Ethical dilemmas in marketing: A rationale

Because of their visibility, marketers are often perceived by society as engaging in unethical or questionable behaviors. The marketing literature does not specifically provide an explanation for this dilemma. This paper suggests that there are three major reasons for this problem: fluctuating limits of consensus, ethnocentrism, and utilitarian economic analyses. Dr Paul Hensel is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Kentucky. He received his Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of Houston in 1982. He has published in Journal of Marketing Education, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Equal Opportunity International and Marketing Educator's Proceedings.Topics include marketing ethics, advertising effectiveness, and social responsibility in marketing.Alan J. Dubinsky (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) is a Visiting Associate Professor of Marketing in the School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He has served on the faculties of Southern Methodist University and the University of Kentucky. Prior to pusuing his graduate work, he was a territory manager for Burroughs Corporation. He has published widely in the areas of sales and sales management.     

Ethical concerns in grievance arbitration

Although the use of arbitration has become commonplace in the organizational world, the ethical issues surrounding arbitration have never been fully explored. The paper reviews ethical issues in arbitration, particularly in terms of forensic bias parallels, that may affect decision-making and make the arbitrator's decision questionable. Finally, the maintenance of fairness in the arbitration process, and the importance of an ethically acceptable system of organizational justice are also discussed.Robert A. Giacalone is Associate professor of Management Systems at the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business, University of Richmond. He is co-editor (with Paul Rosenfeld) ofImpression Management in the Organization (Erlbaum, 1989) andApplied Impression Management (Sage, 1991) and has authored papers on business ethics, organizational sabotage, exit interviewing, and impression management in organizational life. His work has appeared inHuman Relations, Business and Society Review, Journal of Business Ethics, andJournal of Social Psychology, as well as in a variety of other journals.James C. Goodwin is Professor of Management at the University of Richmond. He previously taught at the University of North Carolina and at Florida State University and served as a petroleum engineer with Chevron and Atlantic-Richfield. Dr. Goodwin is the author of numerous articles which have appeared in national and international journals.Martha L. Reiner is Assistant Professor of Management at the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business, University of Richmond. She received her Ph.D. in business and public policy. She has co-authored articles that appeared in theCalifornia Management Review and theNonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.The authors would like to thank Hinda Greyser Pollard for her insightful comments on a previous draft of this paper.     

A Cross-Cultural Examination of the Endorsement of Ethical Leadership

The western-based leadership and ethics literatures were reviewed to identify the key characteristics that conceptually define what it means to be an ethical leader. Data from the Global Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness (GLOBE) project were then used to analyze the degree to which four aspects of ethical leadership – Character/Integrity, Altruism, Collective Motivation, and Encouragement – were endorsed as important for effective leadership across cultures. First, using multi-group confirmatory factor analyses measurement equivalence of the ethical leadership scales was found, which provides indication that the four dimensions have similar meaning across cultures. Then, using analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests each of the four dimensions were found to be universally endorsed as important for effective leadership. However, cultures also varied significantly in the degree of endorsement for each dimension. In the increasingly global business environment, these findings have implications for organizations implementing ethics programs across cultures and preparing leaders for expatriate assignments. Christian J. Resick is Assistant Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Florida International University. His research is aimed at understanding how people interact with and influence various aspects of their work environments, including cultures, climates, leaders, and teammates along with the implications for various aspects of organizational behavior. A particular focus of Christian’s work examines ethical leadership and the critical linkages between leadership and organizational ethics. He received his Ph.D. from Wayne State University. Paul J. Hanges is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland and the head of the Industrial/Organizational Psychology program in the department. He is an affiliate of the Cognitive Psychology program and the R. H. Smith School of Business. Paul’s research focuses on three topics (a) social cognition, leadership, and cross-cultural issues; (b) personnel selection, test fairness, and racial/gender discrimination; and (c) research methodology. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Applied Psychology and The Leadership Quarterly and is a fellow of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the American Psychological Association. Marcus W. Dickson is Associate Professor of I/O Psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit. His research generally focuses on issues of leadership and culture (both organizational and societal), and the interaction of those constructs. He is a former Co-Principal Investigator of the GLOBE Project, and his work has appeared in Journal of Applied Psychology, Applied Psychology: An International Review, and The Leadership Quarterly, among others. Jacqueline K. Mitchelson is a doctoral candidate in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Wayne State University. Her current research areas are leadership, organizational culture, individual differences and work-family conflict.     

