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Shank, Corey Allen. "Deconstructing the corporate psychopath: an examination of deceptive behavior." Review of Behavioral Finance 10, no. 2 (June 11, 2018): 163–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/rbf-03-2017-0028.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine whether business students deceive others more often than non-business students. Design/methodology/approach A cheap talk experiment and an ethics questionnaire are employed to examine the subject’s behavior. Fundamental differences, such as psychopathic personality, are used to examine their role in deceptive and unethical behavior. Findings The results show that business students deceive others for personal gain more often than non-business students when there is the most to gain; however, business students find deception committed by others as unethical. Business students exhibit more psychopathic tendencies compared to non-business students, including being more likely to fit the prototypical psychopath profile. This fundamental difference in psychopathy can help explain why individuals deceive others and behave unethically. Practical implications These results have important implications for the business industry and the design of policies. Originality/value Thus, this study endeavors to advance the literature on fundamental distinctions between those who work in high levels of organizations and how this fundamental difference impacts decision making.
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Zheng, Connie S., and Soheila Mirshekary. "The power of Australian small accounting firms’ unethical exposure." Social Responsibility Journal 11, no. 3 (August 3, 2015): 467–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/srj-02-2014-0018.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate small business owner/manager’s exposure to unethical behavior, and to examine the influence of unethical exposure on organizational intention to implement ethical policies and practices. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of 209 Australian small accounting firms with a path analysis, this paper adopts a modified ethical decision-making model to test the relationship between exposure and personal attitudes toward unethical behavior, and the relationship between exposure and intentions to implement ethical policies and practices at firm level. Findings – The results show that increased exposure to unethical behavior triggered stronger personal attitudes with small accounting firm owners/managers tending toward accepting unethical behavior. In contrast, at the firm level, more exposure to unethical behavior creates cautious overtones and motivates owners/managers to take action and implement more ethical policies, with the underlying aim of addressing serious ethical issues. Research limitations/implications – The study tests the ethical decision-making model but focuses only on three constructs (i.e. exposure, attitude and response). The aim is to examine whether extensive exposure to unethical behavior would change personal attitudes toward accepting such behavior, and whether unethical exposure would trigger firm owner/managers to take action and address the ethical dilemma by establishing some ethical guidelines. Other important variables (such as subjective norm, personal locus of control) embedded in the ethical decision-making model should be included in future research. Practical implications – The study draws attention to ethical dilemmas encountered by many small accounting professionals and their organizations. It addresses the importance of upholding the ethical standard and avoiding the extensive exposure to unethical behavior. It also emphasizes the needs for small businesses to establish some ethical policies and practices. Originality/value – The paper is purposely set out to reduce the gap in studying how small accounting firms make decisions in implementing their ethical policies and practices to address the rampant ethical dilemma faced by their employees as a result of many corporate scandals and financial crises of the past decade. The results are particularly valuable for small accounting firm owners/managers. The findings also have educational and policy implications.
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Dzomira, Shewangu. "Conceptual & economic modelling on whistleblowing decision-making phenomena." Corporate Ownership and Control 12, no. 3 (2015): 534–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.22495/cocv12i3c5p5.
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The whistleblower is always in a dilemma situation whenever making a decision on whether to blow or not blow the whistle after observing unethical behavior or wrongdoing. This paper provides conceptual model and an economic model for whistleblowing decision making phenomena through mixed strategies of the game theory. The instinctual issue of whistleblowing game’s mixed equilibrium would be that the probabilities rest on the opponent’s payoffs and not on the player’s own payoffs. Even if blowing the whistle is not really definite, a satisfactorily high chance of disinterring the wrongdoing ought to discourage commission of unethical behavior.
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Mohammad, Jihad, Farzana Quoquab, Norsyila Bt Rashid, Nur Azlina Bt Rashid, Fazilah Bt Osman, and Wan Muhammad Hamka Wan Shamsudin. "I’ll do whatever I want … who are you to prohibit me? A tattle tale of workplace deviance." Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies 8, no. 1 (March 27, 2018): 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/eemcs-06-2016-0124.
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Subject area This case can be used in teaching business ethics, organizational behaviour and human resource management. More specifically, romance in the workplace, discrimination, absenteeism, sneaking and cyberloafing in the workplace. Study level/applicability This case can be used for both undergraduate and postgraduate students particularly for business ethics, organizational behaviour, human resource management and leadership courses. Students/participants are challenged to identify the major issue in the case and help the decision maker to make a decision. Case overview This case demonstrates the unethical behaviour of Natacha and Noman Ali. Natacha refused to comply with the company’s code of conduct and breached the company’s rules and regulations. Natacha used the company’s resources to carry out her personal business and also cheated on her attendance records, and the Director of Enforcement and the Inspectorate Division, Noman, continued to back and support her. Madam Siti Hajar had consulted and advised her many times, but Natacha did not pay attention to her advice. Madam Siti was in a dilemma: whether to report this unethical situation to the top management or to tolerate this situation and remain silent. Expected learning outcomes Expected learning outcomes are as follows: to identify and describe major issues related to workplace unethical behaviour; to provide examples of the concepts of commitment, dedication, fairness, discrimination and ethical leadership; to identify and analyse individual and organizational factors that may affect individuals’ unethical behaviour; to instruct students of the scientific methods involved in making decisions; and. to help students to think thoroughly, deeply and critically to make decisions that can solve the problem at hand. Supplementary materials Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 6: Human Resource Management.
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Bommer, Michael, Clarence Gratto, Jerry Gravander, and Mark Tuttle. "A behavioral model of ethical and unethical decision making." Journal of Business Ethics 6, no. 4 (May 1987): 265–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf00382936.
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Gonan Božac, Marli, Katarina Kostelić, Morena Paulišić, and Charles G. Smith. "Business Ethics Decision-Making: Examining Partial Reflective Awareness." Sustainability 13, no. 5 (March 1, 2021): 2635. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13052635.
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The aim of this research was to examine partial reflective awareness in ethical business choices in Croatia. The ethical decision-making is interlinked with sustainable practices, but it is also its prerequisite. Thus, better understanding of business ethics decision-making provides a basis for designing and implementing sustainability in a corporate setting. The research was done on student populations who will soon carry important roles and make important decisions for individuals, organizations, and society. The field research was conducted using Kohlberg’s scenarios. The results reveal that the process of decision-making goes through the lenses of respondents’ own preferred ethics. However, the reflective awareness of respondents’ preferred ethics is skewed and regularities in that deviations point out to the relevance of the context characteristics and arousal factors. In addition, the individuals do not use all available information in the assessment process. The revealed partial reflective awareness contributes to explanation of why people have problems with justifying their choices. As there are many examples of unethical behavior in the environment that remain unpunished, it is necessary to raise awareness of the issue. Improvement in reflective awareness would contribute to more sustainable ethical choices and reveal a possibility of an intervention design within the higher education framework.
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McManus, Joseph. "Hubris and Unethical Decision Making: The Tragedy of the Uncommon." Journal of Business Ethics 149, no. 1 (February 18, 2016): 169–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-016-3087-9.
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Collins, Frank. "Career Self-Interest and Concern for Others—The Effects of Co-Worker Attitudes on Fraudulent Behavior." Accounting and the Public Interest 6, no. 1 (January 1, 2006): 95–115. http://dx.doi.org/10.2308/api.2006.6.1.95.
