Peers Versus National Culture: An Analysis of Antecedents to Ethical Decision-making

Given the recent ethics scandals in the United States, there has been a renewed focus on understanding the antecedents to ethical decision-making in the research literature. Since ethical norms and standards of behavior are not universally consistent, an individual’s choice of referent may exert a large influence on his/her ethical decision-making. This study used a social identity theory lens to empirically examine the relative influence of the macro- and micro-level variables of national culture and peers on an individual’s intention to behave ethically. Our sample consisted of respondents from Germany, Italy, and Japan. The results indicated that both national culture and peers were found to act as significant referents in ethical decision-making dilemmas. Although peers exerted a much stronger influence on an individual’s ethical decision-making, the impact of peers varied depending on the national culture levels of individualism and power distance. James W. Westerman is an Associate Professor of Management at Appalachian State University. He received his Ph.D in Management from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an MBA from Florida State University. His research interests include person-organization fit, compensation, and employee ethics, and has been published in the Journal of Organizational Behaviour, Journal of Business Ethics, Academy of Management Learning and Education, Group and Organization Management and the Journal of Business and Psychology, among others. Rafik I. Beekun (Ph.D., the University of Texas at Austin) is Professor of Management and Strategy in the Managerial Sciences Department at the University of Nevada. Reno, and Co-director, Center for Corporate Governance and Business Ethics. His current research focuses on business ethics, national cultures and the link between management and spirituality. He has published in such journals as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Human Relations, Journal of Management, Journal of Business Ethics and Decision Sciences. Yvonne Stedham is a Professor of Management in College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno. She received a Ph.D. in Business and an MBA from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas and undergraduate degrees in Economics and Business from the University of Bonn, Germany. She joined the University of Nevada, Reno in 1988 and served as Chair of the Managerial Sciences Department from 1999-2002. Dr. Stedham's research covers a broad spectrum of management issues with a special focus on international, business ethics and gender aspects, and has been published in the Journal of Management. Women in Management Review, the Journal of Management Studies, the Journal of Business Ethics,the Journal of European Industrial Training, and the Journal of Knowledge Management Practice, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resource, and others. Jeanne H. Yamamura, CPA, MIM, PHD, is Associate Professor at the University of Nevada Reno. Her research is focused in the area of the international management of accounting professionals and in ethical decision making. She has published in journals such as the International Journal of Accounting, the International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation and the International Journal of Human Resource Management.     

Moral Issues and Gender Differences in Ethical Judgment using Reidenbach and Robin’s (1990) Multidimensional Ethics Scale: Implications in Teaching of Business Ethics

In this study, we examined moral issues and gender differences in ethical judgment using Reidenbach and Robin’s [Journal of Business Ethics 9 (1990) 639) multidimensional ethics scale (MES). A total of 340 undergraduate students were asked to provide ethical judgment by rating three moral issues in the MES labeled: ‚sales’, ‚auto’, and ‚retail’ using three ethics theories: moral equity, relativism, and contractualism. We found that female students’ ratings of ethical judgment were consistently higher than that of male students across two out of three moral issues examined (i.e., sales and retails) and ethics theories; providing support for Eagly’s [1987, Sex Differences in Social Behavior: A Social-role Interpretation. (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc, Hillsdale, NJ, England)] social role theory. After controlling for moral issues, women’s higher ratings of ethical judgment over men’s became statistically non-significant. Theoretical and practical implications based on the study’s findings are provided. Nhung T. Nguyen, assistant professor of human resource management at Towson University, received her Ph.D. in management from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2001. Her research focuses on the use of situational judgement and personality tests in personnel selection, ethics in management education, and the application of meta-analysis and structural equations modeling in organizational research. Her research has appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the International Journal of Selection and Assessment, Applied H.R.M. Research, and Journal of Applied Social Psychology among others. M. Tom Basuray, Professor of Management at Towson University, received his Ph.D. in Business Administration in 1974 from University of Oklahoma. His research interests are in areas of organizational effectiveness, leadership and development. His articles have appeared in Journal of Organizational Change Management, Education & Psychological Measurement, International Journal of Management, Leadership and Organizational Development Journal, and Journal of Experiential Learning and Simulation. He has consulted with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Public Broadcasting Corporation, and various state and municipal government agencies both in Maryland and North Dakota. William P.Smith, Associate Professor of Management in the College of Business and Economics at Towson University, received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Arizona State University in 1982. His research interests include business ethics, privacy in the workplace and the role of social activism in corporate governance. Donald Kopka, an Assistant Professor at Towson University, received his Ph.D., in International Business from George Washington University in 1995. He teaches Business Strategy, Management Principles, and Entrepreneurship and Small Business, and was Director of the Cornerstone-Professional Experience Program in the College of Business and Economics from 1999–2003. In 2004 he was a Fulbright Scholar in Vietnam where he taught entrepreneurship and business strategy, worked on curriculum development, and conducted ongoing research on supporting industries. Information on his Fulbright experience can be found at his website . His research interests include entrepreneurship, business development, and teaching pedagogy. He formerly ran a property management business, was a program manager at the U.S. Small Business Administration, and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines. Donald N. McCulloh, Lecturer in Management at Towson University, received his M.S. degree in Financial Management from The George Washington Unversity in 1968. He teaches Management Principles and has also taught Leadership. He served as Vice President for Administration and Finance at Towson University until his retirement in 1997, since then he has been a full-time member of the Management faculty. He has also served in the United States Air Force, and worked in several manufacturing industries and the automotive industry. He was Executive Director of a non-profit community development corporation.     

