Ethical Decision Making in Organizations: The Role of Leadership Stress

Across two studies the hypotheses were tested that stressful situations affect both leadership ethical acting and leaders?? recognition of ethical dilemmas. In the studies, decision makers recruited from 3 sites of a Swedish multinational civil engineering company provided personal data on stressful situations, made ethical decisions, and answered to stress-outcome questions. Stressful situations were observed to have a greater impact on ethical acting than on the recognition of ethical dilemmas. This was particularly true for situations involving punishment and lack of rewards. The results are important for the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of an organization, especially with regard to the analysis of the stressors influencing managerial work and its implications for ethical behavior.     

Inner Leadership: A Social Cognitive-Based Approach Toward Enhanced Ethical Decision Making

Teaching Business Ethics -     

中国共产党领导的财政事业:历史回顾与未来展望

学习百年党史,要做到学史明理、学史增信、学史崇德、学史力行.中国共产党领导的财政事业的发展是百年党史的重要组成部分.文章结合财政事业发展,谈学习百年党史的体会,并思考财政事业发展中的一些重要问题,主要内容包括四个方面:党领导的财政事业成功的原因;财政事业发展中克服困难增强信心信念;财政事业探索中的忠诚与专业能力;财政更好地服务于党和国家的事业全局.学党史、悟思想、办实事、开新局,对于财政理论工作者来说,就是要对照现实,创新财政理论,按照加快构建中国特色哲学社会科学的要求,加快构建中国财政学.     

基于商业伦理观的商誉成本计量与决策分析

企业在商业活动中,以道德的行为来影响商誉价值,而商誉价值的提升,是需要付出一定代价的。商誉成本是维持或提高企业商誉价值所付出的代价或费用,并是商业伦理决策过程中或商誉决策时所必须考虑的一个重要因素。基于商业伦理观的商誉成本的正确计量及决策分析是企业在战略的角度提升商誉价值的关键所在。     

Spirituality and Strategic Leadership: The Influence of Spiritual Beliefs on Strategic Decision Making

This work extends the consideration of spirituality and leadership to the field of strategic leadership. Future development in the field of spirituality and leadership will depend on greater clarity concerning the level of analysis, and will require a distinction between personal and collective spirituality. Toward that end, a framework is proposed that describes how the personal spiritual beliefs of a top level leader operate in strategic decision making like a schema to filter and frame information. This function is mediated by the leader’s constructive development and meta-belief and moderated by the organizational context and leadership style. This framework provides a starting point for considering the many expressions of spirituality in organizations and serves as a foundation for a multi-level theory of spirituality and leadership.     

Assumptions in Decision Making Scholarship: Implications for Business Ethics Research

While decision making scholarship in management has specifically addressed the objectivist assumptions within the rational choice model, a similar move within business ethics has only begun to occur. Business ethics scholarship remains primarily based on rational choice assumptions. In this article, we examine the managerial decision making literature in order to illustrate equivocality within the rational choice model. We identify four key assumptions in the decision making literature and illustrate how these assumptions affect decision making theory, research, and practice within the purview of business ethics. Given the breadth of disciplines and approaches within management decision making scholarship, a content analysis of management decision making scholarship produces a greater range of assumptions with finer granularity than similar scholarship within business ethics. By identifying the core assumptions within decision making scholarship, we start a conversation about why, how, and to what effect we make assumptions about decision making in business ethics theory, research, and practice. Examining the range of possible assumptions underlying current scholarship will hopefully clarify the conversation and provide a platform for future business ethics research.     

Reframing the Business Case for Diversity: A Values and Virtues Perspective

We provide an ethical evaluation of the debate on managing diversity within teams and organizations between equality and business case scholars. Our core assertion is that equality and business case perspectives on diversity from an ethical reading appear stuck as they are based on two different moral perspectives that are difficult to reconcile with each other. More specifically, we point out how the arguments of equality scholars correspond with moral reasoning grounded in deontology, whereas the foundations of the business case perspective are crafted by utilitarian arguments. We show that the problems associated with each diversity perspective correspond with the traditional concerns with the two moral perspectives. To resolve this stalemate position, we argue that the equality versus business case debate needs to be approached from a third, less well-known moral perspective (i.e. virtue ethics). We posit that a focus on virtues can enhance equality by reducing prejudice and illustrate this by applying it to the HRM domains of recruitment and selection and of performance management. Subsequently, we argue that values are key to aligning virtues with each other and with corporate strategy, delineate our values and virtues perspective on diversity, and argue why and how it can enhance organizational performance.     

