Marketing ethics and education: Some empirical findings

This study explores possible links between educational background and ethics among marketing professionals. Data from two surveys of members of the American Marketing Association suggest that marketing professionals with master's degrees and higher are similar to their less educated counterparts in both their ethical standards and their intended ethical behaviors. Marketers with business degrees, however, have lower ethical standards than do graduates of non-business programs, though they report behavior as ethical as that of their non-business educated peers. Business schools may be producing cynics likely to accept marginal behaviors of colleagues though not likely to engage in such behaviors themselves.Sharyne Merritt is Professor of Marketing at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and a consultant in the areas of marketing and survey research. She has a Ph. D. in Political Science and was a Visiting Scholar at UCLA's Graduate School of Management. She has lectured and published widely in the fields of marketing and social issues.     

Individual values and business ethics

The necessity for considering individual values when attempting to institutionalize ethics is discussed. Techniques for individual values examination are outlined in the context of their organizational application. Suggestions are made concerning possible mechanisms through which organizations can encourage individual values awareness and concluding remarks emphasize the importance of managerial commitment to the overall effort.Dr. Coye is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Management at DePaul University. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon, an MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and a B.Sc. from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He teaches and conducts research in Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management.     

Marketing ethics: Some dimensions of the challenge

We should seek an ethic internal to marketing arising from marketing's societal function, rather than imposing some add-on ethic. This suggests that marketing should enhance the information and the freedom the potential customer brings to the market transaction. Defining and achieving this information and freedom is difficult, but marketers suggest that the market itself drives out major violators, a suggestion less persuasive concerning increasingly complex goods and services. Marketing also is tempted to appeal to our baser, darker side. These problems are better addressed through self-regulation guided by a vision of advertising and business in the service of society, and by the marketer's own sense of integrity than through external regulation. Paul F. Camenisch is Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, DePaul University. His work currently concentrates in business, professional and medical ethics, in which he has published numerous articles and Grounding Professional Ethics in a Pluralistic Society (Haven Publications, New York, 1983).     

Background and work experience correlates of the ethics and effect of organizational politics

Empirical studies exploring managerial views of organizational politics (OP) are scarce. Furthermore, the literature is replete with inconsistent results regarding the correlates of OP. In this paper, data collected from 302 managers were used to examine the association between seven background and work experience variables and managerial attitudes regarding the ethics, locus, affect of OP on the organization, and the motives behind political maneuvering in the workplace. The results, however, show that association between managers' background and work experience factors and attitudes regarding OP is weak. The results suggest several promising lines of inquiry for future research. Shaker A. Zahra is Assistant Professor of Management at the School of Business Administration of the Old Dominion University, Norfolk, virginia. His research focuses on the role of political factors in strategy development.     

Predicting ethical values and training needs in ethics

Two hundred and twenty-six state employees completed a structured questionnaire that investigated their ethical values and training needs. Top management were more likely to have attitudes against cronyism and giving advantage to others. Individuals higher in the organizational hierarchy, and female employees were more likely to believe that discriminatory practices were an ethical concern. In addition, employees with a larger number of clients outside of the organization were more supportive of the need to maintain strict confidentiality in business dealings. Employees' awareness and use of the organization's code of conduct generally proved to be poor predictors of ethical values. Other analyses revealed that a variety of sociodemographic factors, job characteristics and ethical values predicted specific areas of training needs in ethics.Victor J. Callan is Professor of Organizational Behavior in the Graduate School of Management at the University of Queensland. He is the author of 8 books and over 100 journal articles and book chapters in the areas of social and organizational psychology. His recent publications include a chapter in Marvin Dunnett'sHandbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (2nd ed., 1992), and a second edition ofSocial Psychology (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991).     

Embodied ethics: Some common concerns of religion and business

De George's understanding of theology is limited to one of five commonly recognized models of theology, the orthodox model. This model is vulnerable to De George's criticisms. When religious ethics operates out of the revisionist model of theology, however, his criticisms lose their sting. Revisionist religious ethics, moreover, can make a fruitful contribution to business ethics. Such a religious ethic acknowledges the embodiment dimension of business activities, it complements philosophical analysis with the practice of moral discernment, and it recognizes irony as an active component in decision-making.John T. Leahy is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at DePaul University.     