Perceived correlates of illegal behavior in organizations

A survey was conducted of the perceived correlates of illegal abuses in the electronics industry. Human resource directors of thirty-one firms responded to a questionnaire which assessed their perceptions of the degree to which illegal behavior was caused by (1) deficiencies in the moral character of employees (2) the clarity of expectations and standards describing illegal behavior and (3) the presence of reinforcements and punishments contingent on these behaviors. All three variables were related to the frequency of abuses in three areas of organizational crime (e.g. administrative, labor, environment) and three areas of personal crime (theft, falsifying records kickbacks) as reported by the directors and/or indicated by archival records. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of how organizations may reduce illegal activity. Mitchell, Terence R., Edward E. Carlson Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Psychology, University of Washington. Professor Mitchell's interests are decision making, leadership, and social responsibility. He has recently published articles on these topics in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, The Academy of Management Review, The Journal of the Academy of Management, and the Journal of Applied Psychology. He is co-author (with J. Larson) of People in Organizations, and a joint author of Birnbaum, Scott and Mitchell, Organization Theory: A Structural and Behavioral Analysis. Mitchell is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Management. He is also a member of the Society for Organizational Behavior. Daniels, Denise is a graduate student in organizational behavior and human resources management. Denise's interests are motivation, self-efficacy, and groups. She has recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and has presented papers at the Academy of Management national meeting. Hopper, Heidi is a graduate student in organizational behavior and human resources management. Heidi's interests are accountability, attributions, and motivation. She has recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and has presented papers at the Academy of Management national meeting. Jane George-Falvy is a Ph.D. Candidate in Organizational Behavior. She received a B.A. degree in psychology. Her primary research interests include the areas of learning and motivation. She has recently co-authored articles which have appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings, and Group and Organization Management. Her dissertation explores the moderating effects of task complexity and learning stage on the relationship between participation in goal setting and task performance. Gerald R. Ferris is Professor of Labor and Industrial Relations, of Business Administration, and of Psychology, and Caterpillar Foundation University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also is the Director of the Center for Human Resource Management at the University of Illinois. He received a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and subsequently served on the Department of Management faculty at Texas A&M University. Ferris is the author of numerous articles published in such journals as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Personnel Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, and Academy of Management Review, and he serves as editor of the annual series, Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management.     

Stopping the Exploitation of Workers: An Analysis of the Effective Application of Consumer or Socio-Political Pressure

Commodity chain analysis (Bair and Ramsay, 2003 Multinational Companies and Global Human Resource Strategies) is used to explore where economic pressure (from consumers) or socio-political pressure (from governments and NGOs) can be applied to reduce worker exploitation. Six paths are illustrated with examples of successful and unsuccessful application of pressure. Three conclusions are reached :Economic pressure on companies and brand owners is more likely to lead to improved workplace conditions than socio-political pressure; Brand owners are more likely to implement improved workplace conditions than retailers; and Retailers who are under extreme consumer price pressure will resist improving workplace conditions. Dr. Gina L.S. Pines received her Ph.D. in Business, Organization and Policy Studies from The City University of New York, Bernard Baruch College of Business. She has held faculty positions at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY), Rensselaer at Hartford, Fairfield University and Central Connecticut State University. Presently, she is a Visiting Associate Professor of Business Strategy and Policy at the University of Hartford. Prior to her university work, Dr. Pines developed public–private partnerships for The New York City Partnership (a Rockefeller foundation) and The New York City Public Schools. While at the New York City Partnership Dr. Pines developed, applied for and was granted by the New York State Senate, $1.4 million for start up programs and research in business–education partnerships for 10 consecutive years. Dr. Pines has delivered numerous white papers to the New York State Senate. She has presented at academic conferences, most recently in London on human rights violations and corporate social responsibility. Her research has examined CEO career paths and firm strategic choice, strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation and the exploitation of women and children in lesser developed nations. Presently, she is developing a model specifying the linkages among “guilt triggers” corporate social responsibility and the exploitation of women and children in lesser developed nations. David Meyer is a Professor of Management and Organization at Central Connecticut State University and a Research Fellow at the Fraser Center, Wayne State University. His Ph.D. is in Organizational Behavior and Industrial Relations from the University of Michigan. His research concerns workplace justice, implementing strategy, and problem solving in organizations. He has published in the British Journal of Industrial Relations, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, Industrial Relations, and others.     