网上信用不确定情况下的交易决策模型

网上交易决策是一种典型的风险决策,信用不确定性是其主要诱因。由于影响因素的多样性,网上信用不确定情况下的交易决策是比较复杂的。本文主要基于网上信用不确定性及其减少不确定性方法——采用网上信用服务(OnlineTrustService,OTS),建立了网上信用不确定性情况下的交易决策模型,通过研究得出如下结论(1)网上信用服务不确定情况下的交易决策模型是一种典型的风险决策模型,其风险主要源于交易者采用OTS的不确定性和交易伙伴的信用状况的不确定性;(2)OTS的收费率和感知信用风险率(PerceivedTrustRiskRate,PTRR)是影响网上交易决策的主要因素;(3)PTRR、OTS的采纳和网络信用服务价格之间有密切关系,并推导出交易者使用OTS的基本条件。     

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。     

Fairness and Consumer Decision Making under the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive

This article analyses the unfairness concept from the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD). It considers why the nature and level of protection is particularly important given the range of coverage of the regime and the Europeanisation agenda. It argues that the UCPD concept provides the potential for a relatively protective approach to consumer decision making. At the same time, it emphasizes that realisation of this potential is partly dependent on recognizing the limits of transparency as a protective tool and in understanding the “professional diligence” and “average consumer” concepts in particular ways. It is further suggested that the protective potential of the regime is not necessarily undermined by the “average consumer” concept or by the “informed decision-making” paradigm of the general unfairness clause. Indeed, the general clause may be capable of extending the protective effects to some extent. Finally, it is suggested that regulators may have a key role to play in maximizing both the level of protection and the prospects for a genuinely common European approach.     

Business Decision Making in National Socialist Germany: Machine Tools, Business Machines, and Punch Cards at the Wanderer-Werke AG

This article analyzes the goals and strategies of a medium-sizemachine-building enterprise located in Chemnitz, the "SaxonManchester," during the Nazi period. The Wanderer-Werke AG produceda broad range of goods, from machine tools to business machines,during the years before World War II. It pursued an essentiallyconservative strategy, adhering to its established product lineand not embarking on armament production until required to doso. This policy, however, did not prevent the firm from actingon strategic opportunities offered by Nazi occupation policy,as in 1940 when it sought to establish "cooperation" with theFrench punch-card producer Compagnie des Machines Bull. Thearticle considers the extent to which enterprises like Wanderer—medium-sizedcompanies with products of some value to the war effort—couldpursue autonomous strategies within the framework of the NationalSocialist regime.     

A Review of Empirical Studies Assessing Ethical Decision Making in Business

This article summarizes the multitude of empirical studies that test ethical decision making in business and suggests additional research necessary to further theory in this area. The studies are categorized and related to current theoretical ethical decision making models. The studies are related to awareness, individual and organizational factors, intent, and the role of moral intensity in ethical decision making. Summary tables provide a quick reference for the sample, findings, and publication outlet. This review provides insights for understanding organizational ethical decision constructs, where ethical decision making theory currently stands, and provides insights for future empirical work on organizational ethical decision making.     

The Ethical Decision Making of Men and Women Executives in International Business Situations

While a number of studies have examined the impact of gender/sex on ethical decision-making, the findings of this body of research do not provide consistent answers. Furthermore, very few of these studies have incorporated cross-cultural samples. Consequently, this study of 222 American and Spanish business executives explored sex differences in ethical judgments and intentions to act ethically. While no significant differences between males and females were found with respect to ethical judgments, females exhibited higher intentions to act more ethically than males. This difference was true of both U.S. and Spanish executives. Further research is warranted to develop a clearer understanding of the linkage between ethical judgment and intention to act in an ethical manner. These findings have implications for global firms, particularly regarding codes of conduct and ethics training. Sean Valentine is an Assiciate Professor of Management at the University of Wyoming. His research has appeared in journals such as Human Relations, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management. Terri Rittenburg is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Univesity of Wyoming; she is a member of the Editorial Policy Board for the Journal of Macromarketing. Her research has appeared in journals such as Psychology and Marketing, Journal of Business Ethics, and Journal of Macromarketing.     