Impression management,overclaiming, and perceived unethical conduct: The role of male and female managers

This study examines the impact of impression management and overclaiming on self-reported ethical conduct of 174 managers (67 male, 107 female) who worked for a large not-for-profit organization. As anticipated, impression management and overclaiming positively influenced perceived unethical conduct of managers. Female managers were more prone to impression management than male managers. There was no significant difference in perceived unethical conduct or level of overclaiming of male and female managers.Peter P. Schoderbek is Professor of Management and Organizations at the University of Iowa. He is the author of six books and many articles on various aspects of management. He has lectured through out the United States, Canada, Japan, and Europe, and has conducted seminars for federal agencies, private corporations, universities, and governments. Much of his work has been in project management and goal setting. His recent interests include strategic policy, business ethics, and compensation. Satish Deshpande is an Associate Professor of Management at Haworth College of Business, Western Michigan University. He teaches human resource management courses. His current research interests include business ethics, managerial decision-making, and applied psychology in human resource issues. His publications include articles in the Academy of Management Journal, Compensation and Benefits Review, Human Relations, Journal of Small Business Management, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.     

Professional Ethical Standards,Corporate Social Responsibility,and the Perceived Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility

This study explored several proposed relationships among professional ethical standards, corporate social responsibility, and the perceived role of ethics and social responsibility. Data were collected from 313 business managers registered with a large professional research association with a mailed self-report questionnaire. Mediated regression analysis indicated that perceptions of corporate social responsibility partially mediated the positive relationship between perceived professional ethical standards and the believed importance of ethics and social responsibility. Perceptions of corporate social responsibility also fully mediated the negative relationship between perceived professional ethical standards and the subordination of ethics and social responsibility. The results suggested that professions should develop ethical standards to encourage social responsibility, since these actions are associated with enhanced employee ethical attitudes. Sean Valentine (D.B.A., Louisiana Tech University) is an Associate Professor of Management in the College of Business at the University of Wyoming. His research interests include ethical decision making, organizational culture, and job attitudes. His research has appeared in journals such as Human Relations, Behavioral Research in Accounting, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, and Journal of Business Research. Gary Fleischman (Ph.D., Texas Tech University) is an Associate Professor of Accounting and the McGee Hearne and Paiz Faculty Scholar in Accounting at the University of Wyoming. His teaching expertise is in accounting and entrepreneurship, and his research interests are in business ethics and behavioral business research. He has published in journals such as Behavioral Research in Accounting, The International Journal of Accounting, and Journal of Business Ethics.     

