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1 – 10 of over 61000This paper presents the results of a qualitative study of ethical decision making by managers employed in two major companies in the U.K. Forty managers from these large…
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a qualitative study of ethical decision making by managers employed in two major companies in the U.K. Forty managers from these large commercial organizations were interviewed about how ethical issues arise and are dealt with at work. This interview data was transcribed and a thematic content analysis was conducted in order to explore the various influences upon managerial ethical decision making. The analysis framework includes analysis at both an individual level, in terms of the role of individual characteristics such as personal value systems, and at an organizational level, in terms of the influence of organizational characteristics such as organizational culture. The paper then goes on to examine the extent to which this empirically-based account of ethical decision making is congruent with, or runs contrary to, some of the main theoretical propositions contained in the ethical decision-making literature. This provided only limited empirical support for the theoretical propositions described in the literature. In particular, the findings of the empirical work reported here suggest that while personal values may play a part in organizational ethics, the ethical decision-making process itself is subject to a much greater influence from the everyday demands and commercial pressures which managers perceived as being placed upon them in the types of organizations examined in this study. Thus, while supportive of the notion that values may be important in some respects, the study suggests that they are not necessarily that closely involved with the actual decision-making process. Rather the evidence gathered in this study indicates that they can exert an affectively-mediated retrospective effect. This possibility would suggest a reformulation of the role of values in the ethical decision-making process, while also calling for a greater emphasis upon the role of emotions. These are, however, only tentative findings and must therefore be subject to further empirical work before the precise way in which ethical issues arise, unfold and are dealt with in the workplace can be understood.
Corina Joseph, Fitra Roman Cahaya, Sharifah Norzehan Syed Yusuf, Agung Nur Probohudono and Estetika Mutiaranisa Kurniawati
This paper aims to examine the extent of ethical values information disclosure on the top 100 Malaysian and Indonesian companies’ annual reports using coercive isomorphism under…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the extent of ethical values information disclosure on the top 100 Malaysian and Indonesian companies’ annual reports using coercive isomorphism under the institutional theory.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the content analysis, the presence or exclusion of ethical values information disclosed on 100 Malaysian and Indonesian companies’ annual reports using a newly developed Ethical Values Disclosure Index is carried out.
Findings
The results of the analysis found that Indonesian companies on average disclosed 31 items under study compared to 27 items disclosed by the companies in Malaysia. The results suggest that Indonesian companies are more vigilant in the code of ethics, companies policy on ethical issues, monitoring program and accountability, ethical performance, ethical infrastructure and organizational responsibility aspects, whereas their Malaysian counterparts are better in reporting governance and integrity committee or board of directors.
Research limitations/implications
The findings may not be applicable to other countries in the same region, nevertheless, revealed the importance of adequate ethical values disclosure in determining the level of ethical behavior.
Practical implications
Companies in Indonesia are coercively pressed by various influential stakeholder groups to address ethical issues. The less disclosure regarding corporate ethical behavior may indicate that unethical practices continue to be a problem in the Malaysian corporate sector.
Originality/value
This paper adds to the literature by examining the elements of ethical values adapted mainly from the professional bodies that regulate the accounting profession and other organizations using the institutional theory, particularly in two countries.
