Showing papers in "Business Ethics Quarterly in 2014"

The Effects of Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility on Employee Attitudes

Abstract: We explore the impact on employee attitudes of their perceptions of how others outside the organization are treated (i.e., corporate social responsibility) above and beyond the impact of how employees are directly treated by the organization. Results of a study of 827 employees in eighteen organizations show that employee perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) are positively related to (a) organizational commitment with the relationship being partially mediated by work meaningfulness and perceived organizational support (POS) and (b) job satisfaction with work meaningfulness partially mediating the relationship but not POS. Moreover, in order to address limited micro-level research in CSR, we develop a measure of employee perceptions of CSR through four pilot studies. Employing a bifactor model, we find that social responsibility has an additional effect on employee attitudes beyond environmental responsibility, which we posit is due to the relational component of social responsibility (e.g., relationships with community).

Is Formal Ethics Training Merely Cosmetic?: A Study of Ethics Training and Ethical Organizational Culture

Abstract: U.S. Organizational Sentencing Guidelines provide firms with incentives to develop formal ethics programs to promote ethical organizational cultures and thereby decrease corporate offenses. Yet critics argue such programs are cosmetic. Here we studied bank employees before and after the introduction of formal ethics training-an important component of formal ethics programs-to examine the effects of training on ethical organizational culture. Two years after a single training session, we find sustained, positive effects on indicators of an ethical organizational culture (observed unethical behavior, intentions to behave ethically, perceptions of organizational efficacy in managing ethics, and the firm's normative structure). While espoused organizational values also rose in importance post-training, the boost dissipated after the second year which suggests perceptions of values are not driving sustained behavioral improvements. This finding conflicts with past theory which asserts that enduring behavioral improvements arise from the inculcation of organizational values. Implications for future research are discussed.

Organizational Reintegration and Trust Repair after an Integrity Violation: A Case Study

Abstract: This paper presents a holistic, contextualised case study of reintegration and trust repair at a UK utilities firm in the wake of its fraud and data manipulation scandal. Drawing upon conceptual frameworks of reintegration and organizational trust repair, we analyze the decisions and actions taken by the company in its efforts to restore trust with its stakeholders. The analysis reveals seven themes on the merits of proposed approaches for reintegration after an integrity violation (including open investigations, accurate explanations, apologies, penance, and systemic reforms), and novel insights on the role of organizational identity, “changing of the guard” and cultural reforms alongside procedural modifications. The case further supports the dynamic nature of stakeholder salience across the reintegration process. The study both supports propositions from existing frameworks and suggests novel theoretical extensions for future research.

When Does Ethical Leadership Affect Workplace Incivility?: The Moderating Role of Follower Personality

Abstract: Although prior work has shown that employees with ethical leaders are less likely to engage in deviant or unethical behaviors, it is unknown whether all employees respond this way or to the same extent. Drawing on social learning theory as a conceptual framework, this study develops and tests hypotheses suggesting that two follower characteristics--conscientiousness and core self-evaluation--moderate the negative relationship between ethical leadership and workplace incivility. Data from employees of a U.S. public school district supported our predictions. Implications and future research directions are discussed

Global Business Norms and Islamic Views of Women’s Employment

Abstract: This article examines the issue of gender equality within Islam in order to develop an ethical framework for businesses operating in Muslim majority countries. We pay attention to the role of women and seemingly inconsistent expectations of Islamic and Western societies with regard to appropriate gender roles. In particular, we contrast a mainstream Western liberal individualist view of freedom and equality-the capability approach, used here as an illustration of mainstream Western liberalism-with an egalitarian Islamic view on gender equality. While the article identifies an opportunity for this particular approach to reform patriarchal interpretations and practices of Islam toward gender egalitarian interpretations and practices, it also contests the notions of adaptation and well-being inherent within the capability approach. We suggest that a dialectical approach to understanding the relationships among religion, culture, and business provides a better guide to responsible business action in Muslim Majority countries than does the capability approach.