Consumer ethics: The possible effects of terrorism and civil unrest on the ethical values of consumers

Research investigating the consumer's ethical beliefs, ideologies and orientation has been limited. Additionally, despite the repeated call in the literature for cross cultural research, virtually no studies have examined the ethical beliefs and ideologies of consumers from cultures other than those in North America. This study partially fills this gap in the literature by investigating the ethical beliefs, preferred ethical ideology, and degree of Machiavellianism of consumers from Egypt and Lebanon. The results indicate that consumers in Lebanon, which has been torn by civil unrest and terrorism, tend to be more Machiavellian, less idealistic, and more relativistic than their Egyptian counterparts. Additionally, the Lebanese consumers tend to be more accepting of questionable consumer practices.Mohammed Y. A. Rawwas is Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Northern Iowa. His research has appeared in theJournal of Business Ethics, Journal of Hospital Marketing, Health Marketing Quarterly, Medical Marketing & Media, and national proceedings of the American Marketing Association.Scott J. Vitell is Associate Professor of Marketing and holder of the Michael S. Starnes Lecturship in Marketing and Business Ethics at the University of Mississippi. His work has previously appeared in theJournal of Macromarketing, theJournal of Business Ethics, Research in Marketing, theBusiness and Professional Ethics Journal and theJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science as well as various other journals and proceedings.Jamal Al-Khatib is Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. His research has appeared in theJournal of Consumer Marketing, International Marketing Review andResearch in the International Business Disciplines as well as various national and regional proceedings.     

Finding the fit: Why compliance and ethics programs should seek to match individual and corporate values

Job seekers would like guidance on how to find a job with a firm whose values reinforce their own, a place that would be a good personal fit. At the same time, because of legal compliance requirements, it is crucial that employers find employees that fit the company’s value system so that the company can maintain an effective ethics and compliance program. This article looks at the legal, regulatory structure in both the U.S. and E.U. with an emphasis on reflexive corporate governance. It also reports the findings of a survey of E.U. and U.S. executives with a reputation for nurturing ethical business culture to discover what virtues and factors are most important and, thus, something a job seeker might look for in finding a strong, ethical company. Finally, the article raises the cognitive issues of the importance for job seekers to examine their own psychological biases so they are evaluating a position based on what really fits their values.     

Real‐estate agent ethics: Selected findings from two Norwegian studies

The article discusses selected findings from two Norwegian studies among real‐estate agents and real‐estate students, and their relevance for real‐estate education in professional ethics. The survey data‐set indicates that the industry morality of real‐estate agents is more peer‐group oriented, less individualistic and more intersubjective than in other comparable Norwegian industries. The qualitative material shows how respondents perceive and discuss three professional role conflict scenarios in a rule‐ or consequence‐focused pattern. The findings are followed by several suggestions relating to conflict handling approaches and professional ethics training among future and present real‐estate agents.     

Business ethics: Some observations on the relationship between training,affiliation, and disciplinary drift

This paper undertakes an inquiry into the relationship between the disciplinary training of business ethicists, their institutional affiliations, those whose work they cite, those with whom they collaborate, and — to some degree — the kind of work they do. It is intended as a response to both the historic injunction that we examine ourselves and to what is seen as the considerable disarray of the field.Barry Castro has been at Grand Valley since 1973. His previous work has appeared in theAmerican Economic Review, theBusiness Ethics Quarterly, Change, theGrand Valley Review, theHarvard Educational Review, theJournal of Business Ethics, theJournal of Political Economy, Soundings and other journals. His book,Business and Society: A Reader in The History, Sociology and Ethics of Business (Oxford) is forthcoming.     

Multibank holding company activity and local market structure: Some implications for intra- and interstate banking

This paper presents new evidence on the effects of multibank holding companies on the structure of local commercial bank markets for deposits. A distinguishing feature of this study is the use of pooled cross-section and time-series data. It is concluded that multibank holding company activity has had a procompetitive effect on the local banking markets in the sample. This finding, which is quite robust under alternative model specifications, has important implications for state and federal policy toward this organizational form and toward intra- and interstate banking.     