Innovations, Stakeholders & Entrepreneurship

In modern societies entrepreneurship and innovation are widely seen as key sources of economic growth and welfare increases. Yet entrepreneurial innovation has also meant losses and hardships for some members of society: it is destructive of some stakeholders’ wellbeing even as it creates new wellbeing among other stakeholders. Both the positive benefits and negative externalities of innovation are problematic because entrepreneurs initiate new ventures before their private profitability and/or social costs can be fully recognized. In this paper we consider three analytical frameworks within which these issues might be examined: pre-commitments, contractarianism, and an entrepreneurial framework. We conclude that the intersection of stakeholder theory and entrepreneurial innovation is a potentially rich arena for research. Nicholas Dew, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. He teaches strategic management in private and public sector organizations. His research interests include entrepreneurship, strategy and innovation. He has published in several scholarly journals, including Strategic Management Journal, the Journal of Business Venturing, Industrial and Corporate Change and the Journal of Evolutionary Economics. Saras D. Sarasvathy, Ph.D. is an associate professor at the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. She teaches courses in entrepreneurship and ethics in Darden's MBA and doctoral programs. Her research focuses on the cognitive basis for high-performance entrepreneurship. She has published in various scholarly journals, including the Academy of Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, the Journal of Businesss Venturing and the Journal of Evolutionary Economics. Her first book Effectuation: Elements of Entrepreneurial Expertise was recently published by Edward Elgar.     

Ethical considerations in frequent flier programs

An overwhelming majority of business travelers are now members of frequent flier programs operated by the airline industry. This article addresses relevant ethical issues, particularly employee perceptions of ethical issues, in such programs. A structured questionnaire technique, supported by personal interviews, was used to gather insights into frequent flier practices and attitudes. A fundamental conclusion of the research is that (1) significant ethical dilemmas are posed by frequent flier programs, (2) employees and employers generally choose to ignore these ethical dilemmas, and (3) employee perception of the ethical issues in frequent flier programs is not significantly influenced by employee attributes such as education level, salary, organizational position, age or sex. Recommendations are offered to reduce the inherent ethical dilemmas in frequent flier programs. Richard H. Deane is an Associate Professor of Management at Georgia State University in Atlanta. He earned his Ph.D. degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University. Dr. Deane also holds the J.D. degree and is licensed to practice law before the state and federal courts. His scholarly publication record includes articles in IEE Transactions, Computers and Industrial Engineering, Operations Research Quarterly, Production and Inventory Management, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Business, Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Review. He has also published in The Trial Lawyer's Quarterly, The Golden Gate Law Review, Professional Safety and The Journal of Rehabilitation. His recent publications include articles on employment discrimination, workplace smoking, and ethics in operations management.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Is it ‘who I am’, ‘what I can get away with’, or ‘what you’ve done to me’</Emphasis>? A Multi-theory Examination of Employee Misconduct

Research on detrimental workplace behaviors has increased recently, predominantly focusing on justice issues. Research from the integrity testing literature, which is grounded in trait theory, has not received as much attention in the management literature. Trait theory, agency theory, and psychological contracts theory each have different predictions about employee performance that is harmful to the organization. While on the surface they appear contradictory, this paper describes how each can be integrated to increase our understanding of detrimental workplace behaviors.Deborah L. Kidder is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management at Towson University, in Towson, MD, USA. Her Ph.D. is in Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesta. Her research interests involve issues of trust and equity, perceptions of (un) fairness at work, and the consequences of (un)fair treatment for employees and organizations. She teaches courses in Human Resource Management, Organizational Behavior, Leadership, and Negotiation.     