Consumption practices: : A virtue ethics approach

Abstract: Ethical research on consumption has focused mainly on the obligations, principles and values guiding consumers' actions and reasons for action. In doing so, it has concerned itself mostly with such bounded contexts as voluntary simplifiers, anti-consumption movements or so-called 'ethical consumers,' thereby fostering an artificial opposition between ethical and non-ethical consumption. This paper proposes virtue ethics as a more apt conceptual framework for the ethical analysis of consumption because it takes into account the developmental dynamic triggered by engagement in consumption practices. We build on MacIntyre's goods-virtues-practices-institutions framework and Beabout's concept of a domain-relative practice and argue that when engaging in consumption activities, agents may pursue goods internal to practices, further their individual life narratives and contribute to the good of their communities, thus developing virtues that perfect themselves both as consumers and as ethical agents

Participation versus Consent: Should Corporations Be Run according to Democratic Principles?

Abstract: The notion of "democracy" has become a much-debated concept in scholarship on business ethics, management, and organization studies. The strategy of this paper is to distinguish between a principle of organization that fosters participation (type I democracy) and a principle of legitimation that draws on consent (type II democracy). Based on this distinction, we highlight conceptual shortcomings of the literature on stakeholder democracy. We demonstrate that parts of the literature tend to confound ends with means. Many approaches employ type I democracy notions of participation and often take for granted that this also improves type II democratic legitimation. We hold this to be a mistake. We provide examples of the ambiguity of organizational procedures and show that under some circumstances a decrease in the degree of participation may actually increase legitimation because a governance structure that results in higher productivity can provide higher benefits for all parties involved, serve their interests and therefore meet then agreement. Less type I democracy may mean more type II democracy. We believe this to be an important insight for judging (and further improving) the legitimacy of both capitalistic firms and competitive markets

Bridging Diverging Perspectives and Repairing Damaged Relationships in the Aftermath of Workplace Transgressions

Abstract: Workplace transgressions elicit a variety of opinions about their meaning and what is required to address them. This diversity in views makes it difficult for managers to identify a mutually satisfactory response and to enable repair of the relationships between the affected parties. We develop a conceptual model for understanding how to bridge these diverging perspectives and foster relationship repair. Specifically, we argue that effective relationship repair is dependent on the parties' reciprocal concern for others' viewpoints and collective engagement in the justice repair process. This approach enhances our understanding of the inter-dependency between justice and reconciliation/reintegration, while also providing theoretical insight into the processes underlying restorative conferencing, innovations that promise to help managers heal damaged organizational bonds

Global Labor Justice and the Limits of Economic Analysis

Abstract: This article considers the economic case for so-called sweatshop wages and working conditions. My goal is not to defend or reject the economic case for sweatshops. Instead, proceeding from a broadly pluralist understanding of value, I make and defend a number of claims concerning the ethical relevance of economic analysis for values that different agents utilize to evaluate sweatshops. My arguments give special attention to a series of recent articles by Benjamin Powell and Matt Zwolinski, which represent the latest and best defense of the economic case for sweatshops. In the process, I challenge Zwolinski's "non-worseness claim" (NWC), and the idea that opposition to sweatshop wages and working conditions fails to respect that the autonomy of would-be sweatshop workers. Ultimately, I conclude that even if the economic case for sweatshops rests on a solid empirical foundation, agents possess good reason to advocate for better wages and working conditions for sweatshop workers, and to prefer less exploitative or coercive relationships. Sweatshop labor undermines a compelling vision of free markets, according to both Kantian and republican conceptions of freedom, and the relationships formed by those who participate in such markets

Back into the Fold: The Influence of Offender Amends and Victim Forgiveness on Peer Reintegration

Abstract: After a transgression has occurred within an organization, a primary concern is the reintegration of the affected parties (namely offenders and victims) back into the organizational community. However, beyond offenders and victims, reintegration depends on the views of organizational peers and their desire to interact with these parties. In two studies, we demonstrated that offender amends and victim forgiveness interact to predict peer reintegrative outcomes. We found evidence of backlash against unforgiving victims: Peers wanted to work the least with victims who rejected appropriate amends, thus penalizing them for their failure to contribute to the restoration process. This backlash effect was due to decreased liking of the victim and the perceived failure to repair the offender-victim relationship. These findings demonstrate that peers expect both offenders and victims to do their part to achieve reconciliation following transgression, and both may suffer the consequences of failing to meet peer expectations. Implications for reintegration within organizations are discussed.

