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Business ethics provide a potent source of competitive advantage, placing increasing pressure on organizations to create and maintain an ethical workforce. Nonetheless, ethical breaches continue to permeate corporate life, suggesting that there is something missing from how we conceptualize and institutionalize organizational ethics. The current effort seeks to fill this void in two ways. First, we introduce an extended ethical framework premised on sensemaking in organizations. Within this framework, we suggest that multiple individual, organizational, and societal factors may differentially influence the ethical sensemaking process. Second, we contend that human resource management plays a central role in sustaining workplace ethics and explore the strategies through which human resource personnel can work to foster an ethical culture and spearhead ethics initiatives. Future research directions applicable to scholars in both the ethics and human resources domains are provided.

The chapter first draws concepts underlying legitimacy theory (Suchman, 1995) to provide a basis to understand alternative approaches to the development of ethical cultures in global organization. The chapter then illustrates the institutionalization of Codes of Ethics through a “management” approach drawing from Simon’s Levers of Control as a framework to contextualize experiences of a large global conglomerate. The chapter adopts the case approach, applying the case of the Tata Group to highlight the integration of external institutions into the institutionalization process. The management of business ethics (MBE) can provide a basis to institutionalize ethics in global firms to create an internal culture consistent with ethical goals of the corporations that may also be different from the external environment. The MBE includes the application of managerial techniques and information technology to institutionalize ethics in organizational culture. Management Accountants can have a significant role in supporting this endeavor, given their expertise in measurement and control. The code is only one aspect through which firms develop their identity. Information on the case was unevenly distributed. For example, there was voluminous information on the code and its implementation. Therefore, some subjectivity was necessary in selecting relevant items. The chapter, to my knowledge, provides unique insights into the theoretical and practical aspects of institutionalizing ethics in corporate cultures using Codes of Ethics.

The demand for sustainability in business and sound management training is becoming more resonant in a steadily evolving Africa. With a vast expansion of Africa’s socio-economic base, and viable possibilities for technological, social and economic development, the balancing influence of management ethics cannot be overstated. The historical lessons from the Western business world in corporate scandals and financial misdemeanour clearly reveal to the emergent economies and businesses of developing Africa the weighty costs of unethical business practice. People require that business firms conduct their business responsibly. Developing ethical business practices, therefore, becomes crucial. With Africa’s cultural diversity of peoples, places and values, business practices are strongly influenced by indigenous values and trends. It is important to understand and situate indigenous ethical principles and practices in Africa within the framework of business. This chapter, therefore, aims at critically discussing what ethics in management means for a developing Africa. We will also discuss the ethical principles, to be seen as a metaphysical unity of values, of ideals, and especially, of character and community. The chapter will then highlight select cases reflecting ethical practices of management in African business, making sure to emphasise the necessity of business ethics to corporate sustainability.

This article reviews research published in secular management journals that examines what the world’s largest religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, and Islam) say about management. In terms of how religion informs management, the literature identifies two basic means: (1) written scriptures (e.g., Analects, Bible, Quran) and (2) experiential spiritual practices (e.g., prayer, mindfulness). In terms of what religion says about management, the emphasis tends to be either on (1) enhancing, or (2) liberating mainstream management. Studies based on scriptures typically either enhance or liberate management, whereas empirical research based on spiritual disciplines consistently point to liberation. Implications are discussed.

In this chapter, the author delves into the third ‘C:’ compliance, which is fundamentally linked to business ethics. The chapter introduces the concept of business ethics and its significance in contemporary business strategy while interpreting Taoist principles from a compliance perspective. Compliance deals with our recognition of the potentially harmful or imprudent actions we take or our belief that we are superior to others. Compliance refers to an individual's expression of altered attitudes or behaviours in response to adhering to others' requests. Compliance encompasses humility, integrity, accountability and more. This chapter concentrates on the influence of Taoist ethical principles, particularly humility and integrity, on responsible management.

The aim of this research is to study the implications of the human resources management practices on corruption in humanitarian aid as the phenomenon is under-researched (Akbar & Vujic, 2014; Melo & Quinn, 2015) and considered to be a hot topic since the determinants of corruption from an individual perspective have been scarcely discussed in the non-profit sector (Epperly & Lee, 2015; Mohiuddin & Dulay, 2015).

This research adopts grounded theory as a method and builds upon long experience in the humanitarian aid sector to generate theory from field observations and from 30 interviews conducted with respondents working in humanitarian organisations. The data collected from interviews was compared to observations data, leading the way to validating and expanding the findings.

The findings of this study are related to human resources administration weaknesses which appear to be directly linked to corruption in humanitarian aid. These weaknesses include issues in relation to Terms of Reference and organisational charts, irregularities in staff selection procedures, the short-termism of contracts, poor talent management, a lack of ethics awareness and mismanaged cultural diversity.

This study suffers from a few limitations pertaining to the sensitivity of the context, confidentiality issues, retrospection in some cases and possible bias resulting from staff frustration. These were dealt with through ensuring interviewees' utmost anonymity in publishing the results and through cross-checking answers of respondents from within the same organisation.

This research proposes a corruption preventive model which serves as a tool driving better human resources practices in humanitarian aid, and highlights the dangerous impact of corruption and raises awareness among humanitarian aid managers and workers about the importance of preventing it so that more vulnerable people are reached and that the donated money fulfils its intended target. The chapter brings value to research on humanitarian aid as it considers the corruption phenomenon with new lenses; focusing on individuals rather than on systems thus opening new horizons of study away from the traditional stream of research on service delivery.

Recent high-profile bankruptcies have renewed attention to earnings management practices. This study investigates whether high publicity of corporate bankruptcies makes a difference in the ethical perception of these practices. A survey depicting actual earnings management scenarios was administered to business students before and after these bankruptcies. The results showed a significant increase in the negative perception of earnings management actions after high publicity of unethical corporate behavior. In addition, many demographic factors such as age, experience and college major played a role in business students’ perception of the ethics of earnings management. The study suggests that business students are influenced by actual unethical examples of earnings management. These results, along with demographic differences, have implications for accounting education and the accounting profession.

The chapter examines the perceptions of a range of stakeholders regarding the ethics of earnings management (EM) by Libyan commercial banks. EM ethics research has largely been based on a questionnaire developed by Bruns and Merchant (1990). This chapter addresses the issue in two different ways. First, it directly examines the interviewees’ perceptions on whether EM is ethical or not. Second, stakeholders’ perceptions are surveyed using a set of questions that consider, for example, the effect of EM on others’ interests and whether EM is ethical if applied within General Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and the law. A total of 28 semi-structured interviews were carried out with stakeholders comprising: preparers of financial statements, users, regulators, and academics. A questionnaire survey of stakeholders which yielded 102 responses (response rate 53%) was also carried out. Interview findings indicated that 50% of the interviewees have the view that EM is ethical. Questionnaire results, on the other hand, revealed that EM is agreed, on balance, to be perceived as unethical. However, if applied within GAAP and the legal framework it is perceived, on balance, to be ethical. The chapter provides insights into stakeholders’ perceptions of EM ethics. The findings are of particular relevance to the users, and specifically, the external auditor as well as current and potential investors. EM practices, according to the literature, degrade financial reporting quality and may affect economic decisions. Auditors should be aware that EM may be regarded as an ethical practice and therefore more scrutiny might be required. In terms of accountability a manager should be held accountable not only to shareholders but also to society as a whole.