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The numerous corporate scandals in recent years raise questions as to why experienced business leaders would make unethical, and often illegal, decisions. Research (Collins et al. 2004a, 2004b; Shaub et al. 2005) has demonstrated that measures of self-interest and concern for others influence the likelihood that an individual will commit egregious acts of self-interest. The current study examines the moderating effects of co-worker attitudes on the relationship between career self-interest, concern for others, and the likelihood of committing egregious acts of self-interest. We find that co-worker attitudes do affect ethical decision making. The potential effect of peer opinion on individuals in the workplace highlights the importance of organizational culture in controlling incidents of unethical behavior, a matter of public interest (Harrison and Huntington 2000).
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Kouchaki, Maryam, Kristin Smith-Crowe, Arthur P. Brief, and Carlos Sousa. "Seeing green: Mere exposure to money triggers a business decision frame and unethical outcomes." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 121, no. 1 (May 2013): 53–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2012.12.002.
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Stankiewicz, Janina, and Patrycja Łychmus. "Ethical choices and behavior of young people in the organization; influencing factors." Management 20, no. 2 (December 1, 2016): 323–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/manment-2015-0068.
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Summary The main focus of an article became the answers to questions: what factors control the behavior of people involved in business activities in a situation of choice between ethical and cost-effective action, and how important is ethics of individuals when they are making this kind of decision? From this perspective interesting are those who “have not yet entered the labor market”, and therefore their individual ethics has not been subjected to the pressure of business practice in its ethical and unethical dimension. What are their opinions on business ethics? What values in business are important to them?
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Brooke Hamilton III, J., and Eric J. Berken. "Exxon at Grand Bois, Louisiana: A Three-Level Analysis of Management Decision Making and Corporate Conduct." Business Ethics Quarterly 15, no. 3 (July 2005): 385–408. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1052150x00010666.
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Abstract:In the early 1990s, managers at Exxon decided to seek lower cost disposal in Louisiana for oil-field wastes declared hazardous in Alabama. This decision resulted in injuries to the residents of Grand Bois, Louisiana; the disposal company; Exxon; and the oil industry in the state. Given the need for business and society to manage business operations for mutual benefit, it is essential to understand why businesses injure the public so that similar incidents do not happen again. The authors use three analytical perspectives to suggest how corporations may make unethical decisions without purposefully setting out to do so: their managers may fail to understand changing social expectations for corporate behavior; they may adopt organizational structures, policies, and procedures that block ethical action in the name of efficiency; and they may follow unwritten rules of behavior for career success that exclude ethics. These perspectives suggest that individual Exxon managers may not have been making greed-based decisions, weighing corporate gains against harms to others. The situation more likely involved a failure, for the reasons discussed, to raise ethics questions in making business decisions. This explanation does not make much difference to those injured nor does it absolve those who made the decisions. It does make a difference to society and to companies seeking to understand factors that have to be overcome in any large corporation that wishes to prevent such events from occurring.
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Munir, Rahat, and Craig Terry. "Accountants and the Ethics of Profit." Journal of Business Ethics Education 15 (2018): 327–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.5840/jbee20181518.
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Pressures are mounting upon Australian retailers including their ability to grow profit. Price deflation for many items, a lack of wage growth, and, the rise of huge online platforms is just some of the factors now creating difficulties for retailers. In the absence of sales growth, profit can only be improved with a focus on the cost side of the business. And, it is this focus that has brought about the potential for unethical decision making. This case study examines the role of accountants in influencing this decision making. Accountants are often seen as the experts when it comes to cost control. Consequently, they have a unique opportunity to use their position to help ensure that when governance processes surrounding cost (and profit) management are established, or when key decisions are made, these are undertaken on an ethical basis. This teaching case explores this issue within three scenarios relevant to the current Australian retail industry. Firstly, the ethical concerns of the use of power by the big retailers to reduce costs within international and domestic supply chains are examined. Secondly, recent instances of questionable practices to inflate profits through rebate, and other, accounting methods are analysed. Finally, the design of remuneration systems is discussed within the context of whether these are creating unethical biases within organisational decision making.
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Ogunfowora, Babatunde, Joshua S. Bourdage, and Brenda Nguyen. "An Exploration of the Dishonest Side of Self–Monitoring: Links to Moral Disengagement and Unethical Business Decision Making." European Journal of Personality 27, no. 6 (November 2013): 532–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/per.1931.
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The majority of research on self–monitoring has focused on the positive aspects of this personality trait. The goal of the present research was to shed some light on the potential negative side of self–monitoring and resulting consequences in two independent studies. Study 1 demonstrated that, in addition to being higher on Extraversion, high self–monitors are also more likely to be low on Honesty–Humility, which is characterized by a tendency to be dishonest and driven by self–gain. Study 2 was designed to investigate the consequences of this dishonest side of self–monitoring using two previously unexamined outcomes: moral disengagement and unethical business decision making. Results showed that high self–monitors are more likely to engage in unethical business decision making and that this relationship is mediated by the propensity to engage in moral disengagement. In addition, these negative effects of self–monitoring were found to be due to its low Honesty–Humility aspect, rather than its high Extraversion side. Further investigation showed similar effects for the Other–Directedness and Acting (but not Extraversion) self–monitoring subscales. These findings provide valuable insight into previously unexamined negative consequences of self–monitoring and suggest important directions for future research on self–monitoring. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology
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Martin, Daniel E. "Culture and unethical conduct: Understanding the impact of individualism and collectivism on actual plagiarism." Management Learning 43, no. 3 (December 2, 2011): 261–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1350507611428119.
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This criterion study examined the impact of the cultural dimensions of individualism and collectivism on actual plagiarism in working business students. Given globalization of business and recent business scandals, furthering our understanding of international ethics remains critical. Business students are the potential employees, managers and leaders of organizations in the future. In this study we focus on one form of unethical conduct by business students, i.e. actual plagiarism, and seek to determine the link between this behavior and cultural values of individualism/collectivism and associated stereotypes of Asian/Caucasian students. Our findings suggest that individualists plagiarize more than collectivists, and that no significant differences in plagiarism exist between Asian and Caucasian students, contrary to popular beliefs. The implications of these findings for scholars and managers are discussed.
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Zouharis, Laurie. "A new hire’s dilemma: reporting corruption." CASE Journal 12, no. 3 (September 12, 2016): 440–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/tcj-12-2015-0076.
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Synopsis Bill Edwards, a newly hired Accounts Payable Manager at Nicalmic Ltd, has noticed that his boss, the company controller, changed data in the vendor master record, while he was a contractor in the interim role, to prevent his income from being reported to the IRS. How should Bill handle this knowledge? Research methodology This is a disguised field-researched case. Relevant courses and levels This case may be used in a variety of undergraduate business courses, such as introduction to business, business ethics, business law and ethics and freshman seminar. Theoretical bases Students should have some understanding of business ethics, ethical decision making and risks to employees who report unethical conduct.
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De Cremer, David, David M. Mayer, and Marshall Schminke. "Guest Editors’ Introduction: On Understanding Ethical Behavior and Decision Making: A Behavioral Ethics Approach." Business Ethics Quarterly 20, no. 1 (January 2010): 1–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.5840/beq20102012.
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AbstractBehavioral ethics is an emerging field that takes an empirical, social scientific approach to the study of business ethics. In this special issue, we include six articles that fall within the domain of behavioral ethics and that focus on three themes—moral awareness, ethical decision making, and reactions to unethical behavior. Each of the articles sheds additional light on the specific issues addressed. However, we hope this special issue will have an impact beyond that of the new insights offered in these articles, by stimulating even more research in this burgeoning field.