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A collection of essays by a social economist seeking to balanceeconomics as a science of means with the values deemed necessary toman′s finding the good life and society enduring…
Abstract
A collection of essays by a social economist seeking to balance economics as a science of means with the values deemed necessary to man′s finding the good life and society enduring as a civilized instrumentality. Looks for authority to great men of the past and to today′s moral philosopher: man is an ethical animal. The 13 essays are: 1. Evolutionary Economics: The End of It All? which challenges the view that Darwinism destroyed belief in a universe of purpose and design; 2. Schmoller′s Political Economy: Its Psychic, Moral and Legal Foundations, which centres on the belief that time‐honoured ethical values prevail in an economy formed by ties of common sentiment, ideas, customs and laws; 3. Adam Smith by Gustav von Schmoller – Schmoller rejects Smith′s natural law and sees him as simply spreading the message of Calvinism; 4. Pierre‐Joseph Proudhon, Socialist – Karl Marx, Communist: A Comparison; 5. Marxism and the Instauration of Man, which raises the question for Marx: is the flowering of the new man in Communist society the ultimate end to the dialectical movement of history?; 6. Ethical Progress and Economic Growth in Western Civilization; 7. Ethical Principles in American Society: An Appraisal; 8. The Ugent Need for a Consensus on Moral Values, which focuses on the real dangers inherent in there being no consensus on moral values; 9. Human Resources and the Good Society – man is not to be treated as an economic resource; man′s moral and material wellbeing is the goal; 10. The Social Economist on the Modern Dilemma: Ethical Dwarfs and Nuclear Giants, which argues that it is imperative to distinguish good from evil and to act accordingly: existentialism, situation ethics and evolutionary ethics savour of nihilism; 11. Ethical Principles: The Economist′s Quandary, which is the difficulty of balancing the claims of disinterested science and of the urge to better the human condition; 12. The Role of Government in the Advancement of Cultural Values, which discusses censorship and the funding of art against the background of the US Helms Amendment; 13. Man at the Crossroads draws earlier themes together; the author makes the case for rejecting determinism and the “operant conditioning” of the Skinner school in favour of the moral progress of autonomous man through adherence to traditional ethical values.
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Gawon Yun, Maling Ebrahimpour, Prabir Bandyopadhyay and Barbara Withers
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of a corporate ethical policy, such as a code of ethics, on the unethical behavior of internal and vendor employees in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of a corporate ethical policy, such as a code of ethics, on the unethical behavior of internal and vendor employees in the supply chain in India. It also aims to find whether International Standards Organization (ISO) certification of vendors affects the result and any significant relationship between management commitment and unethical behavior can be supported by the findings as well.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical analyses were conducted on a survey consisting of 43 questions comprising 181 valid responses. Multiple regression analysis that includes four independent variables – code of ethics, management commitment, supply chain principles and personal values taking unethical behavior as dependent variable – was used to find the significance of the relationship.
Findings
The implementation of a code of ethics, management commitment, supply chain principles and personal values all have a negative association with unethical behavior. Personal values, measuring a firm’s financial aspects for non-compliance to ethical behavior, have a positive association with unethical behavior. The relationships of top management commitment, personal values with internal employees’ unethical behavior are significant. The significant relationship between management commitment and unethical behavior can be supported by the findings as well. It was also found that ISO certificates and firm size as the control variables did not have any effect on the relationship between the independent variables and unethical behavior. The analysis also shows that ISO 26000 certificate, the international standard for socially responsible operations, does not impact this relationship.
Research limitations/implications
Measuring substantial managerial effort for corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices by asking questions like, “how committed employees think top management is to social responsibility,” may not fully measure substantial managerial effort for CSR practices. To improve the results of the current study, future research can use the CSR index or disclosure as a measure to better reflect management commitment and practice for social responsibility. Second, the current study is limited to measuring how many occurrences of unethical behavior are witnessed by employees instead of what specific unethical behavior is more often witnessed. Considering India has the second largest population in the world, 181 responses may not represent the true practices in the business environment in India for generalization.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that management should put more of an emphasis on improving the commitment of upper-level managers to decrease the overall unethical practices of their employees. The study finds that employees’ personal values influence their ethical behavior. Therefore, communications and training of employees at all levels should emphasis on improving personal values.
Social implications
Businesses should influence academics to incorporate personal value building in course curricula. The Indian CSR law should incorporate the holistic view of CSR taking care of needs of all stakeholders under the provision of the regulation. In 2015, India became the first country in the world to legislate CSR practices in corporations but it misses the opportunity to sensitize the management and employees on ethical practices as it mainly identified philanthropic expenses as mandatory CSR spending and silent on ethical business practices.
Originality/value
The present study contributes to the literature by bringing supply chain context to the effect of different factors on unethical behaviors and interaction of internal and vendor firms in terms of ethical practices. There are several studies on business ethics in different countries including China, but in the case of India similar studies are not much. The present study fills the gap.