A Responsive Approach to Organizational Misconduct: Rehabilitation, Reintegration, and the Reduction of Reoffense

Abstract: In this article, we examine how regulators, prosecutors, and courts might support and encourage the efforts of organizations to not only reintegrate after misconduct but also to improve their conduct in a way that reduces their likelihood of re-offense (rehabilitation). We explore a novel experiment in creative sentencing in Alberta Canada that aimed to try to change the behaviour of an industry by publicly airing the root causes of a failure of one the industry's leaders. Drawing on this case and prior work, we articulate a model for a responsive and restorative approach to organizational misconduct that balances the punitive role of regulators and courts with new roles in supporting and overseeing rehabilitation.

Guest Editors’ Introduction Individual and Organizational Reintegration after Ethical or Legal Transgressions: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract: In this article we set the context for this special issue focusing on individual and organizational reintegration in the aftermath of transgressions that violate ethical and legal boundaries. Following a brief introduction to the topic we provide an overview of each of the four articles selected for this special issue. We then present a number of potentially fruitful empirical, theoretical, and normative directions management and ethics scholars might pursue in order to further advance this evolving literature

Human Dignity and Business

Abstract: s must include the following information: Title; statement of the problems or issues to be considered; statement of thesis and summary of argument; and an overview of the relevant literature. Authors’ names, addresses, telephone numbers, affiliations, e-mail addresses, and biographies (200 words maximum) must be included on a separate page. This information should not be included in the word count. A full version of the paper should be submitted by August 15, 2014. Papers for the special issue of BEQ must be submitted by December 15, 2014 after the conference via the BEQ online submission system. Participation in the conference is not a requirement for submission to the special issue of BEQ. Manuscripts should be prepared according to the BEQ Author Guide and will be blind reviewed following the journal’s standard process. Presentation at the conference does not guarantee eventual publication in BEQ. Papers should not exceed 12,000 words. Key Dates Conference Abstract Submission Deadline: May 30, 2014 Conference Paper Submission Deadline: August 15, 2014 Business Ethics Quarterly Submission Deadline: December 15, 2014 Publication: Late 2015/Early 2016 About BEQ BEQ publishes new scholarly studies on topics relevant to CSR and the ethics of business. • Theoretical work including analytical, conceptual, and normative articles; • Qualitative (e.g., interview, participant-observer, ethnographic, case-based) work that makes an original theoretical contribution; • Quantitative (e.g., experimental, field, measure development) work that makes an original theoretical contribution; or • Historical work that makes an original theoretical contribution. BEQ 2-year Impact Factor: 2.196 (2012) BEQ 5-year Impact Factor: 2.555 (2012) More Information For additional information, please contact one of the special issue editors: Michael Pirson: pirson@fordham.edu Claus Dierksmeier: Dierksmeier@welt-ethos.org Kenneth Goodpaster: kegoodpaster@stthomas.edu

Practices, Governance, and Politics: Applying Macintyre’s Ethics to Business

Abstract: This paper argues that attempts to apply Alasdair MacIntyre’s positive moral theory to business ethics are problematic, due to the cognitive closure of MacIntyre’s concept of a practice. I begin by outlining the notion of a practice, before turning to Moore’s attempt to provide a MacIntyrean account of corporate governance. I argue that Moore’s attempt is mismatched with MacIntyre’s account of moral education. Because the notion of practices resists general application I go on to argue that a negative application, which focuses on regulation, is more plausible. Large-scale regulation, usually thought antithetical to MacIntyre’s advocacy of small-scale politics, has the potential to facilitate practice-based work and reveals that MacIntyre’s own work can be used against his pessimism about the modern order. Furthermore, the conception of regulation I defend can show us how management is more amenable to ethical understanding than MacIntyre’s work is often taken to imply.

