competitive standards within the business world. When 
preparing a proposal, the content must be properly formatted 
with specific data and resources.  When official correspondence 
is developed, it must be properly formatted and contain 



Page 265 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 44, 2017 

 

confirmable information. When reports are developed they must 
contain specific information with verifiable content and data.  
The content must be available and researchable. This 
explanation alone provides the non-habitual plagiarizer with a 
reason why formality and acknowledgement are important to 
their success. 

 
WHAT IS AN INSTRUCTOR TO DO? 

 
As silly as it sounds, the first and foremost action an 

instructor must take to help curb plagiarism is practice what you 
preach. Always be the example and follow the rules.  “Setting 
an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the 
only means.” (“Einstein, A. Quotes,” n.d.). There are many 
instructors that create wonderful guidance and/or discussion 
posts yet fail to properly cite or reference their work thus 
sending a strong message that this critical behavior may not be 
as important as led to believe. If the college has the expectation 
of proper formatting in a specific style, then the instructor must 
model that behavior and fully adhere to the expectation.   

For years, instructors have been behind in the technologies 
available to identify and curb student cheating. Prior to the 
availability of online technologies, instructors were on their 
own in their attempt to identify plagiarized work. However, 
according to Clark (2008), there are increasingly more 
universities implementing strong plagiarism checking tools to 
identify academic dishonesty. The key to the success of the 
initiative is to utilize the available software, have an 
understanding of college policy and protocols related to 
plagiarized work, and have a clear understanding of what the 
report actually says about the paper. There are times that the 
submitted work is obviously plagiarized and there are other 
times that the student lacks the fundamental knowledge of the 
proper formatting of citations and references. The ability to 
differentiate between the two behaviors will empower the 
instructor to address the issue in the appropriate manner. 

Nanni & Sanger (2015), contend that many students do not 
have the skills to summarize or paraphrase with proper citations 
and therefore fall into a pattern and behavior of unintentional 
plagiarism. Developing a productive approach to confronting 
the plagiarizer and understanding when to teach the moment for 
future accountability is an important first step to forming moral 
character. By looking at the ethical ramifications of plagiarism 
not only in the world of academia but in the business world as 
well, we are able to build a stronger foundation for reinforcing 

ethical behaviors. While many understand that plagiarism is 
wrong, many do not understand the reason why the behavior is 
wrong or what to do to correct the behavior.   

If the university does not have written policy related to 
academic dishonesty, now is the time to encourage the 
implementation of such policy with the inclusion of plagiarism 
software tools to facilitate the identification of plagiarism. 
Without formal language addressing the behavior, the student is 
left to establish their own limits and expectations for academic 
honesty. The lack of policy or process coupled with the lack of 
modeled behavior by the instructor, offers little hope for 
understanding that the matter is one to be taken seriously and 
has the potential to impact their future both academically and in 
their future career. 

 
CONCLUSION 

 
In this day and age of copy and paste and share everything 

without thought to ownership, it is difficult to maintain a level 
of formal responsibility. Many of our students and employees 
believe in the premise that because they found the content 
online, it must be factual and available for use without recourse. 
There is a lack of understanding that copying is cheating and 
cheating is an action that has the potential of extreme 
consequences.  There is more to cheating than using someone’s 
work as their own. The implications of cheating and the impact 
on the moral character of the individual moves with them from 
the institution to the workplace.  

Ease of access must not be used as the excuse for the 
actions of the individual. Without a proper understanding of the 
wrongful behavior the perpetrator may falsely assume that the 
behavior is acceptable and develop their own culture of bad 
behaviors. Once the culture is ingrained, it is very difficult to 
reverse the process. We all have the need to understand the 
reason why something should or should not happen. Sustainable 
performance change must be understood, important to the 
person changing, and defined as urgent to the individual. As 
leaders and teachers we cannot allow “just a little bit” of 
cheating go unaddressed for the sake of the future of the 
individual, our universities, and our organizations. Modeling the 
expectation and explaining the reason why will help to develop 
ethically responsible behaviors and create sustainable change 
within the learning community. 

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