The ethical behavior of retail managers

A measure of ethics termed ethical behavior (EB) is postulated and tested across the moral philosophy types of managers. The findings suggest that certain managers, classified as rule deontologists, appear to rank higher on the EB scale than any other philosophy type tested.John Fraedrich is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Southern Illinois University of Carbondale. His areas of interest include ethical decision making and international marketing. He has published inJournal of Business Ethics, Journal of Macro-marketing, Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Marketing Management, International Journal of Value Based Management, andJournal of International Consumer Marketing. Dr. Fraedrich has also recently completed a book(Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, 1991, Houghton Mifflin) on the topic of ethics.     

Ethics Problems and Problems with Ethics: Toward a Pro-Management Theory

The move towards having more teaching of business ethics comes in part from a tendency to view managers negatively, drawing on anti-management theories that are presently popular in business schools. This can lead to a misdiagnosis of the causes of contemporary business problems. Teaching business ethics can, however, be ineffectual and counter-productive. Education in ethical philosophy can lead managers to be indecisive, sceptical or to rationalize poor conduct. The ethics of academics become salient and lapses in them undercut their claims to authority. The philosophical viewpoint that stresses free choice runs contrary to the social science mission to reveal the causes that determine human behaviour and provide solutions to problems. Pro-management theory offers a more positive appreciation of managers, with its three components of structural functionalism, strategic functionalism and stewardship. Lex Donaldson is Professor of Management in Organizational Design in the Faculty of Business of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. He has a PhD from the University of London. He is the author of seven books on organizational theory, organizational structure and management. In addition, he has written numerous articles and chapters. His articles have appeared in journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Learning and Education, Academy of Management Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Management Studies, Organizational Dynamics, Organization Science and Organization Studies.     

Ethical perceptions of organizational politics: A comparative evaluation of American and Hong Kong managers

This paper presents a cross-cultural analysis of ethics with U.S. and Hong Kong Chinese managers as subjects. These managers were given the Strategies of Upward Influence instrument and asked to evaluate the ethics of using various political strategies to attain influence within their organizations. Differences were found between Hong Kong and U.S. managers on a variety of dimensions, indicating important differences between these two groups on their perceptions of ethical behavior. In the paper, we identify potential reasons for the findings, and suggest directions for future work in this area.David A. Ralston is Associate Professor of Management at the University of Connecticut. His management development programs have been presented in both China and Russia. His research interests include cross-cultural managerial issues including work values, influence strategies and stress. Recent research has focused upon Asia and the Pacific-Rim nations. His most recent research has been published in theJournal of Applied Psychology, Journal of International Business Studies, and theAsia-Pacific Journal of Management.Robert Giacalone is currently Associate Professor of Management Systems at the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business, University of Richmond, and is a consultant to both the private and public sectors. He is the author of over 40 management articles and two books, and is the editor of the special issue in theJournal of Business Ethics on behavioral approaches to business ethics. In 1992, he was named editor of the Sage Series in Business Ethics.Robert H. Terpstra is Senior Lecturer of Finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has consulted for companies in both Hong Kong and China. His current research interests include cross-cultural studies of managerial decision making and risk-taking behavior. His recent work has been published in theJournal of International Business Studies, Asia-Pacific Journal of Management, Pacific-Basic Finance Journal, International Journal of Management and theJournal of Applied Psychology.     

Ethics Programs, Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility and Job Satisfaction

Companies offer ethics codes and training to increase employees’ ethical conduct. These programs can also enhance individual work attitudes because ethical organizations are typically valued. Socially responsible companies are likely viewed as ethical organizations and should therefore prompt similar employee job responses. Using survey information collected from 313 business professionals, this exploratory study proposed that perceived corporate social responsibility would mediate the positive relationships between ethics codes/training and job satisfaction. Results indicated that corporate social responsibility fully or partially mediated the positive associations between four ethics program variables and individual job satisfaction, suggesting that companies might better manage employees’ ethical perceptions and work attitudes with multiple policies, an approach endorsed in the ethics literature. Sean Valentine (D.B.A., Louisiana Tech University) is an Associate Professor of Management in the college of Business at the University of Wyoming. His teaching and research interests include business ethics, organizational behavior, and human resource management. He has published in journals such as Behavioral Research in Accounting, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, and Journal of Business Ethics. Gary Fleischman (Ph.D., Texas Tech University) is an Associate Professor and is the McGee Hearne and Paiz Faculty Scholar in Accounting at the University of Wyoming. His teaching expertise is in accounting and entrepreneurship and his research interests are in business ethics and behavioral business research. He has published in journals such as Behavioral Research in Accounting, The International Journal of Accounting and Journal of Business Ethics.     