A Stakeholder-Human Capital Perspective on the Link between Social Performance and Executive Compensation

Abstract: The link between firm corporate social performance (CSP) and executive compensation could be driven by a sorting effect (a firm's CSP is related to the initial levels of compensation of newly hired executives), or by an incentive effect (incumbent executives are rewarded for past firm CSP). Existing empirical work focuses exclusively on the incentive effect. In contrast, in this paper we explore the sorting effect of firm CSP on the initial compensation of newly hired executives. In doing so, we develop a novel theoretical approach based on an integration of stakeholder theory and human capital theory, suggesting a positive association between the initial compensation of executives and firm CSP strengths and concerns. It also suggests that the strength of this relationship varies between different executive roles (as a function of stakeholder-management responsibilities). We find support for this theoretical framework in a large sample of newly-hired executives employed by Standard & Poor 1500 firms.

Why Business Ethics Needs Rhetoric: An Aristotelian Perspective

Abstract: If the ultimate purpose of ethical argument is to persuade people to act a certain way, the point of doing business ethics is to persuade others about what constitutes proper ethical behavior. Given that teleological perspective, the role of the business ethicist is to be an orator or rhetorician. Further, since one cannot expect more certitude than the subject warrants, from Aristotle's perspective, while rhetoric is the most persuasive means of arguing, it is not scientific demonstration. Rhetoric uses examples and enthymemes. Such an approach answers the postmodern claim that ethical argument cannot lead to certitude and shows how the use of rhetoric helps avoid relativism and leads to more effective persuasion. According to Aristotle, rhetoric involves gaining truth with a "rough and general sketch." This rhetorical approach allows the listener to "see as" the persuader sees, by attending to aspects of our shared experience and language. This mirrors insights of Kant's reflexive judgment in his third critique as well as the later Wittgenstein, who compares ethics to aesthetics.

Compensation ethics and organizational commitment

Abstract: If an employee is committed to his firm-if he is "attached" or "bound" to it-then his firm may be able to obtain a discount on his labor. This paper asks: Is it wrong for firms to do so? If we understand just or fair pay solely in terms of voluntary agreements between employers and employees, the answer seems to be 'no.' Against this, I argue that, in some cases, it is 'yes.' In particular, it is wrong for firms to try to obtain discounts on their committed employees' labor when their employees reasonably expect that they will not try to obtain them. In the process, I probe the limits of exploitation and question the relevance of contribution to fairness in compensation.

The Darwin economy: : liberty, competition, and the common good

Abstract: press.princeton.edu “I’ve been reading Robert Frank’s books for years, and he just gets better and better. I strongly recommend The Darwin Economy: it’s clear, persuasive, and cleverly entertaining, and it provides a new and original insight about a central issue in economics. Read and enjoy.” —Thomas C. Schelling, Nobel Laureate in Economics WHAT CHARLES DARWIN CAN TEACH US ABOUT BUILDING A FAIRER SOCIETY

Decent Termination: A Moral Case for Severance Pay

Abstract: People are often involuntarily laid off from their jobs through no fault of their own. Employees who are dismissed in this manner cannot always legitimately hold employers accountable for these miserable situations because the decision to implement layoffs is often the best possible outcome given the context-that is, layoffs in and of themselves may be "necessary evils." Yet, even in circumstances in which layoffs qualify as "necessary evils," morality demands that employers respect the dignity of those whose employment is involuntarily terminated. In this paper I argue that to preserve the dignity of employees who are involuntarily terminated, in most cases employers have a substantial reason to offer a special kind of unemployment benefit, "severance pay." To support my claim I draw and expand upon Bernard Williams's analysis of "agent-regret," which I believe greatly helps to address and articulate employers' obligations in the context of involuntary termination.