The Impact of Moral Intensity on Decision Making in a Business Context

The present paper reports the results of a vignette- and questionnaire-based research project investigating the influence of Moral Intensity (MI) on decision making in a New Zealand business context. The use of a relatively sensitive research design yielded results showing that – in contrast to previous research – objective manipulations, as well as subjective perceptions, of three of the six MI components were of particular importance in accounting for a comparatively large proportion of the variation in four outcome variables. There were no interactions of appreciable magnitude between MI components, or variations across scenarios. Also, no support was found for a reliable multi-dimensional structure of perceptions of Moral Intensity. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Simple Decision Aids and Consumer Decision Making

To help consumers deal with increasing amounts of information, many online retailers offer simple decision aids, such as the ability to sort on a particular attribute or eliminate undesired alternatives. The authors propose that consumers use simple decision aids as substitutes for cognitive effort, potentially with adverse consequences for decision making. An experimental study shows that providing unrestricted sorting increases decision quality only when choice conflict is low; beyond a certain point, greater use of the decision aid is associated with declines in decision quality. A second study shows that that allowing consumers to sort alternatives only one time enhances decision quality and, when choice conflict is high, reduces decision effort. A third study shows that providing elimination as well as sorting tools helps mitigate the negative effects of simple decision aids. Although the availability of sorting alone hurts decision quality when choice conflict is high, decision quality under choice conflict is improved when both sorting and elimination tools are provided. Implications for retail practice are discussed.     

A Model for Ethical Decision Making in Business: Reasoning, Intuition, and Rational Moral Principles

How do business leaders make ethical decisions? Given the significant and wide-spread impact of business people??s decisions on multiple constituents (e.g., customers, employees, shareholders, competitors, and suppliers), how they make decisions matters. Unethical decisions harm the decision makers themselves as well as others, whereas ethical decisions have the opposite effect. Based on data from a study on strategic decision making by 16 effective chief executive officers (and three not-so-effective ones as contrast), I propose a model for ethical decision making in business in which reasoning (conscious processing) and intuition (subconscious processing) interact through forming, recalling, and applying moral principles necessary for long-term success in business. Following the CEOs in the study, I employ a relatively new theory, rational egoism, as the substantive content of the model and argue it to be consistent with the requirements of long-term business success. Besides explaining the processes of forming and applying principles (integration by essentials and spiraling), I briefly describe rational egoism and illustrate the model with a contemporary moral dilemma of downsizing. I conclude with implications for further research and ethical decision making in business.     

Decision Making and Business Ethics: The Implications of Using Image Theory in Preference to Rational Choice

The study of decision making has multiple implications for business ethics. This paper outlines some commonly used frameworks for understanding choice in business. It characterises the dominant model for business decision making as rational choice theory (RCT) and contrasts this with a more recent, naturalistic theory of decision-making, image theory. The implications of using RCT and image theory to model decision making are discussed with reference to three ethical systems. RCT is shown to be consistent with Utilitarian ethics, but not with Kantian or Virtue-based ethics. Image theory is shown to be consistent with each. The paper identifies a number of implications following from this analysis.     

The Connectedness Decision Paradigm: Group Decision, Negotiation and Leadership in World Problems

We discuss connectedness, a dynamic unity relation experience. The Connectedness Decision Paradigm (CDP) is a formal, general systems-spirituality framework, technology-supported, for group decision and negotiation (GDN) and leadership in making “right” decisions. A right problem/solution is validated by a spiritual rationality validation test involving connectedness. A participant (agent) may experience connectedness with purposes (intended results). Purposes for which there is reciprocated (shared) purpose connectedness across agents constitute common ground for these agents. A basic idea is to identify and expand such common ground. Even in difficult problem solving, as with polarization, where there seems to be little or no common ground, a priori there is always the ultimate purpose common ground of connectedness with One (spirituality) from which other common ground as connectedness with the “other” can arise. Common ground can lead to additional common ground and to an agreed problem solution—itself constituting common ground—that can be tested for rightness. Our focus here is on human agents considered as spiritual purposeful complex adaptive systems in multiagent environments. The ideas are applicable to other agents with lesser or greater capabilities than humans according to their capabilities. Expanding earlier work, this commentary on CDP is also based on GDN 2012, 2013 meeting remarks by the author, as well as on a lecture, “Hope on the Edge of Chaos: The New Connectedness Paradigm in World Affairs”, Hamilton Hall, Salem, Massachusetts, February 2012. In presenting CDP, this commentary is also a call for problem solving frameworks for GDN and leadership, and solutions to world problems.