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Elbanna, Said, Ilias Kapoutsis, and Kamel Mellahi. "Creativity and propitiousness in strategic decision making." Management Decision 55, no. 10 (November 20, 2017): 2218–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/md-02-2017-0113.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between positive perceptions of politics (i.e. positive politics) and decision creativity and propitiousness (i.e. reaching unforeseen advantages while limiting unexpected problems). In addition, drawing from threat-rigidity effect theory the authors argue that such relationships will be resilient to external environmental threats and specifically macro-economic uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach The database for the analyses consisted of 200 strategic decisions gathered from firms located in Dubai. Findings Positive politics significantly influence decision creativity and propitiousness. Also, macro-economic uncertainty moderates this relationship. Research limitations/implications Although this research has tried to adopt a more neutral perspective on political behavior, much more work is required to better understand the role and implications of neutral politics in decision-making. Practical implications If decision makers ensure that the concern for the organization’s welfare remains a priority over the self-serving motives of the actors, then politics can enhance decision success. Social implications This paper challenges the long held conventional wisdom that politics in organizations are an important underlying cause of unethical practices, poor decisions and organizational ineffectiveness. Originality/value The findings serve to further the understanding of complexities involved in the relationships between political behavior and its consequences.
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Ashkanasy, Neal M., Carolyn A. Windsor, and Linda K. Treviño. "Bad Apples in Bad Barrels Revisited: Cognitive Moral Development, Just World Beliefs, Rewards, and Ethical Decision-Making." Business Ethics Quarterly 16, no. 4 (October 2006): 449–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.5840/beq200616447.
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Abstract:In this study, we test the interactive effect on ethical decision-making of (1) personal characteristics, and (2) personal expectancies based on perceptions of organizational rewards and punishments. Personal characteristics studied were cognitive moral development and belief in a just world. Using an in-basket simulation, we found that exposure to reward system information influenced managers’ outcome expectancies. Further, outcome expectancies and belief in a just world interacted with managers’ cognitive moral development to influence managers’ ethical decision-making. In particular, low-cognitive moral development managers who expected that their organization condoned unethical behavior made less ethical decisions while high cognitive moral development managers became more ethical in this environment. Low cognitive moral development managers also behaved less ethically when their belief in a just world was high.
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Arciniega, Luis M., Laura J. Stanley, Diana Puga-Méndez, Dalia Obregón-Schael, and Isaac Politi-Salame. "The Relationship Between Individual Work Values and Unethical Decision-Making and Behavior at Work." Journal of Business Ethics 158, no. 4 (December 14, 2017): 1133–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3764-3.
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Hota, Deepak Kumar. "View from Helm: Corporate Governance Through HR Prism." NHRD Network Journal 12, no. 4 (October 2019): 328–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2631454119873157.
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The rigorous corporate governance frameworks in Company Law and Securities and Exchange Board of India regulations, have not prevented incidents of fraud in listed companies in India. The top management should therefore play a critical role, by fostering desirable organisational culture, clarifying clear boundaries of organisational behaviour and also enunciating value statements and requisite policies in the company. Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) (see https://www.bemlindia.in/ ) which is in a tough and competitive business environment, has codified its values statement ‘BEML FIRST’ (Focus on Customer, Innovation & Technology, Reliability & Quality, Speed & Responsiveness and Trust & Teamwork). Taking support of its committed workforce and leveraging technology, the company has set high standards in corporate governance, and has zero tolerance to unethical behaviour. BEML has a well-established Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), an online file management system and a committee of functional directors which plays a major role in taking critical decisions, bringing in transparency in business processes and decision-making in the company.
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Cheng, Chia-Yi, and Tzu-Ping Ho. "Financial services and ethical hazards: antecedents of repeated ethical violation." European Journal of Marketing 53, no. 4 (April 8, 2019): 758–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ejm-05-2017-0345.
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Purpose Prior studies have extensively explored individual examples of unethical behavior in sales organizations but focused little on repeated violation (RV) of ethical codes, particularly when managers develop salesforces. Based on social learning theory (SLT), the authors propose a multilevel model of RV antecedents and suggest that organizational influence (social cues and modeling) and individual factors (observer characteristics and behavioral outcomes) affect RV, especially with increasing recruitment of salespeople. Design/methodology/approach Using data from a leading financial company in Taiwan, the authors analyzed 1,231 records of salespeople’s misbehavior through logistic regression and average marginal effects. Findings Modeling in the organization (i.e. peer misconduct), observer characteristics (i.e. experience concerning job tenure and prior violations) and behavioral outcomes (i.e. information concealment violations) were all found to affect the likelihood of RV, and the interactional effect of organizational size was confirmed. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to ethical decision-making theory by explaining aspects of RV through SLT. Its multilevel model, integrated with organizational strategy theories, adds an SLT-focused paradigm into unethical behavior research by considering vicarious learning and self-learning, alongside the reciprocal determinism of cognition, behavior, and environment. Practical implications Managers should consider socially based patterns of violation when initiating a sales business plan. The chances of RV are increased by unethical models in the organization and offenders’ potential for violations, which is reinforced by social environment. Originality/value This study clarified the key drivers of RV decision-making using SLT and identified an effective sales development strategy to maintain an ethically responsible salesforce.
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Crawford, Joseph A., Sarah Dawkins, Angela Martin, and Gemma Lewis. "Putting the leader back into authentic leadership: Reconceptualising and rethinking leaders." Australian Journal of Management 45, no. 1 (April 10, 2019): 114–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0312896219836460.
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Increasingly poor and unethical decision-making on the part of leaders across the globe, such as the recent Australian Cricket Ball Tampering Scandal, pose a significant challenge for society and for organisations. Authentic leadership development is one strategy that has been positioned as an antidote to unethical leadership behaviours. However, despite growing interest in authentic leadership, the construct still embodies several criticisms including conceptual clarity; leader-centricity; bias towards the person, not the leader; philosophical ambiguity; and demographic challenges. Each of these criticisms will be explored in depth to inform a reconceptualisation of the authentic leader construct, comprising indicators of awareness, sincerity, balanced processing, positive moral perspective and informal influence. Importantly, this revised conceptualisation considers how researchers can conceptually distinguish between authentic leaders, followers and individuals. To conclude, we propose a research agenda for authentic leaders, encouraging the pursuit of further construct clarity, including the development of rigorous authentic leader behaviour measures, expanding the psychometric profile of the authentic leader construct, increasing the focus on authentic followers and enhancing leader development programmes.JEL Classification: M12
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Sfodera, Fabiola, Alberto Mattiacci, Costanza Nosi, and Isabella Mingo. "Social networks feed the food supplements shadow market." British Food Journal 122, no. 5 (March 3, 2020): 1531–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/bfj-09-2019-0663.