Exploring origins of ethical company/brand perceptions — A consumer perspective of corporate ethics

This research provides a consumer perspective of corporate ethics. The study consists of twenty long interviews [McCracken, G., 1988. The long interview. Newbury Park, CA: Sage] with general consumers, and conceptualizes potential sources of consumer perceived ethicality (CPE) of a company/brand by investigating consumers' ethical perceptions of business behavior. The developed taxonomy delineates six domains and 36 sub-domains of CPE origin, relating to the impact corporate behavior has on: (1) consumers, (2) employees, (3) the environment, (4) the overseas community, (5) the local economy and community, and (6) the business community. Findings demonstrate disparities between the consumer and the business perspective and highlight the fact that sources of CPE prove considerably more diverse and complex than the literature suggests, therefore presenting a vital extension to existing research. By providing business managers with a comprehensive assembly of issues which may evoke un/ethical perceptions, the framework may serve as a code of business conduct to prevent, contain, or combat negative CPE.     

The business of ethics and the ethics of business

This is an essay in personal business ethics of executives as distinguished from the institutional ethics of corporations. Its purpose is to give practical moral guidance to executives for the conduct of their lives both as corporate decision-makers and as human beings. The pivotal concept in this model of personal business ethics is a direct appeal to the self-interest of executives in their being moral. Our thesis is that generally there is a twofold return on investment in ethics (ROIE) for executives. The first one is related to employee output: by becoming a self-actualizing moral type, executives indicate commitment to excellence. Accordingly, they so manage employees that the latter can also live up to their full potential and excell. And that would increase corporate productivity and product or service quality. The second payback of morality is personal: fully developed, self-actualized managers are generally happier people than those whose growth has been arrested. In brief, moral self-actualization is the same as commitment to excellence and there is a payback in being the best. Return on investment in ethics and return on investment in excellence can both be abbreviated as ROIE. We accomplish the purpose and establish the thesis of this essay by seeking answers to the following questions: What business does ethics have in business? What business does business have in ethics? Is there a return on investment in ethics for executives? and Does being moral help executives become more effective managers? In sketching answers to these questions, we first show why executives need a personal business ethics especially in today's world. Then, we sketch the nature of ethics and of business. After these introductory materials, the body of the paper argues for a personal business ethics for executives by correlating elements of management theory with ethics. Specifically, it links a theory of employee motivation with a scale of values, management character types with moral types, and management leadership styles with morality. Then, the practical technique of life by objectives (LBO) is explained. It can help executives manage their lives more effectively in both the business and ethical sense. We conclude by explaining ideals of excellence which can guide executives in their work and development both as managers and as human beings.     

A question of ethics: Developing information system ethics

This study develops a pedagogy for the teaching of ethical principles in information systems (IS) classes, and reports on an empirical study that supports the efficacy of the approach. The proposed pedagogy involves having management information systems professors lead questioning and discussion on a list of ethical issues as part of their existing IS courses. The rationale for this pedagogy involves (1) the maturational aspects of ethics, and (2) the importance of repetition, challenge, and practice in developing a personal set of ethics. A study of IS ethics using a pre-post test design found that classes receiving such treatment significantly improved their performance on an IS ethics questionnaire. It appears to me that in Ethics, as in all other philosophical studies, the difficulties ... are mainly due to ... the attempt to answer questions, without first discovering precisely what question it is which you desire to answer. George Edward Moore, Principia Ethica [1903], preface. Eli Cohen is an associate professor of Management Information Systems at Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois. He received his Ph.D. from Indiana University and holds CDP, CCP, CSP and CDE certificates. He is also Midwest Editor for Government Technology Magazine.Larry Cornwell is professor of Business Management and Administration at Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois. He is the recipient of the 1988 Midwest Grain Teaching Award and has extensive consulting experience to industry. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri at Rolla. He has numerous publications in statistics, mathematical programming, computer science and information systems.     

Business ethics: Micro and macro

As in the field of economics, the questions of business ethics can be divided into two distinguishable types — micro and macro. Micro-ethical questions arise primarily for subordinates in an organization and concern what should be done when the demands of conscience conflict with perceived occupational requirements. Macro-ethical questions arise principally for superiors and concern the setting of policy for the organization in general. The present article elaborates upon this distinction and advances a line argument for resolving micro-ethical problems when their affinity to macro-ethical issues is noted. James Brummer holds a joint appointment as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Departments of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of Wisconsin-Stout. He has published articles in the Journal of Business Ethics, Educational Forum, and the Business and Professional Ethics Journal in the areas of personal and professional ethics.