Article
The Decency Quotient (DQ): Assessing its Relevance for Mba Students
Orientation: In an era marked by intense competition and rapid technological change, the professional landscape necessitates a broader set of skills beyond mere intellectual capability. While IQ (Intelligence Quotient) and EQ (Emotional Quotient) have long been recognized as pivotal for personal and organizational success, a new construct—the Decency Quotient (DQ)—has emerged as equally significant.
Research Purpose: This paper explores the DQ of MBA students in Bangalore, India emphasizing its role in fostering interpersonal decency, ethical conduct, and professional readiness.
Motivation for the study: The concept of DQ is comparatively new and its relevance to check it amongst MBA students will help the institutions to impart relevant training and make them industry ready with interpersonal decency and ethics.
Design and Method: A structured questionnaire with 43 Likert-scale items was administered to 352 MBA students across 34 institutions, with 330 valid responses analysed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis were employed.
Main Findings: Six dimensions- Respectful Interaction, Good Manners, Peer Development, Mutual Trust, Decent Feedback, and Active Listening-emerged as foundational to DQ. Female students reported significantly higher DQ scores, while age and formal education showed marginal or no influence.
Managerial Implication and Contribution: The study validates DQ as a significant predictor of ethical leadership readiness among MBA students. The findings urge higher education institutions to integrate decency as a core leadership competency, ensuring a balance between competence and character.