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PurposeThe paper investigates the role of social networks in the millennials’ decision-making process of illegal and unnotified food supplements purchase. The connections and interactions that (co) produce information are studied with a holistic perspective of social sustainability as a development driver of business model innovation.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory qualitative multiple analysis study was conducted in two consecutive phases. Data from 23 semi-structured individual interviews were collected, followed by a netnographic analysis of the Facebook virtual community.FindingsThe results show that the decision-making process does not develop following the traditional sequence, as social networks modify the wellness meaning creation process and reduce risk perception. Moreover, social networks introduce the use of similar experiences of others and online information and emotional support on unethical and unhealthy behavior.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the application to a social network, the results should be understood within this context. Future studies would benefit by expanding the target and the range of social networks explored.Practical implicationsThe official information quality control, as a prerogative of public and professional health stakeholders, and the medialization of medicalization, contribute to the conscious development of their wellness meanings and values.Originality/valueThis work represents one of the first attempts to investigate resources integration through social networks in the pre-purchase decision-making process of unnotified and illegal food supplements. Unethical and unhealthy behavior develops through the interaction of actors, firms, influencers and individuals over social networks.
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Robertson, Diana C., and William T. Ross. "Decision-Making Processes on Ethical Issues: The Impact of a Social Contract Perspective." Business Ethics Quarterly 5, no. 2 (April 1995): 213–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3857354.
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Abstract:This paper develops a framework for examining decision making about ethical issues and tests the applicability of a social contract perspective. Using two separate samples of students and salespeople, we determine that community members (salespeople) tend to judge a potentially unethical act to constitute a violation of an implicit social contract and non-community members (students) do not. Also, consistent with the emphasis on context specificity of integrative social contracts theory, situational variables influence perceptions of ethicality for the community members, but do not affect the perceptions of individuals outside the community. The study finds considerable support for the use of a social contractarian perspective in the study of decision-making processes about ethical issues.
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Rohit Kanda and Harish Handa. "The Impact of Service Ethics on Organizational Competitiveness in India - A Primary Approach to the Startup and Emerging Service Enterprises." Think India 21, no. 2 (August 23, 2018): 36–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.26643/think-india.v21i2.7763.
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Ethics concern an individual’s moral judgments about right and wrong. The decision to behave ethically is a moral one; employees must decide what they think is the right course of action. This may involve rejecting the route, which would lead to the biggest short-term profit. It seems the larger a corporation gets, the slimier their actions become. When big profits are a company’s largest and only concern, their employees and the world in general tends to suffer. Here are companies, which have engaged in terribly unethical business practices and are, fortunately, being called out for it. Many a times, business houses get involved in unethical business practices to increase their profits or improve their capability in market. Such practices were carried out throughout the world. This calls for studying the matter. Approaching towards our Focus Group, i.e., Indian Service Sector, which is the youngest and the fastest-growing sector of Economy as well as has the largest share in the structure and growth of the economy, is the foremost tool of growth and development of nation, we can have. However, this sector in recent past many a times, especially in India, has been accused of its service failures and incompetence, arising out of irresponsible behaviour / treatise of management or professionals at various levels. Now, in this research that focuses on Emerging and Start-up Indian Service Sector Corporates, the status of ethics in their practices and the need and possibility of its revival has been studied.
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Wilborn, LaChelle R., Robert A. Brymer, and Ray Schmidgall. "Ethical Decisions and Gender Differences of European Hospitality Students." Tourism and Hospitality Research 7, no. 3-4 (September 2007): 230–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.thr.6050055.
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The purpose of this paper is to assess the sources influencing an ethical decision-making process of European hospitality students. Ten scenarios were used (1) to indicate whether the action posed was ‘ethical’, ‘unethical’, or ‘not a question of ethics’ and (2) to indicate what they would do if they were in this situation. We found that of the nearly 400 European hospitality students, 54 per cent females and 46 per cent males, both genders indicated that parents, close friends, and business management courses influenced their ethical beliefs the most. Additionally, we found that responses were significantly different for only one of the ten scenarios with regards to gender. The action responses to the proposed scenarios were, however, statistically significant for five scenarios; four of these five were business scenarios. Female European hospitality students were more likely to engage in ethical behaviour and are generally less tolerant of questionable practices than their male peers.
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Roberts, Foster, Christopher H. Thomas, Milorad M. Novicevic, Anthony Ammeter, Bart Garner, Paul Johnson, and Ifeoluwa Popoola. "Integrated Moral Conviction Theory of Student Cheating: An Empirical Test." Journal of Management Education 42, no. 1 (June 2, 2017): 104–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1052562917710686.
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In this article, we develop an integrated moral conviction theory of student cheating by integrating moral conviction with (a) the dual-process model of Hunt–Vitell’s theory that gives primacy to individual ethical philosophies when moral judgments are made and (b) the social cognitive conceptualization that gives primacy to moral identity. We found empirical support for our proposed model in a study with 311 business students where moral conviction predicted student moral disengagement and subsequent unethical decision making related to academic dishonesty not only directly but also indirectly through ethical philosophy and moral identity. Based on these results, we derive specific implications for teaching and learning practice.
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Bon, Ana Carla. "TO BRIBE OR TO CHEAT? EFFECTS OF SELF-MONITORING AND GENDER." Revista Pensamento Contemporâneo em Administração 15, no. 2 (July 1, 2021): 36–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.12712/rpca.v15i2.49628.
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This study aimed to contribute to business ethics research investigating the effects of two individual differences – self-monitoring personality and gender – on ethical decision making. Applying a bribery scenario (intentions) and a cheating matrix task (behavior), results showed that high self-monitors had more unethical intention and behavior than low self‑monitors. Moreover, low self-monitors had more consistency intention-behavior than high self-monitors, and the inconsistencies of the later were different regarding gender. The bi-dimension of self-monitoring construct – acquisitive and protective – was tested and brought additional evidence about the ones who bribes. Possible explanations of these findings are discussed, with suggestions for future research.
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Yuan, Jingbo, Zhimin Zhou, Nan Zhou, and Ge Zhan. "Product market competition, market munificence and firms’ unethical behavior." Chinese Management Studies 13, no. 2 (June 3, 2019): 468–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/cms-06-2018-0569.
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Purpose This paper aims to examine the effect of product market competition on firms’ unethical behavior (FUB) in the Chinese insurance industry and to further explore the boundary conditions of the main effects. On the basis of China’s commercial foundation, the study constructs a conceptual framework of FUB by drawing from the perspective of horizontal competition. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 52 property insurance firms at the branch level observed over the six-year period, 2011-2016. Within this framework, market power and market concentration were used to describe product market competition at firm and industry levels, respectively. The moderating effect of market munificence was analyzed to reveal the theoretical boundaries of the main effect. By drawing upon cost–benefit analysis and social network theory, the study used negative binomial model and Poisson model to quantitatively examine the relationship. Findings The relationship between product market competition and FUB is curvilinear. Especially at the firm level, market power exhibits a U-shape relationship with FUB; at the industry level, market concentration exhibits a U-shape relationship with FUB. In addition, market munificence positively moderates the impact of firm’s market power on FUB, whereas, market munificence negatively moderates the impact of industrial market concentration on FUB. Research limitations/implications This paper explored a new type of unethical behavior that concerns consumers or the third party by emphasizing horizontal competitive contexts; it also provides a better understanding of the FUB–financial performance relationship from the perspective of competition. The moderating effects suggest that when the cause of FUB is different (market power vs market concentration), firms may make opposite ethical choice. However, the sample is from a single industry; it will be fruitful to further verify these findings in other industries such as the manufacturing sector. Moreover, the definition of FUB is confined to explicit forms such as participation or collusion but there is no way to measure the implicit forms of FUB. Practical implications First, the governance of FUB should not only focus on the firms themselves, but also take into account the industrial market structure. Second, proper use of governance measures for FUB can increase firms’ benefits from “compliance with the law”, enticing firms to decrease FUB. The third, firms with weak market positions, facing fierce competition, should not be involved in FUB for short-term benefit; indeed, a low-cost strategy can be adopted as the dominant competitive strategy. While, in cases of highly concentrated market structure, firms should strive to avoid involvement in FUB through collusion with other rivals. Social implications As it is a very common phenomenon that firms in competitive relationships may adopt FUB toward third parties or consumers, this trend has become a hot topic in the economic and social development in China. The study’s conclusions reveal that a more proactive and ambitious ethical decision is desirable for all kinds of firms; moreover, firms should make a rational choice between “short-term interest” and “long-term survival”. When firms identify the compliance of business ethics as an opportunity to differentiate themselves and perceive the benefits of decreasing FUB as outweighing the costs, the level of FUB will be inhibited, and social welfare will increase. Originality/value The primary contribution of this research resides in identifying product market competition as a previously unexplored predictor of FUB, thus revealing the dark side of product market competition. In addition, nonlinear relationships between product market competition and FUB indicate that situations of competition exert an important influence on FUB both at the firm and industry level. This paper’s conclusion provides a more meticulous theoretical explanation for FUB. This research demonstrates that the traditional ethical framework is not sufficient to explain FUB in a horizontal competitive context. Indeed, resource constraints and competitive pressures should also be considered.