Applying Ethical Concepts to the Study of “Green” Consumer Behavior: An Analysis of Chinese Consumers’ Intentions to Bring their Own Shopping Bags

Drawing on the general ethics and social psychology literature, this study presents a model to delineate the major factors likely to affect consumers’ intentions to bring their own shopping bags when visiting a supermarket (called “bring your own bags” or “BYOB” intention). The model is empirically validated using a survey of 250 Chinese consumers. Overall, the findings support the hypothesized direct influence of teleological evaluation and habit on BYOB intention, as well as that of deontological evaluation and teleological evaluation on ethical judgment about the BYOB practice. Teleological evaluation exerts a much stronger influence on ethical judgment than does deontological evaluation. In addition, the findings reveal that consumers who perceive the BYOB practice to be more important are more inclined to rely on their ethical judgment to derive their BYOB intention. Academically, these findings provide some encouraging evidence for the application of general ethics theories to explain green consumption-related practices. Practically, the findings also suggest that a utilitarian approach (i.e., emphasizing the consequences of BYOB) may represent an effective means for the Chinese government to promote BYOB practice among consumers. Dr. Ricky Y. K. Chan is associate professor of the Department of Management and Marketing at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests lie in green marketing and behavioral aspects of Chinese consumers. He has contributed to such journals as Business Horizons, European Journal of Marketing, International Business Review, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of International Marketing, Journal of Management Studies and Journal of Services Marketing. Dr. Y. H. Wong is associate professor of the Department of Management and Marketing at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is the author of a book, Guanxi: Relationship Marketing in a Chinese Context (co-authored with Dr. T. K. P. Leung). His research has been published in journals, including Industrial Marketing Management, International Business Review, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Journal of International Consumer Marketing and Journal of Services Marketing. Dr. T. K. P. Leung is associate professor of the Department of Management and Marketing at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research areas include business to business marketing, Chinese cultures and their implications to Sino-foreign negotiation. He has published articles in such journals as European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of International Consumer Marketing and Marketing Intelligence and Planning. He also co-authored a research book with Dr. Y. H. Wong titled Guanxi: Relationship marketing in a Chinese context published by the Haworth Press.     

The Positive Ethical Organization: Enacting a Living Code of Ethics and Ethical Organizational Identity

A vision of a living code of ethics is proposed to counter the emphasis on negative phenomena in the study of organizational ethics. The living code results from the harmonious interaction of authentic leadership, five key organizational processes (attraction–selection–attrition, socialization, reward systems, decision-making and organizational learning), and an ethical organizational culture (characterized by heightened levels of ethical awareness and a positive climate regarding ethics). The living code is the cognitive, affective, and behavioral manifestation of an ethical organizational identity. We draw on business ethics literature, positive organizational scholarship, and management literature to outline the elements of positive ethical organizations as those exemplary organizations consistently practicing the highest levels of organizational ethics. In a positive ethical organization, the right thing to do is the only thing to do. Amy Klemm Verbos is a Ph.D. candidate at the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she received a Chancellor’s Fellowship, Graduate Fellowship, Dissertation Fellowship, and C. Edward Weber Research Award. She co-authored ‚Positive Relationships in Action: Relational Mentoring and Mentoring Schemas in the Workplace’ in the forthcoming edited book, Positive Relationships at Work. Her work on positive organizing also has been presented at the Academy of Management Conference. Joseph A. Gerard is a Ph.D. student at the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater teaching organizational behavior, strategy, and accounting. He is a founding member of Ascent Organization Development LLC, which provides management consulting services to for-profit organizations in the areas of effectiveness and performance enhancement. Paul R. Forshey is a Ph.D. student in Organizations and Strategic Management at the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. His research interests include startup firms and firms in transition. Charles S. Harding is a Ph.D. student in Organizations and Strategic Management at the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Awarded a Chancellor’s Fellowship, his research interests include strategic decision-making and the role of value creation in strategy. Janice S. Miller is an Associate Professor at the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she has received the Business Advisory Council Award for Teaching Excellence. Her published work has appeared in Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Organizational Behavior, and Journal of Business Ethics among others. She received her Ph.D. in Human Resources Management from Arizona State University.     