The role of moral intensity and fairness perception in judgments of ethicality: A comparison of managerial professionals and the general public

Using a scenario approach involving hypothetical moral decisions, the study aims to (1) compare managerial professionals' ethicality judgments with those made by the general public, and (2) ascertain the roles of perceived intensity (Jones, 1991) as well as perceived fairness of the moral issue in judgments of ethicality. While the two respondent groups made similar ratings on variables of moral intensity, fairness, and ethicality; the evaluation processes underlying their ethicality judgments were different. Empirically, the study has also established a link between judgments of fairness and judgments of ethicality.M. Singer is senior lecturer in Psychology at Canterbury University, New Zealand. She holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology and has published widely in academic journals. Her areas of interest include decision making, work motivation, social justice and selection issues.     

Rights in the workplace: A Nozickian argument

There is a growing literature that attempts to define the substantive rights of employees in the workplace, a.k.a. the duties of employers toward their employees. Following Nozick, this article argues that — so long as there is a competitive labor market — to set up a class of moral rights in the workplace invades workers' rights to freely choose the terms and conditions of employment they judge best. Ian Maitland is associate professor of business, government and society at the University of Minnesota. He is author of The Causes of Industrial Disordoer (Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1983) and articles in the Journal of Politics, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Business Strategy, British Journal of Industrial Relations, California Management Review and elsewhere. In 1988 he ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress.     

The politics of age discrimination in organizations

Age discrimination, particularly in the context of performance evaluation decisions, has been a source of major concern and litigation for organizations in the past, and indications are that this area will pose serious challenges in the future. The present study attempted to delve more deeply into the process by which manifest age discrimination operates in the performance evaluation process. A conceptualization was proposed and tested which suggested that age-related influences on performance ratings operate through interpersonal distance and political influence of subordinates. Results demonstrated some support for this conceptualization.Gerald R. Ferris is Professor of Labor and Industrial Relations and of Business Administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received a Ph.D. in Business Administration, and he has served on the faculty of the Department of Management at Texas A & M University. He has research interests in the areas of interpersonal and political influence in human resources systems.Thomas R. King is Visiting Assistant Professor of Business Administration. He is currently completing his Ph.D. in Business Administration. His research interests focus on the areas of organizational politics, the management of meaning in organizations, and the establishment and re-establishment of organizational legitimacy.     

On the relationship of hope and gratitude to corporate social responsibility

A longitudinal study of 308 white-collar U.S. employees revealed that feelings of hope and gratitude increase concern for corporate social responsibility (CSR). In particular, employees with stronger hope and gratitude were found to have a greater sense of responsibility toward employee and societal issues; interestingly, employee hope and gratitude did not affect sense of responsibility toward economic and safety/quality issues. These findings offer an extension of research by Giacalone, Paul, and Jurkiewicz (2005, Journal of Business Ethics, 58, 295-305). Lynne M. Andersson, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Human Resource Management at the Fox School of Business and Management, Temple University, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her teaching and scholarship focus on the dark side of business organizations; in particular, she’s been examining some social maladies that are arguably associated with late capitalism (cynicism and incivility) as well as the role of social activism in countering capitalist barriers to sustainability. Robert A. Giacalone, Ph.D. is Professor of Human Resource Management at the Fox School of Business and Management, Temple University, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His research interests focus on the impact of workplace spirituality and changing values on business ethics. He is currently Co-editor of the Ethics in Practice book series. Carole L. Jurkiewicz, Ph.D. is the John W. Dupuy Endowed Professor and Women’s Hospital Distinguished Professor of Healthcare Management at Louisiana State University. She has published numerous research articles, books, and news articles on the topics of organizational ethics, leadership, and behavior.     