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Jovanović, Violeta. "Analysis of the attitudes of students of management on the role of business ethics in business enterprise during the Covid-19 pandemic." Drustveni horizonti 1, no. 1 (2021): 77–105. http://dx.doi.org/10.5937/druhor2101077j.
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Business ethics has become an indispensable part of business practice, and in the long run, a prerequisite for successful business. Unethical business can damage the reputation of the organization, which can be the cause of many negative consequences for the organization. Ethics as a key element of successful business should enable the provision of true information, as well as a correct and honest attitude of the organization towards stakeholders, the social community and the environment in which it operates. Achieving these goals was a challenge for a large number of organizations in the business environment before the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is especially increased during this pandemic. Leadership has the most important role in creating the ethical culture of the organization. Because of that, it is very important for future managers to develop awareness of the importance of business ethics for the organization's business, as well as awareness of ethical decision-making in conditions of risk and major crises, as is the case with the pandemic. The paper analyzes the attitudes of students of management, as future managers, about business ethics in the organization's business operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research results showed that students are aware of the importance of business ethics, but not equally of all segments that it covers.
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Bowen, Michael G., and F. Clark Power. "The Moral Manager: Communicative Ethics and the Exxon Valdez Disaster." Business Ethics Quarterly 3, no. 2 (April 1993): 97–116. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3857366.
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For many, the case of the Exxon Valdez oil spill has become a symbol of unethical corporate behavior. Had Exxon’s managers not callously pursued their own interests at the expense of the environment and other parties, the accident would not have happened. In this paper, we (1) present a short case study of the Valdez incident; (2) argue that many analyses of the case either ignore or fail to give sufficient weight to the uncertainties managers often face when they make decisions; and (3) propose a framework for moral management grounded in principles of communicative ethics, moral dialogue, and in the non-traditional ideas of many current management and behavioral decision theorists. From this view, the moral manager is not expected to know the “correct” answer to every ethical issue, but rather to participate responsibly in an open dialogue with other interested parties.
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Grant, Patricia, and Peter McGhee. "Personal moral values of directors and corporate governance." Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society 17, no. 1 (February 6, 2017): 1–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/cg-03-2016-0046.
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Purpose This paper aims to explore how directors understand the “how” and “why” of their personal moral values in their task of governing the organisation. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a qualitative study. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews of 33 New Zealand directors. Findings Three major themes emerged: Directors’ personal moral values are a powerful driver in ethical decision-making of directors; codes of ethics are seen to be effective to the extent that individuals have a strong moral compass; great value is placed on their personal moral code as being consistent with it, defines who they are. Research limitations/implications This study reveals how and why directors’ personal ethics are important in their task of governance and demonstrates that they are extremely influential in their ethical decision-making. Practical implications Appraisal processes could also make sure this factor is given equal importance along with other skills and competencies. In the area of director selection, proven moral integrity could become a point to investigate prior to the appointment of a director. Originality/value There have been very few studies investigating the subjective ethical experience in ethical decision-making. Investigating the antecedents of ethical or unethical outcomes only provides a partial understanding of the ethical experience.
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Ironkwe, Uwaoma, and Ordu Promise A. "The Place of Ethics in Entrepreneurship: The Nigerian Perspective." International Journal Of Innovation And Economic Development 1, no. 3 (2015): 45–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.18775/ijied.1849-7551-7020.2015.13.2005.
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Management and entrepreneurship practitioners now face more ethical issues every day of their working lives than ever. They face hard decision that does not have an ethical dimension or facet. This is an issue of ethical problems in the decision making process. Scholars have opined that leaders confront ethical issues as they carry out their management responsibilities (Ordu and Okoroafor, 2014). Leaders face the matters of morality; right and wrong, fairness and unfairness, and justice or lack of justice, actions or behaviours in their decision making process of planning, organizing, motivating, communicating, delegating or committing some other management roles. Furthermore, ethics, entrepreneurship and ethical perspectives in management are crucial and these features are indispensible for business survival. Managers today must be informed and this has been receiving attention from scholars and industry practitioners. The focus of this paper is to assist entrepreneurship practitioners to uphold ethical practices that are vital for business survival given the ethical problems prevalent in organisations especially in Nigerian context. Looking at the theories associated with stages of ethical consciousness of organization, various forms of business ethical code formation are highlighted as these are essential and needs to be in place if any entrepreneurial activity must survive. In addition, factors that influence unethical behaviours are explored. There are ethical challenges entrepreneurship may face given the Nigerian context. In conclusion, a way forward for overcoming the ethical challenges has been suggested: getting managers to be accountable and responsible, as well as designing an ethical management index and integrity testing etc.
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Dong, Rui, Ting Lu, Qiaolong Hu, and Shiguang Ni. "The effect of formalism on unethical decision making: The mediating effect of moral disengagement and moderating effect of moral attentiveness." Business Ethics: A European Review 30, no. 1 (September 12, 2020): 127–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/beer.12315.
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Donia, Magda B. L., Salvador Herencia Carrasco, Sara Seck, Robert McCorquodale, and Sigalit Ronen. "The Theorized Relationship between Organizational (Non)Compliance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Human Rights and Desired Employee Workplace Outcomes." Sustainability 12, no. 5 (March 10, 2020): 2130. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12052130.
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Despite the presence of guiding legislation such as the United Nations Guiding Principles, respect for human rights is subject to the conscience of organizational actors. Given that some transnational corporations are more powerful than nation states, they play an important role in the economies in which they operate, often with far-reaching impact on the labor conditions and human rights protections within these countries. In the current global context, respect for human rights may be undermined when organizational decision-makers are tempted to ignore unethical practices due to considerations such as competition and short-term financial incentives. We propose that the higher standards to which younger generations increasingly hold corporations provide a compelling and “business case” incentive for the protection of human rights of external stakeholders by organizational decision-makers. Drawing on related research on corporate social responsibility and on projections regarding demographical changes in the workplace worldwide, we make the case for a bottom-line advantage to respecting human rights in attracting and retaining top talent in work organizations. We conclude by highlighting the theoretical and practical implications of our theorizing.
