Tackling Unethical Behavior by Integrating Approaches Tackling Unethical Behavior in Organizations by Integrating Multiple Approaches Currently under review (original) (raw)

Managing unethical behavior in organizations: The need for a behavioral business ethics approach

Journal of Management & Organization, 2016

Issues of morality and ethics have increasingly become more important in organizations and business settings. Traditionally, these issues of ethics and social responsibility in business settings have been discussed and commented on by prescriptive approaches that are grounded in philosophical traditions. Building on the idea that we need to develop a more comprehensive and complete understanding of the value that people assign to ethics and how it influences their actions and decisions, in the present article we discuss and review the importance and relevance of adopting also a descriptive approach that is grounded in the behavioral sciences (referred to as behavioral business ethics). This approach has the advantages to promote our insights into how people can show both good and bad behavior and why this is the case. Behavioral business ethics therefore represents an important research challenge for organizational researchers to pursue and engage more meaningfully with more prescri...

Understanding unethical behavior by unraveling ethical culture

Human Relations, 2011

Unethical behavior in the workplace is a widespread phenomenon. In this article a model for the ethical culture of organizations that consists of eight dimensions is employed to explain unethical behavior. The sample was composed of 341 triads consisting of a manager and two direct reports. The results show that six dimensions of ethical culture were negatively related to observed unethical behavior: ethical role modeling of management, ethical role modeling of supervisors, capability to behave ethically, commitment to behave ethically, openness to discuss ethical issues, and reinforcement of ethical behavior. Two of the eight dimensions, clarity of ethical standards and visibility of (un)ethical behavior, were not significantly related to unethical behavior. This study demonstrates that multiple dimensions of ethical culture have to be taken into account to reduce unethical behavior. The study opens up avenues for future research about the significance of each dimension in specific settings, the dynamic relationship between these dimensions, and the instruments required to improve each dimension of ethical culture.

The challenge of ethical behavior in organizations

Journal of Business Ethics, 1992

This paper is designed to do three things while discussing the challenge of ethical behavior in organization. First, it discusses some reasons why unethical behavior occurs in organization. Secondly, the paper highlights the importance of organizational culture in establishing an ethical climate within an organization. Finally, the paper presents some suggestions for creating and maintaining an ethically-oriented culture.

Unethical Behavior: A Multidisciplinary Review of the Highly Cited Papers

The Annals of the University of Oradea. Economic Sciences

Our multidisciplinary review paper aims to explore the research paradigms of unethical behavior from different academic perspectives. By doing this, our paper contributes to a better understanding of unethical behavior by drawing knowledge from alternative understandings of such behavior. More specifically, our multidisciplinary inquiry aims to summarize the main findings documented by scholars from different disciplines that conducted independent research on the topic using unique perspectives and ideas associated with the field. As such, in order to gain a better understanding of how unethical behavior is examined through a range of different disciplines and areas of research we assessed the highly cited papers found at the intersection of various categories and research areas such as management, business economics, and psychology, ethics, engineering, and environmental sciences and ecology, public environmental occupational health. Having the goal to offer the most representative...

Developing a Measure of Unethical Behavior in the Workplace: A Stakeholder Perspective

Journal of Management, 2008

To date, only one empirically tested measure of the observed frequency of unethical behavior in the workplace exists. This widely used measure focuses on intraorganizational cheating and thus covers only a limited part of the much broader spectrum of unethical behaviors in the workplace. Given the importance of a valid measure, this article uses stakeholder theory as a conceptual basis to develop a broader and multidimensional measure of unethical behavior in eight consecutive steps. Exploratory factor analysis generates five subscales comprising 37 items of unethical behavior primarily related to financiers, customers, employees, suppliers, and society. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrates that a five-factor model has a superior fit to a onefactor model. The subscales display good internal reliability. Preliminary evidence of nomological and criterion-related validity is also provided.

Multidimensional Ethical Dilemmas of Contemporary Organizations: A Literature Review

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INNOVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

This paper reviewed the literature on ethics, ethical theories, ethical principles; as well as the implications of unethical practices in organizations. The study revealed that unethical business practices have devastating consequences on organizations; since they result in poor corporate image, financial losses; market failures and sometimes complete corporate collapse. It was further observed that corruption, bad leadership, poor corporate governance, conflict of interest, lack of accountability, inadequate CSR, abusive and intimating behaviors among others are common in most organizations. The paper concludes that it is beneficial and in the enlightened self -interest of organizations to adopt good ethical practices. The paper also recommends that managers’ should ensure that ethical standards are crafted in their business philosophy and strategic intents in order to build and maintain a good corporate image.

Ethical Behaviour in Organizations: A Literature Review

Quest Journals Journal of Research in Business and Management, 2016

This article review literature on ethical behavior to identify factors and variables which influences ethical behavior. This study is divided into theoretical and empirical studies and its relevance to theory. Identified variables are divided into individual factors, organizational and external factors. Variables under these factors are locus of control, achievement orientation, Machiavellianism as individual variable. Ethics training, code of ethics and rewarding system are organizational variable. Competition, influence of stakeholders and regulation system are external variables. These studies aim to find out the development of trends from seventies to two thousands fifteen in the studies of ethical behavior. This review provides insights to the future researchers who want to research related to ethical behavior. This review also helps professionals to understand ethical behavior in context of their organization to manage ethical aspects in to their organizations in a better way.

Ethical and unethical leadership issues, cases, and dilemmas with case studies

International Journal of Applied Research, 2018

Ethical issues have become important to leadership and management practice as a result of many well known cases of failure by organizations and individuals to observe and maintain ethical standards. Unethical activities of these organizations have resulted to defrauding of stockholders, consumers and employees, creditors and government to various degrees depending on the nature of the scandal or fraud. In this paper it was noted that organizations and individual have a role to play in ensuring ethical business and individual conduct. Organizations should create ethical environments by providing ethical role modelling and consisted ethical decisions and save workers from ethical dilemmas. Employees on their side should be ethical in thinking and actions to save themselves and their organizations from the costs related to unethical conduct. Whereas ethical conduct is costly and difficult to measure and account, there is evidence of long term benefits as acting ethically builds trust and respect which is necessary for successful long term business and personal success. The solution to ethical and unethical challenges lies within organizations and individuals but leaders have a special role to act as role models and create ethical environments and organizations. Psychological factors, organizational and societal pressures, and a number situational factors make it difficult for people to realize their own ethical aspirations, but we must all try to be ethical in all our undertakings as individuals or corporates because there is evidence of long term personal and corporate gains.

Behavioral Ethics in Organizations: A Review On behalf of: Southern Management Association

The importance of ethical behavior to an organization has never been more apparent, and in recent years researchers have generated a great deal of knowledge about the management of individual ethical behavior in organizations. We review this literature and attempt to provide a coherent portrait of the current state of the field. We discuss individual, group, and organizational influences and consider gaps in current knowledge and obstacles that limit our understanding. We conclude by offering directions for future research on behavioral ethics in organizations.