Personal characteristics in college students' evaluations of business ethics and corporate social responsibility

A survey of 138 college students reveals an undergraduate major has a greater influence on corporate social responsibility than business ethics. Business students are no less ethical than nonbusiness students. Females are more ethical and socially responsible than males. Age is negatively related to one's Machiavellian orientation and positively related to negative attitudes about corporate efforts at social responsibility. The results suggest a greater need to focus busines ethics instruction based on student characteristics. Peter Arlow is Professor of Management at Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.A., where he teaches M.B.A. and undergraduate management courses. He has previously published in the Academy of Management Review, Business Horizons, International Journal of Management, Long-Range Planning, Journal of Business Ethics, Akron Business and Economic Review, and other Journals.     

An Empirical Investigation of the Ethical Perceptions of Future Managers with a Special Emphasis on Gender – Turkish Case

This study presents an empirical investigation of the ethical perceptions of the future managers – Turkish university students majoring in the Business Administration and Industrial Engineering departments of selected public and private Turkish universities – with a special emphasis on gender. The perceptions of the university students pertaining to the business world, the behaviors of employees, and the factors leading to unethical behavior are analyzed. The statistically significant differences reveal that female students have more ethical perceptions about the Turkish business climate, behavior of employees, and the ethicalness of the behavior of the employees in comparison with their male counterparts. M.G. Serap Atakan is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Business Administration of Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey. She is teaching and conducting researches on business ethics, corporate social responsibility and retailing. She has two co-authored articles published in the Journal of Business Ethics. Sebnem Burnaz is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Istanbul Technical University. She holds Ph.D. degree in management with major in marketing. Her teaching and research interests are in the field of Marketing, Retailing, Decision Making, and Business Ethics. She has published articles which have appeared in Advances in International Marketing, Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, Journal of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis. Y. Ilker Topcu is an Associate Professor of decision sciences in Istanbul Technical University. He has finished his Ph.D. studies in I.T.U., Faculty of Management. His teaching and research specialties are in the field of Operations Research/Management Science, Multiple Criteria Decision Making, Logistics, Transportation Planning, and Business Ethics. He has published papers which have appeared in Journal of the Operational Research Society, European Journal of Operational Research, Journal of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis, Journal of Global Optimization, Transportation Research Part A, Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, Energy, and Building and Environment.     

Corporate Ethical Codes: Effective Instruments For Influencing Behavior

This paper reviews studies of corporate ethical codes published since 2000 and concludes that codes be can effective instruments for shaping ethical behavior and guiding employee decision-making. Culture and effective communication are key components to a code’s success. If codes are embedded in the culture and embraced by the leaders, they are likely to be successful. Communicating the code’s precepts in an effective way is crucial to its success. Discussion between employees and management is a key component of successful ethical codes. Betsy Stevens as associate professor of Business Administration at Elon University. Her academic interests are business and management communication, business ethics, international communication, and hospitality management. An active researcher, she has published more than 20 articles in refereed journals such as The Journal of Business Communication, Business Communication Quarterly, The Journal of Business and Technical Communication, Journal of Business Ethics, Bquest and the Journal of Employment Counseling. She has an M.A. from the University of Cincinnati and a Ph.D. from Wayne State University. As a Fulbright Scholar, she taught university classes in Tomsk, Russia and has also been on the faculty of the Australian International Hotel School in Canberra, Australia     