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Fan‐Hua Kung and Cheng Li Huang
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of moral philosophy on the ethical beliefs of auditors. The paper argues that an individual's moral philosophy is the key…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of moral philosophy on the ethical beliefs of auditors. The paper argues that an individual's moral philosophy is the key factor in how one views ethical issues and largely determines the ethical choices one makes. The paper also seeks to discover the influence of personal values on the reasoning processes associated with ethics and to explore whether the personal value preferences of auditors, as a manifestation of their moral philosophy, influence their ethical beliefs and (presumably) their subsequent actions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors designed a survey instrument to assess the value preferences, moral philosophies, and reactions of practicing auditors to judgment dilemmas. They then employed structural equation modeling to examine the sensitivity of auditors to the competence and integrity of clients with the aim of gaining insight into the ethical beliefs of auditors in general.
Findings
These results show that value preferences alone fail as predictors of ethical beliefs. Instead, personal values have an indirect influence on ethical beliefs via moral philosophy. Moreover, auditors strongly motivated by values based on self‐enhancement were negatively associated with idealism in ethics and positively associated with relativism. Therefore, it can be concluded that idealist auditors were more likely to condemn the actions of clients that violated moral norms, while relativist auditors were more permissive.
Originality/value
The results identify the role of moral philosophy as a mediator for the personal values and ethical beliefs of auditors, shedding light on how personal values can influence ethical sensitivity.
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Tara Stringer, Gary Mortimer and Alice Ruth Payne
The rise of fast fashion has changed the face of global fashion. Despite sector growth, critics have questioned the level of obsolescence, encouragement of over-consumption and…
Abstract
Purpose
The rise of fast fashion has changed the face of global fashion. Despite sector growth, critics have questioned the level of obsolescence, encouragement of over-consumption and fast fashion's unsustainable business practices. Specifically, mounting concerns surround the impact on environmental, worker and animal welfare. Accordingly, the aim of this current work is to understand the influence of consumer's values on ethical consumption in a fast-fashion context.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was designed to collect responses relating to personal values and ethical concerns towards animal and worker welfare issues, as well as environmental concerns. A total of 350 US-based fast-fashion consumers completed the survey via Amazon MTurk. Factor analyses and structural equation modelling were used to analyse and test a theoretically hypothesised model.
Findings
This study found that self-transcendence values and openness to change values have a positive impact on consumers' levels of ethical concern towards animal welfare, the environment and worker welfare concerns within the fashion industry. Furthermore, a consumer's level of concern towards animal welfare and the environment positively influences a consumer's likeliness to purchase ethically marketed fast fashion.
Originality/value
This is the first study to investigate the role of consumer values and their influence on ethical concerns within the fashion industry and the impact of these concerns on intentions to purchase ethically marketed fast fashion. Responding to calls for further research into ethical consumption of apparel, this study includes all elements of ethical consumption identified, including animal welfare. This study identifies ethical areas of concern salient amongst fast-fashion consumers and provides a deeper understanding of the values impacting the level of ethical concerns surrounding animal welfare, the environment and worker welfare.
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Christina Klearchou Dimitriou and Charles H. Schwepker
Grounded in ethical decision-making theory, this paper aims to develop and empirically tests a model that examines the relationships between ethical leadership, customer…
Abstract
Purpose
Grounded in ethical decision-making theory, this paper aims to develop and empirically tests a model that examines the relationships between ethical leadership, customer orientation, ethical values person-organization fit, commitment to service quality and service sabotage among customer-contact service employees in the lodging industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were electronically collected from a national survey of 316 hotel/motel customer-contact employees.
Findings
Results revealed that perceived ethical leadership behavior is positively related to customer orientation, ethical values person-organization fit and commitment to service quality. Customer orientation is positively related to commitment to service quality and mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and service sabotage. Ethical values person-organization fit mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and service sabotage.
Research limitations/implications
The study is cross-sectional, limited to customer-contact employees in lodging settings and examines merely the employee perspective.
Practical implications
Lodging leaders can benefit significantly in many areas by practicing ethical leadership. For example, service sabotage behaviors can be reduced indirectly by aligning the customer-contact employees’ ethical values with those of the organization, as well as when this employee is customer-oriented. An ethical leadership style also can positively influence customer-contact employees’ customer orientation and increase their commitment to service quality. Lodging properties must hire and cultivate managers and supervisors with ethical values.