A content analysis of ethical policy statements regarding marketing activities

Many large corporations now have written codes of ethics to guide the business/marketing activities of employees. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency and types of topics which are covered in the ethics policy statements of large U.S. corporations. The results indicated that the topics covered most often (respectively) were: misuse of funds/improper accounting, conflicts of interest, political contributions, and confidential information. It is concluded that in addition to written ethics policy statements, top management should communicate ethical values and demonstrate by example. Robert E. Hite (Ph.D. University of Arkansas) is Associate Professor of Marketing at Kansas State University. His textbook is entitled Managing Salespeople, and his articles have appeared in such journals as the Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and Industrial Marketing Management. Joseph A. Bellizzi (Ph.D. University of Nebraska) is Associate Professor of Marketing at Kansas State University. He was previously employed by Hilti Fastening systems as a Market Research analyst. His articles have appeared in such journals as the Journal of Business Research, Journal of Advertising Research, and Journal of Retailing. Cynthia Fraser (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania) is Associate Professor of Marketing at Kansas State University. Her research interests are international marketing and marketing models. Her articles have appeared in such journals as the Journal of Consumer Research and Industrial Marketing Management.     

Income and Quality of Life: Does the Love of Money Make a Difference?

This paper examines a model of income and quality of life that controls the love of money, job satisfaction, gender, and marital status and treats employment status (full-time versus part-time), income level, and gender as moderators. For the whole sample, income was not significantly related to quality of life when this path was examined alone. When all variables were controlled, income was negatively related to quality of life. When (1) the love of money was negatively correlated to job satisfaction and (2) job satisfaction was positively related to both income and quality of life, income was negatively related to quality of life for full-time, high-income, and male employees. When these two conditions failed to exist, income was not related to quality of life for part-time, median- or low-income, and female employees. This model provides new insights regarding the impact of the love of money and job satisfaction on the income–quality of life relationship. Thomas Li-Ping Tang (Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University) is a Full Professor of Management in the Department of Management and Marketing, Jennings A. Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 37132. He has taught Industrial and Organizational Psychology at National Taiwan University and at MTSU. Professor Tang teaches (has taught) EMBA courses in China and France. He serves (has served) on the editorial review board of six journals and as a reviewer for 26 journals around the world. Professor Tang’s research interests focus upon people’s work motivation, compensation, money attitudes, the Love of Money, pay satisfaction, turnover, stress, and cross-cultural issues. He has published more than 100 journal articles in top behavior sciences and management journals, including Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Human Relations, Journal of Management, Management Research, Management and Organization Review, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Managerial Psychology, European Sport Management Quarterly, Journal of Higher Education, and others. He has presented more than 185 papers in professional conferences and invited seminars in Austria, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, the UK, the US, and other countries. His research has been cited in many languages, textbooks of several fields (e.g., Management Organizational Behavior, Human Resources Management, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Human Relations, Compensation, and Statistics), and popular books. He was the winner of two Outstanding Research Awards (1991, 1999), and Distinguished International Service Award (1999) at Middle Tennessee State University. He also received the Best Reviewer Award from the International Management Division of the Academy of Management in Seattle, WA (2003).     

Utility of Ethical Frameworks in Determining Behavioral Intention: A Comparison of the U.S. and Russia

Using Reidenbach and Robin‘s ( Journal of Business Ethics 7, 871–879, 1988) multi-criteria ethics instrument, we carried out the first empirical test of Robertson and Crittenden‘s (Strategic Management Journal 24, 385–392, 2003) cross-cultural map of moral philosophies to examine what ethical criteria guide business people in Russia and the U.S. in their intention to behave. Competing divergence and convergence hypotheses were advanced. Our results support a convergence hypothesis, and reveal a common emphasis on relativism. Americans are also influenced by the justice criterion while Russians tend to emphasize utilitarianism. 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. 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. Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to him: MGRS 28, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557–0206. James 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. His research interests include person-organization fit, employee ethics, compensation, and selection. Jamal Barghouti (B.Sc., MBA, Ph.D Management) is currently Advisor on Petroleum Affairs, H.H. Ruler’s Court, Dubai. He is also a lecturer at local universities including Dubai University College in human resources management, international business, organizational behavior and business communication. He has about 35 years of experience in the oil industry in the U.S.A., U.K., Russia, and the Middle East.     