The Role of Law in Models of Ethical Behavior

In attempting to improve ethical decision-making in business organizations, researchers have developed models of ethical decision-making processes. Most of these models do not include a role for law in ethical decision-making, or if law is mentioned, it is set as a boundary constraint, exogenous to the decision process. However, many decision models in business ethics are based on cognitive moral development theory, in which the law is thought to be the external referent of individuals at the level of cognitive development that most people have achieved. Other theoretical bases of ethical decision models, social learning, and experientialism, also imply a role for law that is rarely made explicit. Law is a more important aspect of ethical decision-process models than it appears to be in the models. This paper will derive explicit roles for the law from the cognition, experientialism, and social learning theories that are used to build ethical decision-making models for business behavior. Sandra Christensen is Professor of Management at Eastern Washington University, where she teaches courses in Business & Society, International Business, and Leadership & Ethics. She has published in Business and Society, Business Ethics Quarterly, the Journal of Business Ethics, and the Academy of Management Review.     

Business ethics: A cross-cultural comparison of managers' attitudes

A comparison of attitudes among managers from France, Germany and the United States is made with respect to codes of ethics and ethical business philosophy. Findings are also compared with past studies by Baumhart and by Brenner and Molander where data are available. While the current data appear to be consistent with the past studies, there appear to be differences in attitudes among the managers from the three countries. Helmut Becker is Professor of Business Administration at the University of Portland. He has published two books, The Information Seekers and International Marketing Strategy, with Hans Thorelli of Indiana University. His articles have appeared in various journals and he serves on the board of editors of the Journal of International Business Studies. David J. Fritzsche is Professor of Business Administration at the University of Portland. His articles have appeared in Journal of Marketing Research, Academy of Management Journal, Marketing Ethics: Guidelines for Managers and Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy.     

An examination of the ethical beliefs of managers using selected scenarios in a cross-cultural environment

Academic literature addressing the topic of business ethics has paid little attention to cross-cultural studies of business ethics. Uncertainty exists concerning the effect of culture on ethical beliefs. The purpose of this research is to compare the ethical beliefs of managers operating in South Africa and Australia. Responses of 52 managers to a series of ethical scenarios were sought. Results indicate that despite differences in socio-cultural and political factors there are no statistically significant differences between the two groups regarding their own ethical beliefs. Results thus support the view that culture has little or no impact on ethical beliefs.Russell Abratt (DBA Pretoria) is Professor of Marketing at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. His research interests include business ethics and promotional strategy. His work has been published in various sources includingJournal of Business Ethics, European Journal of Marketing, International Journal of Advertising andIndustrial Marketing Management.Deon Nel (DCom Pretoria) is Professor of Marketing at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. His research interests include business ethics and group decision making in organisations. His work has been published in various sources includingJournal of Business Ethics, European Journal of Marketing, Management Research News.Nicola Higgs is a graduate student at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.     

An Exploration into the Developmental Psychology of Ethical Theory with Implications for Business Practice and Pedagogy

This article is an attempt to understand ethical theory not just as a set of well-developed philosophical perspectives but as a range of moral capacities that human beings more or less grow into over the course of their lives. To this end, we explore the connection between formal ethical theories and stage developmental psychologies, showing how individuals mature morally, regarding their duties, responsibilities, ideals, goals, values, and interests. The primary method is to extract from the writings of Kohlberg and his students the cues that help to flesh out a developmental picture of a wide range of ethical perspectives. Thus, developmental psychology benefits from gaining a broader understanding of “morality” and “ethics,” and ethical theory benefits from a richer understanding of how moral maturity arises from youthful beginnings in juvenile and adolescent thinking. Results of this study offer insight into the difficulty of teaching ethics and a refined ability to assess moral maturity in business activity. F. Neil Brady is the Jack R. Wheatley Professor of Management Ethics in the Romney Institute of Public Management and a member of the Ethics Group at the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. He has published over thirty articles on ethics in a variety of journals including the Academy of Management Review, Administration & Society, and the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. He has authored Ethical Managing (Macmillan 1990) and edited Ethical Universals in International Business (Springer Verlag 1996). For twenty years, his research has focused on the application of ethical theory to managerial decisions. David W. Hart is assistant professor of public management in the Romney Institute of Public Management and a member of the Ethics Group at the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University. He received his PhD from the State University of New York at Albany. His current research focuses on administrative ethics, business-government interaction, and the external environment of organizations. He has published in a variety of journals and is the co-author of a book. Wall Street Polices Itself: How Securities Firms Manage the Legal Hazards of Competitive Pressures (Oxford University Press, 1998).     