Confucian Ethics and Labor Rights

Abstract: In this article I inquire into Confucian ethics from a non-ideal stance investigating the complex interaction between Confucian ideals and the reality of the modem workplace I contend that even Confucian workers who regularly engage in social rites at the workplace have an internal, Confucian reason to appreciate the value of rights at the workplace I explain, from a Confucian non-ideal perspective, why I disagree with the presumptuous idea that labor (or workplace) rights are necessarily incompatible with Confucian ideals and values Specifically, I argue that if managers were "sages," the highest moral exemplars and authorities in the Confucian tradition, they would perceive that social rituals alone are often not a contextually intelligent and valued response for the development of intimate communities in the modem workplace The sage perspective will lead Confucian managers to realize, from their own moral perspective, that they have good reason to balance rites with rights, so long as the adoption is extrinsically valuable and consistent with the Confucian ideal This article contributes to the debates about Confucianism's compatibility with rights, helps Western human rights scholars better contextualize their arguments in Confucianism-influenced cultures, and contributes to the development of a Confucian or Chinese approach to business ethics

Addendum to “Relationships between Authentic Leadership, Moral Courage, and Ethical and Pro-Social Behaviors”

Abstract: The authors provide this addendum to the following article to provide corrections to the results reported and further explanation of the structural equation modeling techniques utilized: Sean T. Hannah, Bruce J. Avolio, and Fred O. Walumbwa, "The Relationships between Authentic Leadership, Moral Courage, and Ethical and Pro-Social Behaviors,"Business Ethics Quarterly 21:4 The authors provide this addendum to the following article to provide corrections to the results reported and further explanation of the structural equation modeling techniques utilized: Sean T. Hannah, Bruce J. Avolio, and Fred O. Walumbwa, "The Relationships between Authentic Leadership, Moral Courage, and Ethical and Pro-Social Behaviors,"

Special Issue on: Managing Intangible Ethical Assets: Enhancing Corporate Identity, Corporate Brand, and Corporate Reputation to Fulfill the Social Contract

Abstract: Overview Given the competitive intensity in today’s business climate, superior firm performance is increasingly reliant on the firm’s ability to manage critical intangible assets (i.e., corporate identity, corporate brand, and corporate reputation). Ethical management of intangible assets must balance traditional business objectives such as profit maximization and value creation with hetero-referred business objectives such as maximizing stakeholder value and satisfying broader market and social expectations. We believe that significant research opportunities exist regarding how ethical management of intangible assets may be nurtured through firm embodiment of societal and participatory orientations. Progressive “ethicalization” (Balmer, Fukukawa, & Gray, 2007) of intangible asset management involves efforts to include stakeholders in processes and structures related to corporate identity, corporate brand, and corporate reputation. Research findings that illuminate these activities are desperately needed to guide companies’ ethical management efforts, and to better orient such strategies and actions toward maximizing returns (Sen, Bhattacharya, & Korschun, 2006; Du, Bhattacharya, & Sen, 2010).

Trouble in the Middle: American Chinese Business Relations Culture, Conflicts and Ethics , by Steven P. Feldman. London: Routledge Publications, 2013. ISBN: 978-0415884488

Abstract: ground its normative claims. Those attracted to the book by its title will therefore likely be left wanting more. DeMartino’s claim regarding the professional nature of economics is largely unsupported, and some may feel a recurrent doubt as to whether the professional nomenclature may be dropped from the book without much consequence, leaving behind a broad set of platitudes. He also runs into difficulty in formulating the economist’s oath, given the conceptual problems confounding his treatment of the content of professional economic ethics. But although the professional economic oath needs more by way of theoretical explanation, we may not be justified in dismissing it. DeMartino succeeds in articulating an urgent need for attention to economic ethics and, in so doing, formulates a series of questions and research ethics issues in need of exploration by academic and applied economists. An appropriately formulated oath could nudge normative economic analysis towards the forefront of economic inquiry.

