The Effects of Escalating Commitment on Ethical Decision-Making

Although scholars have invoked the escalation framework as a means of explaining the occurrence of numerous organizationally undesirable behaviors on the part of decision makers, to date no empirical research on the potential influences of escalating commitment on the likelihood of unethical behavior at the individual level of analysis has been reported in either the escalation or the ethical decision-making literatures. Thus, the main purpose of this project is to provide a theoretical foundation and empirical support for the contention that escalating commitment situations can induce unethical behavior in decision makers. An experimental research design utilizing a computerized investment task was administered to 155 undergraduate business majors as a means of assessing the hypotheses presented here. Results from a hierarchical logistic regression analysis found strong support for the contention that exposure to an escalation situation increases the likelihood of unethical behavior on the part of decision makers. Further, results also supported previous ethical decision-making findings by confirming the effects of locus of control (LOC) on ethical behavior. Specifically, the data indicated that individuals with an external LOC orientation were significantly more likely to select the unethical option than were individuals with an internal LOC orientation. Interestingly, support was not found for the effects of Machiavellianism or gender on ethical decision-making.     

Stakeholder Theory and Managerial Decision-Making: Constraints and Implications of Balancing Stakeholder Interests

Stakeholder theory is widely recognized as a management theory, yet very little research has considered its implications for individual managerial decision-making. In the two studies reported here, we used stakeholder theory to examine managerial decisions about balancing stakeholder interests. Results of Study 1 suggest that indivisible resources and unequal levels of stakeholder saliency constrain managers’ efforts to balance stakeholder interests. Resource divisibility also influenced whether managers used a within-decision or an across-decision approach to balance stakeholder interests. In Study 2 we examined instrumental and normative implications of these two approaches. We conclude by considering the contributions of this research.     

基于分布式数据挖掘的连锁商业企业经营决策分析

分布式经营系统是大型连锁商业企业发展的基础,采用分布式数据挖掘辅助连锁商业企业决策是一种理想选择。连锁商业企业经营决策可以通过基于分布式数据挖掘的全局控制站点决策模式和分站点决策模式,各站点的独立和全局的综合来实行;基于分布式数据挖掘的决策机制与集中式数据挖掘的决策机制相比有划分粒度小、分析与综合性强、面向顾客的灵活度高等特点;并实现了一个客户细分的决策过程。     

第三方物流及其风险分析

第三方物流 ,即物流外包 ,是一种创新的物流管理模式 ,是未来物流发展的方向。第三方物流的实质是企业和物流服务商之间的一种“委托—代理”关系。由于委托方和代理方之间存在着信息不对称、信息扭曲 ,以及市场环境变化的不确定性 ,导致企业在实施物流外包过程中存在种种风险 ,研究第三方物流的风险 ,制定企业进行物流外包相应的政策     

Business Ethics Training: Insights from Learning Theory

This paper explores research in educational psychology and learning theory in a search for insights to enhance business ethics training Useful educational principles uncovered are then applied to the development of an ethics training initiative for sales professionals. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research to help enrich business ethics training.

基于培训的企业外包服务探索

随着企业经营环境的改变,业务外包已经成为企业集中优势发展核心业务的有效手段,而人力资源外包正成为公司外包业务中的领头羊。培训职能是人力资源管理中最经常被外包的业务之一,但是在我国,培训外包成功的案例却不多。应针对我国企业培训外包服务市场的现况,企业和培训公司应该从改善自身问题入手,共同打造一个成熟的培训外包服务市场。     

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.     

基于供应链管理的企业竞争优势的战略思考

随着经济全球化和科学技术的发展,供应链管理已成为现代企业管理的重要思想和方法。通过降低成本、业务外包和创造顾客价值,供应链管理能有效地提升企业的竞争优势。我国企业应采取必要的战略措施加强供应链管理,以增强企业核心竞争力。     

我国服务外包产业集群的治理策略研究

服务外包产业集群快速发展,需要更有效、更准确的产业政策继续扶持。产业集群是社会资本丰富的组织,集群剩余索取权是产业集聚的动力之一。文章对服务外包产业政策效果评价现状进行了梳理,提出了从产业集群治理层面进行政策制定及效果评估的核心思想,并进一步分析了产业集群治理的基本机制-集群剩余索取权的社会资本特性以及政府在产业集群治理中主导作用的形成,建构了产业集群网络的结构熵模型以反映社会资本或集群剩余的演化。有关基于熵变的产业集群治理策略方面,文章提出产业政策应从降低企业经营成本为主向提高集群剩余和社会资本的方向完善,通过加强产业集聚区公共服务和公共产品的提供、非正式关系的营建、交易平台的建设等措施以增强企业网络的"嵌入性"凝聚更多积极的生产要素,提高产业集群的生命力和竞争力。     

Excessive risk exposure: A question of ethical decision-making

This commentary essay reflects on the article titled “When an irresistible force meets an immovable object: The interplay of agency and structure in the UK financial crisis” (Ashby et al., this issue). Specifically, managers took on excessive risk that ultimately contributed to financial crisis. This essay discusses whether the decision to accept excessive risk falls under ethical decision-making, including the degree of moral intensity as possibly perceived by risk and financial managers. The components for determining moral intensity include (1) magnitude of consequences, (2) social consensus, (3) probability of effect, (4) temporal immediacy, (5) proximity, and (6) concentration of effect.