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Tansley, Carole, Susan Kirk, and Colin Fisher. "Navigating the ethical maze through design action research." European Journal of Training and Development 38, no. 5 (May 27, 2014): 456–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ejtd-08-2013-0087.
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Purpose – The purpose of this study is to identify how ethical stances can be used to develop a frame set in the design of a web-based decision support system (DSS) for ethical decision-making and to test both the efficacy of these frames and the potential of such a tool for individuals and groups in both leadership development situations and organisational practice. Unethical behaviour by executives is a frequently cited reason for erosion of trust with other stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – Utilising action research, by choosing ethics frames such as heuristics, a web-based ethics DSS designed to enable users to explore ethical issues from multiple perspectives was constructed and this was beta-tested with a major UK bank and a global oil company. Findings – In orchestrating constant revisions of the ethics frames in the tool, learning from each research cycle was identified, a new form of action research, a design action research, which emphasises the importance of collaboration in the design of such decision-making tools, was offered and the tool for management development and other applications was successfully beta-tested. Originality/value – It was demonstrated to management developers how web-based systems might be designed by non-information technology professionals; the framing literature was added by demonstrating the value of engaging in dialogue about ethical issues of concern to managers and their organisations and thus improving decision-making; and additions were made to the literature on ethics and Information systems (IS) and contribution toward action research in the fields of IS and ethics was done.
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Ciulla, Joanne B. "Imagination, Fantasy, Wishful Thinking and Truth: Life is translation and we are all lost in it. (Clifford Geertz)." Business Ethics Quarterly 8, S1 (1998): 99–107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1052150x00400096.
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In “Moral Imagination and the Search for Ethical Decision-Making,” Patricia H. Werhane observes that people and institutions sometimes do unethical things because they have a narrow perspective on their situation and little in the way of moral imagination. She defines moral imagination as “an ability to imaginatively discern various possibilities for acting in a given situation and to envision the potential help and harm that are likely to result from a given action.” Werhane’s paper focuses on how the conceptual schemes of people and organizations hinder the exercise of moral imagination. She develops two key concepts for understanding moral imagination, memory or moral amnesia and empathy. Both of these give us a better picture of how imagination bridges the gap between moral principles and actions.
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Johnson, Kevin J., Joé T. Martineau, Saouré Kouamé, Gokhan Turgut, and Serge Poisson-de-Haro. "On the Unethical Use of Privileged Information in Strategic Decision-Making: The Effects of Peers’ Ethicality, Perceived Cohesion, and Team Performance." Journal of Business Ethics 152, no. 4 (March 10, 2018): 917–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3822-5.
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Naskar, Partha. "REDISCOVERING THE IMPACT OF ETHICS IN DIGITALISED MARKETING: ENVISAGING THROUGH MO-CE-SA-PU-EM SCALE." International Journal of Advanced Research 9, no. 03 (March 31, 2021): 502–8. http://dx.doi.org/10.21474/ijar01/12609.
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Amidst fluctuating, turbulent and ever-changing market environment across the globe the market concepts have transformed drastically. The leaps and bounds of digital marketing encompass the global marketing scenario. The cut-throat competition and massive pace with changing business practices has compelled to redesign ethical connotation of present marketing houses. The present study focuses the broad domains viz. morality, word-of-mouth practices, value based advertisements, decision making phenomenon and unethical constraints as the proponent in the digital marketing platform with ethical considerations. The aim of the paper is to identify the items that may be considered to design the MO-CE-SA-PU-EM Scale. The main source of conceptualizing the domains is formulated with related literature and experts opinions comprising both academicians and practicing market executives in the industry in Kolkata as well as across the country through primary and secondary collection methods. A scale would be created involving essential considerations of the paper with the identifiable domains. These would be considered as independent variables and the notion of ethics in digitalized marketing as dependent variable. The implication of the study is that it throws considerable light about the role of ethics in marketing domains and has the potentials to significantly impact marketing business for 21st century digitalized business enterprises.
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Armenta, Barbara J. A. M. G., Kathleen M. Hargiss, and Caroline Howard. "Exploring Variables that Affect Moral Development of Working Professionals." International Journal of Strategic Information Technology and Applications 7, no. 1 (January 2016): 1–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijsita.2016010101.
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The increase of unethical behavior in the workplace has encouraged contemporary researchers to focus their research efforts on exploring moral development of employees in the business sector. It is thought that moral development may be a crucial driver of ethical decision making, while morality may be affected by a range of variables. In this study, the impact of higher education, ethical education, and work experience on moral development of licensed real-estate agents is examined. Moreover, the impact of higher education on an individual's moral development to a higher level of Kohlberg's theory of moral development is evaluated. The results of the study suggest that the variables of higher education, ethical education, and work experience showed no significant impact or increase of moral development of real-estate agents. The findings imply that the level of moral reasoning of real-estate agents service their occupations ethical requirements.
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Nguyen, Lam D., Bahaudin G. Mujtaba, and Frank J. Cavico. "Business ethics development of working adults: a study in Vietnam." Journal of Asia Business Studies 9, no. 1 (January 5, 2015): 33–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jabs-05-2013-0027.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to ascertain if age, gender, management experience and government work experience actually make a difference in the ethical development of respondents in Vietnam, an emerging economy in Southeast Asia. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative self-administered survey was conducted with a convenience sample of Vietnamese working adults obtained through educational institutions, businesses and entrepreneurs and private and public sector organizations. This study used Clark and Clark’s (1966) Personal Business Ethics Scores measure. The Vietnamese version questionnaire was distributed, and a total of 704 surveys were fully completed and analyzed. Findings – Statistically significant differences were found in the variables of age, gender and government work experience. Management experience did not lead to any significant differences. Consequently, Kohlberg’s moral development theory regarding ethical development is partially supported. Research limitations/implications – This study used a convenience sample population. Future studies can compare specific populations in different parts of the country with similar working backgrounds and demographic variables. The small sample size is not necessarily representative of an entire country or the culture in Vietnam. Furthermore, it would be meaningful to investigate the relationship between ethical development and the demographic variables among other Asian countries near Vietnam. Finally, longitudinal studies can be implemented by future researchers to investigate the effects of changes in demographic variables on moral development. Practical implications – Females should be studied more to determine the factors that they consider when making decisions that impact others. Having longer time “socializing” with organizational values might be a stronger influence on ethical behaviors of a person. Vietnamese people are less tolerant for unethical behaviors when they are much younger and when they are much older. Social implications – The importance of ethics education programs at the national and organizational levels is underscored as a key element to combat corruption. Several specific recommendations on how to enhance the fight against corruption and bribery were provided. Originality/value – This study contributes to the moral development theory research and sheds light on the impact of age, gender, government work experience and management experience gained through the development process on ethical decision-making of Vietnamese people. Academicians, managers, practitioners, government leaders and the like can benefit from the findings of this paper.
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Wöcke, Albert, Morris Mthombeni, and Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurro. "Reputations and corruption: Bell Pottinger in South Africa." Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies 10, no. 4 (December 3, 2020): 1–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/eemcs-04-2020-0109.