Normative Business Ethics in a Global Economy: New Directions in Donaldsonian Themes

Abstract: THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES contains an idea that can demoralize people who aim to be clever: that there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9-14). The idea may seem particularly apt for those of us working in business ethics. People have been arguing about business ethics forever, disputing the fairness of a price, whether a merchant duped her customer, whether an employee was wrongly terminated, and so on. Given the endless history of business ethics casuistry, how can anything novel occur? Thomas Donaldson’s work offers an answer. Donaldson helped change the way that we think about business ethics. Rather than treat business ethics as a kind of informal casuistry, he showed how substantial theoretical constructs could be useful in business ethics. Donaldson has written about an extraordinary range of topics over the last thirty years, including: normative theories of the purpose of the corporation such as social contract theory and stakeholder theory (e.g., Donaldson 1982 , Donaldson and Dunfee 1999 , Donaldson 1999 , Donaldson 2011 ); responsibility in the fi nancial services industry (e.g., Donaldson 2008 ); epistemology in economic interpretations of business (e.g., Donaldson 2012 ); responsibilities of fi rms operating across international borders (e.g., Donaldson 1989 , Donaldson 1994 ); and social mores, social contracts, and economic life (e.g., Donaldson 2001 , Donaldson 2010 ). His writing in each of these areas inspires business ethics scholars, not only because of the importance of his ideas, but also because he combines an analytic rigor with knowledge of global markets and fi rms. Consider three representative examples of his scholarship. First, Donaldson demonstrated that perhaps the most powerful model in the history of moral and political thought, the social contract, could illuminate many recalcitrant problems in business ethics. The idea of a social contract is ancient, extending back at least to Plato’s Crito (1961) . It is a staple of modern political philosophy, playing an important role in work by Hobbes ( 1994 ), Rousseau ( 1987 ), and Kant ( 1999 ). The preeminent political philosopher of our time, John Rawls ( 1971 ), makes the social contract the centerpiece of his view. The idea of the social contract, very roughly, is that by considering the possibility of a hypothetical agreement among people, in which they aim to structure their society and to assign individual rights and responsibilities, we can gain insight about the nature of a good or just society, insight that should help assess our own society. Donaldson’s deployment of the social contract came in two distinct stages. The fi rst stage, represented by Corporations and Morality (1982),

Management and the gospel: : Luke's radical message for the first and twenty-first centuries

Abstract: ©2014 Business Ethics Quarterly 24:2 (April 2014). ISSN 1052-150X pp. 291–294 DOI: 10.5840/beq20142427 McElroy, Michael B., Chris P. Nielsen, and Peter Lyndon. 1998. Energizing China: Reconciling Environmental Protection and Economic Growth. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Murray, Janet Y., Masaaki Kotabe, and Joe Nan Zhou. 2005. “Strategic Alliance-Based Sourcing and Market Performance: Evidence from Foreign Firms Operating in China,” Journal of International Business Studies 36: 187–208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400120 Nolan, Peter. 2001. China and the Global Economy. New York: Palgrave. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9780230599284 Panitchpakdi, Supachai, and Mark L. Clifford. 2002. China and the WTO: Changing China, Challenging World Trade. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. Perkins, Dwight. 1997. “History, Politics, and the Source of Economic Growth: China and East Asian Way of Growth,” in China in the Twenty-First Century: Politics, Economy, and Society, ed. Fumio Itoh. Tokyo: United Nations University Press. Quanyu, Huang, Joseph Leonard, and Chen Tong. 1997. Business Decision Making in China. New York: International Business Press. Tan, Benjamin. 2002. “The Impact of National Environment on Managerial Value Systems: A Comparative Study of Chinese Managers in The United States, Singapore and the People’s Republic of China,” Management International Review 42: 473–86. Tang, Ji, and Anthony Ward. 2003. The Changing Face of Chinese Management. London: Routledge. Terrill, Ross. 2003. The New Chinese Empire: And What It Means for the United States. New York: Basic Books. Zinzius, Birgit. 2004. Doing Business in the New China: A Handbook and Guide. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. Zweig, David. 2002. Internationalizing China: Domestic Interests and Global Linkages. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.