An Examination of Leader Portrayals in the U.S. Business Press Following the Landmark Scandals of the Early 21st Century

Following the landmark corporate scandals of the early 21st century, there appeared to be a tremendous increase in the U.S. business media’s emphasis on issues of ethics in corporate leadership. The purpose of this research was to examine whether that apparent increase was reflected in an actual change in that media’s portrayals of successful leaders. We content analyzed the text of a total of 180 articles in Business Week, Fortune, and Forbes magazine, 90 from the five years preceding the landmark scandals and 90 from the five years following the scandals. We found no evidence that the landmark scandals had any impact on the media’s incorporation of ethics in their portrayals of leaders. We attribute this substantially to the persistence of a worldview in the U.S. business press that emphasizes leader traits and actions that have a direct impact on corporate profits. Additionally, we found some interesting consistencies and differences in media portrayals across the two time periods, likely related to the rise and fall of dot-com businesses. We discuss the implications of these findings for researchers and corporate leaders. David R. Hannah is an Assistant Professor of Management and Organization Studies at Simon Fraser University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to media portrayals of leaders, his research interests include trade secret protection in organizations, qualitative research methods, and employee socialization. His work has been published in numerous journals and books, including Organization Science, Journal of Management Studies, Sloan Management Review, and Creativity and Innovation Management Christopher D. Zatzick is an Assistant Professor of Management and Organization Studies at Simon Fraser University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Irvine. His research interests include high-performance work systems, downsizing, diversity, and leadership. His work has appeared␣in leading management journals including Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, and Industrial Relations.     

A cognitive style perspective on ethical questions

Previous research has shown that cognitive style impacts several areas of human behavior of interest to marketers. This article reports the results of an exploratory study testing the proposition that cognitive style can influence one's perceptions of what is and is not a matter of ethics. The findings indicate that cognitive style can play a role in one's perceptions of ethics, and may help further our understanding of the factors that bear on ethical points of view.Roger P. McIntyre is Assistant Professor of Marketing at East Carolina University. He has published in theJournal of Macromarketing, theJournal of Travel Research, theInternational Marketing Review, theJournal of Euromarketing, and numerous proceedings. His research interests center on the influence of cognitive style on marketing relationships.Margaret M. Capen is an Associate Professor of Decision Sciences at East Carolina University, with a Ph.D. in Economics. She has published in such journals asApplied Economics, Journal of Industrial Relations, andThe Real Estate Appraiser. Her primary research interest is in applied linear models.The authors thank Michael P. Mokwa for his guidance.     

Moral Choice in an Agency Framework: The Search for a Set of Motivational Typologies

Moral choice, as a precursor to behaviour, has an important influence on the success or failure of business entities. According to Rest, 1983, Morality, Moral Behavior and Moral Development (John Wiley & Sons, New York), moral choice is prompted, amongst other things, by a motivational component. With this in mind, data obtained from a sample of four hundred financial sector operatives, employed in a rapidly developing region of China, was used to construct a relatively stable set of motivational typologies which could be used to predict choice within an agency-based context. A non-egoist version of the agency theory was developed, which permitted the modelling of alternative heuristic patterns. Altruists and persons identified as bordering on the verge of being classified as psychological egoists, refused to reorganize their motives when responding to a problem that included both moral hazard and adverse selection criteria. It was also possible to identify certain personal and contextual issues which discriminated between the typologies. Gordon Woodbine, Ph.D., FCPA is Senior Lecturer employed in the School of Accounting, Curtin University of Technology teaching undergraduate and post-graduate students in auditing, business ethics and governance. He has taught for extended periods overseas and is published in several refereed journals including Journal of Business Ethics, Asian Review of Accounting and Journal of Consumer Behaviour. Dennis Taylor Ph.D., FCPA is Chair Professor in Accounting at University of South Australia. Previously, he held professorial, associate dean, and head of school appointments at University of Adelaide, Curtin University of Technology and City University of Hong Kong. He is the author of over 100 publications in areas of corporate financial disclosures and public sector accountability.     