Ethics and Religion: An Empirical Test of a Multidimensional Model

Although it seems that ethics and religion should be related, past research suggests mixed conclusions on the relationship. We argue that such mixed results are mostly due to methodological and conceptual limitations. We develop hypotheses linking Cornwall et al.’s (1986, Review of Religious Research, 27(3): 266–244) religious components to individuals’ willingness to justify ethically suspect behaviors. Using data on 63,087 individuals from 44 countries, we find support for three hypotheses: the cognitive, one affective, and the behavioral component of religion are negatively related to ethics. Surprisingly, one aspect of the cognitive component (i.e., belief in religion) shows no relationship. Implications for research and practice are discussed. K. Praveen Parboteeah (Ph.D. Washington State University) is an Associate Professor of International Management in the Department of Management, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. Parboteeah’s research interests include international management, ethics, religion and technology and innovation management. He has published articles in numerous academic journals including Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Decision Sciences, Small Group Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of World Business, Management International Review, International Journal of Human Resource Management, R&D Management and Journal of Engineering and Technology Management Martin Hoegl (Ph.D. University of Karlsruhe, Germany) is Professor at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, where he holds the Chair of Leadership and Human Resource Management. Before joining WHU, he served on the faculties of Washington State University and Bocconi University (Milan, Italy). His research interests include leadership and collaboration in organizations, management of R&D personnel, knowledge creation in innovation processes, and the management of geographically dispersed collaboration. He has published in leading international journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, the Journal of Management, Decision Sciences, and others. John B. Cullen is Professor of Management at Washington State University. He has also served on the faculties of the University of Nebraska, the University of Rhode Island, Waseda and Keio Universities in Japan (as a Fulbright lecturer), and the Catholic University of Lille in France. Professor Cullen is the past president of the Western Academy of Management. Professor Cullen is the author or co-author of four books and over 60 journal articles. His publications have appeared in journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management, Organizational Studies, Management International Review, Journal of Vocational Behavior, American Journal of Sociology, Organizational Dynamics, and the Journal of World Business. He currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies and has served on the editorial boards of the Academy of Management Journal and Advances in International Comparative Management Journal.     

An integrative model for understanding and managing ethical behavior in business organizations

Managing ethical behavior is a one of the most pervasive and complex problems facing business organizations today. Employees' decisions to behave ethically or unethically are influenced by a myriad of individual and situational factors. Background, personality, decision history, managerial philosophy, and reinforcement are but a few of the factors which have been identified by researchers as determinants of employees' behavior when faced with ethical dilemmas. The literature related to ethical behavior is reviewed in this article, and a model for understanding ethical behavior in business organizations is proposed. It is concluded that managing ethics in business organizations requires that managers engage in a concentrated effort which involves espousing ethics, behaving ethically, developing screening mechanisms, providing ethical training, creating ethics units and reinforcing ethical behavior. W. Edward Stead, Ph.D., is Professor of Management at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. His research interests include ethical behavior, cancer in the workplace, social strategy implementation, the ethical implications of cost-benefit analysis, and managing professional employees. His articles have appeared in Psychological Reports, Personnel Journal, Business and Society Review, and the Journal of Accountancy among others, and he has published cases in leading business policy and social responsibility texts. Dan L. Worrell, Ph.D., is Professor of Management and Department Chairperson at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. He has published articles in such Journals as Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management, Business Horizons, and Psychological Reports among others. His research interests include managerial succession, ethical behavior and social responsibility. Jean Garner Stead, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Management at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. Her research interests include ethical behavior, cancer in the work place, social strategy implementation, and the ethical implications of cost-benefit analysis. Her articles have appeared in Psychological Reports, Personnel Journal, Business and Society Review and the International Journal of Management among others, and she has published cases in leading business policy and social responsibility texts.