Originality/value
This research helps to better understand leadership behaviors useful for improving the ethical conduct and performance of customer-contact employees in the lodging industry, while simultaneously improving their commitment to service quality and guest-oriented behavior.
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Min-Seong Kim and Lori Pennington-Gray
Although ethical management would seem to be a core responsibility in today’s business climate, empirical research and practical applications in the hospitality industry remain…
Abstract
Purpose
Although ethical management would seem to be a core responsibility in today’s business climate, empirical research and practical applications in the hospitality industry remain scarce. Hence, the aim of this study is to examine the influences of ethical value and corporate philanthropy on the foodservice industry in South Korea.
Design/methodology/approach
Frequency, reliability, confirmatory factor, correlation and structural equation modeling analyses were used.
Findings
The results indicate that, overall, ethical value directly influences corporate philanthropy and two aspects of organizational commitment (i.e. continuous and affective). Corporate philanthropy, in turn, positively relates to organizational commitment dimensions as well as financial and non-financial performance. Affective and continuous commitments lead to improvements in both financial and non-financial performance.
Practical implications
The strategic importance of ethical value and the following philanthropic activities in the foodservices is demonstrated from the findings of this research.
Originality/value
The current study is the first to develop and test an empirical model which accounts for the effects of ethical value on both financial and non-financial performances in the franchisor–franchisee relationship.
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Talat Islam, Mubbsher Munawar Khan, Ishfaq Ahmed and Khalid Mahmood
Human misbehaviors are responsible for climate change as they waste resources and pollute water and air that dilapidate the environment. Considering the fact and contributing to…
Abstract
Purpose
Human misbehaviors are responsible for climate change as they waste resources and pollute water and air that dilapidate the environment. Considering the fact and contributing to the United Nations sustainable development goals of 2019, organizations started focusing their green HRM practices to develop employees' green attitudes and behaviors. This study is an attempt in this direction. It examines the impact of ethical leadership on individuals' green in-role and extra-role behaviors with the mediating role of green HRM practices and the moderating role of individual green values.
Design/methodology/approach
The study collected data from 645 MBA executive students working in various manufacturing industries with at least one year of experience. The data were collected using a questionnaire-based survey in two-time lags.
Findings
Hypothesized relationships are tested through structural equation modeling. Findings reflected a significant impact of ethical leadership on green HRM practices, in-role, and extra-role green behaviors. Besides, green HRM practices mediated the relationship between ethical leadership and both types of green behaviors. Furthermore, it was observed that the individual green values strengthened the association between green HRM practices and both types of green behaviors.
Research limitations/implications
A cross-sectional design with time lags was used to avoid common method bias. The findings of the study contribute to supply-value-fit theory and validate the scale of individual green value.
Practical implications
This study guides management that employees only perceive their organizational practices as green when they find their leaders are ethical. Further, considering individual green values in the recruitment process can help organizations accomplishing their green goals.
Originality/value
This study is novel in examining the mediating role of green HRM practices between ethical leadership and green behaviors. Further, the analysis not only validates the scale of individual green values but also noted its moderating role between green HRM and green behaviors.
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Ethics is an integral part of an organization's overall culture. Designing an ethical organization requires systematically analysing all aspects of the organization's culture and…
Abstract
Ethics is an integral part of an organization's overall culture. Designing an ethical organization requires systematically analysing all aspects of the organization's culture and aligning them so that they support ethical behaviour and discourage unethical behaviour. This chapter considers issues related to establishing an ethical culture in an organization, through a case analysis of a major Australian private hospital and its approach to establishing and continuing to define an ethical culture. Key aims of the research were to identify the role of executive and senior management leadership in developing a values-based approach to ethical culture particularly regarding senior management’s own awareness, support and communication of the stated values. The chapter considers the theoretical approaches available to organizations in developing and sustaining ethical approaches in relation to organizational structures, systems and processes that inform cultural type. The paper also critically comments on the situation presented within the case analysis, providing conclusions and insights for further research initiatives related to such case-based field investigation.
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