The Effect of Moral Intensity on Ethical Judgment

Following an extensive review of the moral intensity literature, this article reports the findings of two studies (one between-subjects, the other within-subject) that examined the effect of manipulated and perceived moral intensity on ethical judgment. In the between-subjects study participants judged actions taken in manipulated high moral intensity scenarios to be more unethical than the same actions taken in manipulated low moral intensity scenarios. Findings were mixed for the effect of perceived moral intensity. Both probable magnitude of consequences (a factor consisting of magnitude of consequences, probability of effect, and temporal immediacy) and social consensus had a significant effect; proximity did not. In the within-subject study manipulated moral intensity had a significant effect on ethical judgment, but perceived moral intensity did not. Regression of ethical judgment on age, gender, major, and the three perceived moral intensity factors was significant between-subjects, but not within-subject. Ethical judgment was found to be a more robust predictor of intention than perceived moral intensity using a within-subject design. Joan M. McMahon is an Assistant Professor of Management in the Luter School of Business at Christopher Newport University, teaching courses in Organizational Behavior, Leadership, and Human Resources. She has a B.A. in Speech from the State University of New York, College at Oneonta; an M. Ed. in Early Childhood Education from James Madison University; and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Robert J. Harvey is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He has a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, and a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Ohio State University. Dr. Harvey has authored a number of articles in the Journal of Applied Psychology, the Journal of Personality Assessment, Personnel Psychology, and others. He is the author of the chapter on job analysis in the Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology.     

Information Technology Professionals’ Perceived Organizational Values and Managerial Ethics: An Empirical Study

This paper summarizes the results of an analysis of empirical data on ethical attitudes of professionals and managers in relation to organizational core values in the Information Technology (IT) industry. This study investigates the association between key organizational values as independent variables and the ethical attitudes of IT managers as dependent variables. The study also delves into differences among IT non-managerial professionals, mid-level managers, and upper-level managers in their ethical attitudes and perceptions. Research results indicated that IT professionals from mechanistic organizations were much more likely to report – compared to those from organic organizations – that managers in their corporate environment engage in behaviors considered unethical and that successful managers were more unethical relative to unsuccessful managers. There were significant differences between the upper-level managers and the mid-level managers and between the mid-level managers and the IT non-managerial professionals on certain key ethical issues. This paper discusses the conceptual framework, hypotheses, research methodology, data analysis, implications of the findings, and suggested areas of further research. K. Gregory Jin, D.B.A, is Professor of the MIS Department, Ancell School of Business, Western, Connecticut State University. He has published numerous conference papers, chapters, and articles in such areas as MIS professional ideology and ethics, communication and control, behavioral issues in information systems development, role of IT and human factors in business process reengineering, service learning in database design, systems theory, MIS participant action research strategy, and political factors in IT management. He has more than twenty years of MIS administrative and professional experiences. He holds a D.B.A. in Information Technology Management from George Washington University. He is a member of the Association of Information Technology Professionals and a former member of DSI. Ronald G. Drozdenko, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of the Marketing Department, Ancell School of Business, Western Connecticut State University. He is also the founding Director of the Center for Business Research at the Ancell School. Dr. Drozdenko has co-directed more than 100 proprietary research projects since 1978 for the marketing and research and development departments of several corporations, including major multinationals. These projects were in the areas of strategic planning, marketing research, product development, direct marketing, and marketing database analysis. Dr. Drozdenko co-authored Optimal Database Marketing: Strategy, Development and Data Mining and also has published professional and academic articles and book chapters. He holds a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Missouri and is a member of the American Marketing Association, the Society for Consumer Psychology, and the Academy of Marketing Sciences. Richard A. Bassett, D.P.S, is an Associate Professor of Management Information Systems at Western Connecticut State University. He was founder and CEO of Bassett Computer Systems, Inc. for 17 years where he was involved with the design and implementation of information systems for hundreds for small and midsized businesses. He has authored several papers and articles in such areas as web-design as a web-master, web-based course design, the security threats and concerns faced by telecommuters, minimal steps required to secure a Local Area Network and the technology decision challenges which growing companies face. He is actively involved with technology endeavors of numerous nonprofit organizations including: The Children’s Center, Bridges of Milford, North Haven Rotary, Communicare, and the Amber Alert System. He holds a D.P.S. in Computing from Pace University.