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Learning outcomes The case can be used in strategic management, international business or ethics courses. In strategic management courses, students will be able to identify political relationships as sources of a firm’s competitive advantage. Students will also understand the role of ethics in the firm’s competitive advantage. In international business courses, the students will be able to analyze the role that corruption and bribery play in the analysis of a country’s institutions. Students will also understand how corruption in a host country influences a firms’ decision to internationalize. Finally, students will understand the challenges that firms face when serving customers in other countries. In ethics courses, students will understand the nature of state/business corruption, i.e. the abuse of public office for private gain and the concept of state capture, i.e. managers controlling the political system for their advantage. Students will be able to analyze the decision of whether to collaborate with unethical partners or customers. Case overview/synopsis Bell Pottinger Private (BPP) was a British public relations (PR) firm with a successful but questionable reputation of helping famous critical figures and despots improve their public image. In 2016, Lord Tim Bell and the other leaders of BPP were asked to create a PR campaign for the Gupta family. The Guptas were a group of businessmen headed by three brothers who migrated from India to South Africa in the early 1990s. By the 2010s, they had built a business empire allegedly thanks to a corrupt relationship with the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma and his family. The press and prosecutors were increasing their investigations on these relations. The case has two parts, which address two separate challenges and can be taught as standalone cases or in a sequence in two sessions. Complexity academic level MBA and Executive Education. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 5: International business.
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Coldwell, David Alastair, Robert Venter, and Emmanuel Nkomo. "Developing ethical managers for future business roles: a qualitative study of the efficacy of “Stand-Alone” and “Embedded” University “Ethics” courses." Journal of International Education in Business 13, no. 2 (April 20, 2020): 145–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jieb-08-2019-0040.
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Purpose While the problem of unethical leadership is undoubtedly a global one, the urgency of generating ethical leadership to advance the development of Africa has never been more evident than it is today. The challenge for higher education in developing ethical leaders is of core importance, as it is responsible for providing the main recruiting ground of business leaders. The current paper reports findings of a qualitative study of postgraduate students’ ethical development at the end of courses in business ethics aimed to enhance moral reasoning and ethical decision-making. The paper aims to ascertain whether stand-alone ethics courses are more effective than integrated ones in achieving academic ethical competency. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts an idiographic approach which aims at eliciting individual student subjective perceptions of the effects of the direct and indirect courses of ethical instruction on their moral reasoning and ethical practice. The research design broadly follows Mill’s (2017) method of difference. Findings Findings indicate perceived differences in the relative effectiveness of stand-alone and embedded ethics courses among students but also show that most students hold positive overall evaluations of the effectiveness of the both types of ethics instruction. Research limitations/implications Limitations to the study include that it is cross-sectional, involves a small sample of postgraduate students and is restricted to two management courses at one institution of higher learning. Furthermore, while Mill (2017) provides a useful research design in this context, it is not able to indicate causality, as there are other possible unidentified “third variables” that may be the actual cause of student differences between embedded and stand-alone ethics courses. The study is not able to show the durability and transfer of ethical competencies into students’ later working lives. Practical implications The study provides a useful practical educational contribution to the extant knowledge in the field in that it suggests that ethical courses aimed at giving students a moral reasoning “toolkit” for ethical decision-making are more effective when delivered in the stand-alone format, whereas practical decision-making skills are best honed by embedded business ethics courses. Social implications The problem of corruption in business and politics in South Africa is widely documented and has been regarded as responsible for creating a serious developmental drag on the alleviation of poverty and quality of lives of the majority of people in the country. The moral/ethical competency and behavior of future business leaders is partly the responsibility of institutions of higher learning. The study aims to find the most effective means of imparting moral awareness in postgraduate students who are likely to take up business leadership positions in their future careers. Originality/value The study provides useful contribution to the extant knowledge in the field in the African context in that it suggests that ethical courses aimed at giving students a moral reasoning “toolkit” for ethical decision-making are more effective when delivered in the stand-alone format, whereas practical decision-making skills are best honed by embedded business ethics courses.
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Pierce, Jason R., and Herman Aguinis. "Detrimental Citizenship Behaviour: A Multilevel Framework of Antecedents and Consequences." Management and Organization Review 11, no. 1 (March 2015): 69–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/more.12015.
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ABSTRACTThere is regular and explicit media coverage of employee behaviour intended to advance organizational goals, but that harms stakeholder interests in ways that exceed necessity and reason. Although several constructs such as workplace deviance, organizational misbehaviour, corporate crime and corruption, and unethical pro-organizational behaviour have been advanced to account for this type of behaviour, no comprehensive framework exists that also includes the full scope of its important consequences. Accordingly, we propose the umbrella construct of detrimental citizenship behaviour (DCB) that allows us to integrate and build upon previous related conceptualizations that have developed mostly in parallel bodies of research. We rely on ethical decision-making, creativity, and instrumental stakeholder theories to embed the umbrella DCB construct within a multi-level and longitudinal model. The DCB model includes processes through which such behaviour and its consequences unfold over time for organizational members, organizations, and society at large. The proposed framework describes, explains, and predicts DCB and also leads to suggestions for future research. In addition, we offer suggestions regarding how to manage this highly consequential type of organizational behaviour, thereby engaging in a much-needed science-practice dialogue in management and organization studies.
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Alderman, Jillian. "Million dollar gamblers: a case of embezzlement in South Whitehall Township." CASE Journal 15, no. 3 (March 30, 2019): 171–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/tcj-12-2018-0122.
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Theoretical basis The fraud diamond theory, the COSO framework on internal control and theories of ethical leadership and ethical decision making are applied. Research methodology The details of this case were compiled using publicly available information, including court records and news reports. No modifications were made to the names of individuals or places mentioned in the case. All resources have been properly cited. Case overview/synopsis Employee embezzlement is a common issue in limited resource organizations when adequate controls are not in place to prevent or detect fraud. In such organizations, personal financial hardships can drive individuals to commit crimes that are out of character. This case is a story of a respectable small-town couple implicated in a near million dollar embezzlement scheme. Students are asked to consider what went wrong and propose solutions for the prevention of similar crimes. Lessons learned from this case emphasize the importance of ethical leadership, creating a strong ethical environment and how small unethical acts can escalate over time. Complexity academic level Instructors can utilize this case to teach the topics of ethical leadership and decision making, fraud prevention and detection and internal controls. The themes of this case fit well into any business ethics, accounting or auditing course at the undergraduate or graduate level. The case has been implemented in courses for full-time and part-time MBAs, and master’s programs in finance, human resources and accounting.
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Han Fan, Ying, Gordon Woodbine, and Glennda Scully. "Guanxi, a two-edged sword! How Australian accounting professionals view the process within a moral framework." Managerial Auditing Journal 29, no. 8 (August 26, 2014): 695–716. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/maj-11-2013-0957.
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Purpose – The purpose of this study is to determine how Western business practitioners, specifically Australian accounting professionals, identify with the Chinese value concept of guanxi and the impact of their perceptions of guanxi on their ethical decision-making. This objective is predicated by a belief that aspects of guanxi are similar to the Western concepts of social networking and would be identified by practitioners as an organizational process providing positive benefits to those associated with its application. Further, it is anticipated that concepts of guanxi influence the way Australian accountants form ethical judgements and intentions, precursors to acceptable moral behaviour. Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional questionnaire based on a survey of 111 usable Australian accounting professionals was completed during 2012. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate each construct of guanxi before a path analysis was performed. Findings – Australian accounting professionals associate well with the favour-seeking aspects of guanxi, suggesting an affiliation with Western concepts of social networking. Both groups (i.e. public accountants and private accountants) reject rent-seeking guanxi as clearly unethical. Rent-seeking guanxi is seen to directly influence ethical judgement and intention; however, their favour-seeking guanxi attitudes do not influence ethical judgement or intention, regardless of employment type. Public and private accountants apply guanxi in a differential manner when determining moral intention. Public accountants are viewed as acting spontaneously without adequately considering the consequences (via the judgement phase), which appears to be a function of the nature of their personal association with the case study applied in this research. Originality/value – The research provides evidence that Australian accounting professionals relate to favour-seeking guanxi as representative of a broader notion of social networking. In this context, the guanxi instrument appears to be amenable to cross-cultural evaluations of group behaviour. Significant differences of opinion exist compared to the prior Chinese studies when unethical practices are considered. The guanxi instrument proves to be a useful tool when examining the group interactions involving Western professionals and also helps establish differences in moral constructions based on employment types.
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Mehra, Payal, and Anubhav Mishra. "Role of Communication, Influence, and Satisfaction in Patient Recommendations of a Physician." Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers 46, no. 2 (June 2021): 99–111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/02560909211027090.
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As per the India Brand Equity Foundation, by 2022, India’s healthcare market is expected to reach US$372 billion. While exponential growth in the availability of private hospitals has been recorded in the past few years, many hospitals are not able to attract enough patients due to poor quality of services, unavailability of skilled healthcare workers, and unethical medical practices. These issues were painfully exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients rely on recommendations from friends and relatives to select a physician or hospital. This study undertakes a customer-oriented view of patients to explore patients’ perceptions of physicians’ communication and how it influences the recommendation of a physician. For the study, data are collected from 626 patients spread across three cities of North India. We find that physician communication leads to favourable recommendations, and the patient’s perceived influence and satisfaction play an important role in this process. The physician should display empathy and compassion while communicating to patients, which helps build a favourable perception of the physician. This leads to a higher level of satisfaction with the healthcare provider. Furthermore, the study also examines the effects of socio-demographic variables, such as patient’s income, patient’s gender, and physician’s gender. People with high (vs low) income are more satisfied with physician communication, whereas people with low (vs high) income are more likely to recommend a physician. Interestingly, female patients are more satisfied with a physician’s communication skills than males. Aligned with the patriarchal society, patients show more acceptance of male (vs female) doctors, but in contrast, patients are more likely to recommend a female (vs male) doctor. So, we recommend that healthcare providers ensure that patients get sufficient time to spend with their physicians to discuss problems and not ‘rush’ the patients to improve revenues.
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Bam, Louzanne, Katleen De Stobbeleir, and PJ Vlok. "Outcomes of team creativity: a person-environment fit perspective." Management Research Review 42, no. 6 (June 17, 2019): 760–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/mrr-02-2018-0098.
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Purpose Limited research where team creativity (TC) is positioned as an independent variable constitutes a weak point in the body of knowledge. This paper aims to offer three contributions to address this research gap: empirical research that has been conducted on the outcomes of TC is summarized; a person–environment fit perspective is applied to develop a conceptual model for TC; and directions for future empirical research are proposed. Design/methodology/approach A literature review is conducted to identify empirical research on the outcomes of TC. This is summarized into an extension of an existing framework that organizes empirical research on the antecedents of TC. Furthermore, the fit model for TC is developed, based on a person–environment fit perspective. Findings Research on the outcomes of TC has focused on three themes: performance; affective state; and processes. Gaps in this body of knowledge include limited knowledge on performance outcomes and a lack of research on potential negative outcomes. Recommendations for future research include: potential moderators of the relationship between TC and two outcome, innovation and team performance, are proposed; strain and unethical decision-making are proposed as potential negative outcomes of TC; and it is proposed that incorporating a temporal dimension would improve the understanding of the cyclical manner in which certain variables and TC may interact over time. Originality/value The organizing framework extension summarizes existing knowledge on the outcomes of TC, and together with the fit model for TC, this offers a basis for identifying research gaps and directions for future research. Specific directions for future empirical research are proposed.
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Hanić, Azra, and Dragana Jevtić. "Human Resource Management Between Economy and Ethics – Research of Serbia and Bosnia and Hercegovina." Business Ethics and Leadership 4, no. 3 (2020): 127–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.21272/bel.4(3).127-136.2020.
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This paper discusses economic and ethical issues that bring about certain limitations in human resource management as one of the basic organizational functions, through which the organization’s relationship with employees is expressed. The aim of this paper is to point out the ethical dimension of human resource management as a key organizational function, which has economic, but at the same time ethical responsibilities. In elaborating this problem, we started from the basic assumption that human resource management as an organizational function and theoretical concept should balance between economic and ethical requirements, which depends on the attitudes of managers as decision makers. In addition to the analysis of the existing literature in this field, an empirical research was conducted to verify the stated assumptions on the basis of a survey questionnaire, which explored the attitudes of managers. The results were processed by statistical methods in the SPSS program. The significance of this paper derives from the importance of employees for the organization and the sensitivity of the human dimension of the organization in relation to the economic one. Bad condition in human resources management in BiH and Serbia, as the countries on which our research is focused, with unfavorable situation on the labor market, low level of perception of needs by managers and knowledge (professionalism) required for experts in this field to achieve necessary influence and affirm an effective concept and practice, opens opportunities for unethical actions of organizations. Unethical practices can be generated by ignorance, employers ’greed for quick profits, and weak institutional influence. High distance of power is an unfavorable cultural factor that encourages the arbitrariness of individuals and prevents social control of the behavior of organizations. In these wanderings and undefined directions of institutional development, in these countries there is room for corruption, poor law enforcement (incomplete reform of the judicial system), insufficiently defined protection of private property, strong influence of political parties in all spheres of life, political and economic connection, significant share of state property, etc. On the ground of egalitarian culture, high social inequality and impoverishment of the majority of the population is created, which negatively affects education, health and distracts attention from the civic control of the government. Therefore, in the research we started from the assumption that the primary evaluation of the human and social function of business and employees as a purpose, not a means, positively affects the ethical practice of human resource management, which we tested over the average response of respondents employed in different positions in the organization. The results obtained are presented in the paper. Keywords: Business Ethics, Ethics, Employees, Economics, HRM, Organization.
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Zheng, Connie, and Soheila Mirshekary. "Exposure to unethical behaviour: does it change accounting firms’ ethical stance?" Corporate Ownership and Control 11, no. 2 (2014): 319–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.22495/cocv11i2c3p1.
Full textAbstract:
Decisions to implement ethical policies and practices at the organizational level are assumingly influenced by two key factors: (1) the extent to which businesses are exposed to prevalent unethical behaviours; and (2) change of business owner/manager’s personal attitudes toward unethical behaviours. Based on the theories of planned behaviour (TPB) and reasoned action (TRA), it is hypothesised that exposure leads to changed personal attitudes of individual business owners/managers, which in turn determine the potential actions taken by them to implement ethical policies and practices in their respective firms. Using a sample of 209 Australian small accounting firms, we test these hypotheses. Path analysis results indicate close relationships between the exposure and firm owners/managers’ personal attitudes towards unethical behaviour; and between the exposure and firms’ decisions to implement ethical policies. Increased exposure to unethical behaviour is nonetheless a concern as it triggered stronger personal attitudes towards accepting unethical behaviour. However, more exposure to unethical behaviour creates motivates owners/managers of small accounting firms to take actions and implement more ethical policies and practices at firm level. Policy implications of these results and future research directions are discussed.