Developing Reflective Students: Evaluating the Benefits of Learning Logs within a business Ethics Programme

The paper presents a rationale for the inclusion of a learning log within a business ethics programme drawing on the results of a pilot with a group of undergraduate students. Learning logs were found to serve as a valuable means of helping students connect theory with familiar working practice and also enabled them to reflect on their own personal development and understanding of ethics over time. Comparison between the first and final log entries indicate that students were able to critically re-evaluate many of their initial assumptions about business ethics. While the first log entries were characterised by scepticism and relativist attitudes to business ethics, the final entry indicated that many students now rejected the notion that ethics are only relevant to private life. Moreover, there was evidence of increased understanding of the scope of ethical issues and the complexity of decision-making. Critical workplace incidents, reported in the third log entry, illustrated a wide range of ethical dilemmas facing young and inexperienced service workers. Integrating the use of such critical incidents, written from the perspective of a front-line worker, within a business ethics programme may also serve as a valuable counter-weight to the traditional emphasis on large corporate case studies which cast students in the role of a middle or senior manager.     

The Influence of an Organisation’s Corporate Values on Employees Personal Buying Behaviour

This article explores the influence that an organisation’s corporate values have on employees’ behaviour and values both within and outside the work environment. In particular, it focuses on the impact of these values on the personal buying behaviour of employees. The empirical research was undertaken within a case study organisation that produces wine in Spain and involved interviews with senior management, an analysis of company documentation, as well as group discussions with employees supported by an employee survey. The article argues that an organisation’s corporate values influence not only its employees’ behaviour within the work environment, but also impacts on their global values system outside of the work environment. In particular, this was evident within the employees’ buying behaviour practices in relation to supplier loyalty and environmental concern. This has implications for business ethics as an organisation’s value system may go beyond the purely business context. Organisations need to be aware of their impact on employees’ behaviour outside of the work environment; this is particularly the case for multinational companies working across many cultures.     

Meaning Making by Managers: Corporate Discourse on Environment and Sustainability in India

The globally generated concepts of environment and sustainability are fast gaining currency in international business discourse. Sustainability concerns are concurrently becoming significant to business planning around corporate social responsibility and integral to organizational strategies toward enhancing shareholder value. The mindset of corporate managers is a key factor in determining company approaches to sustainability. But what do corporate managers understand by sustainability? Our study explores discursive meaning negotiation surrounding the concepts of environment and sustainability within business discourse. The study is based on qualitative interpretive research drawing from symbolic interactionism (Blumer, Symbolic interactionism: perspective and method. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1969) which postulates that meaning in discourse is an essentially contested domain dependent upon negotiation in the Habermasian tradition of mutually respectful dialogue (Habermas, The theory of communicative action: lifeworld and system: a critique of functionalist reason. Beacon Press, Boston 1987). Data from semi-structured intensive interviews of a small sample of senior corporate managers was analyzed to examine how corporate elites in India frame their approach to sustainability issues and respond to external pressures for deeper corporate responsibility. The findings point to the existence of a distinctively local narrative with strong potential for the discursive negotiation of personal and collective understanding of ethical and socio-cultural values that may help internalize broader sustainability considerations into corporate decision-making processes.     

Corporate Directors and Social Responsibility: Ethics versus Shareholder Value

This paper reports on the results of an experiment conducted with experienced corporate directors. The study findings indicate that directors employ prospective rationality cognition, and they sometimes make decisions that emphasize legal defensibility at the expense of personal ethics and social responsibility. Directors recognize the ethical and social implications of their decisions, but they believe that current corporate law requires them to pursue legal courses of action that maximize shareholder value. The results suggest that additional ethics education will have little influence on the decisions of many business leaders because their decisions are driven by corporate law, rather than personal ethics. Jacob Rose is Associate Professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His research emphasizes judgment and decision making in accounting and governance contexts.     

Comparing Corporate Managers' Personal Values Over Three Decades, 1967--1995

What is the nature of the decision-related personal values of corporate management? Managers' attitudes and behaviors are built upon their personal value systems (PVS). Knowledge about the structure of management's PVS assists in understanding the attributes of corporate decision making. Utilizing a survey instrument developed and used by England (1967, 1975), this article updates this research into corporate managers' personal value systems. England's PVS consists of sixty-six pre-tested values clustered into five groups. As one could expect with personal values, statistical tests reveal that even with dramatic changes in the business environment the overall personal values structure has not changed over the intervening three decades. The results also reveal that corporate managers retain their pragmatic value orientation as discussed by England.     

The Nestlé Infant Formula Controversy and a Strange Web of Subsequent Business Scandals

The marketing of infant formula in third-world countries in the 1970s by Nestlé S.A. gave rise to a consumer boycott that came to be a widely taught case study in the field of Business Ethics. This article extends that case study by identifying three specific individuals who were associated with managing Nestlé’s response to that boycott. It reveals their subsequent direct involvement in a number of additional “classic” 1980s business scandals (some of which ended with major criminal trials and the imprisonment of eminent business figures)—and describes tangential linkages to other business scandals of the time. The article discloses a behind-the-scenes pattern of business villainy, adding both depth and breadth to previous accounts of these scandals. The article offers a conceptual framework that goes beyond personal greed as an explanatory factor for such unethical behavior in the business world, suggesting the presence of personal and organizational networks of intrigue and opportunity. The linkages between the scandals suggest an epidemiological process with the plotters acting as “virus” carriers contaminating various corporate cultures.     

“Right Time,Right Place,and Right People” and Chinese Entrepreneurship: A Case Study of Taiwan’s Din Tai Fung Dumpling House

In examining corporate success, many scholars overlook an important contributing factor, namely entrepreneurship. However, Chinese wisdom believes that the “right time, right place, and right people” (Three R’s) are crucial for business success. This study utilizes theories of entrepreneurship from the Austrian School of Economics to reinterpret the three factors for business success. This new interpretation is then applied to explain the success of a famous dumpling house in Taiwan, Din Tai Fung. This study argues that although favorable timing is critical to business success, it requires an entrepreneur to grasp the opportunity when it comes. The seizure of a golden chance requires alertness and preparation. More importantly, this study argues that even during an adverse period, a crisis can be turned into a profit opportunity. Whereas a favorable location is also regarded as a key factor, this study goes beyond sheer spatial dimensions. Location also encompasses culture, social customs, norms and traditional folklores. This paper argues that an entrepreneur transplants culture and social customs from one location to another, thus, gaining pure entrepreneurial profit. Finally, the “right people” in an entrepreneurial sense involves a harmonious social network and good personal relationship (Guanxi). By maintaining a harmonious relationship with staff members, partners, customers, and suppliers, entrepreneurs can “get things done.” This case study provides a new insight into Chinese entrepreneurship in East Asia.     

The art of strategic sales alignment

As companies move through the stages of their corporate life cycle, many fail to adjust their sales model to meet new business requirements. This article illustrates that problem with a case study of a major telecommunications organization and includes a three-step process that can be used during strategic planning and budgeting.     

营商环境对大股东掏空的影响研究

作为宏观经济环境的重要形式之一,营商环境影响到微观企业财务行为的诸多方面,但有关其对大股东掏空的影响及机制检验的研究尚且不足。基于此,文章以中国资本市场2008—2018年间A股上市公司为研究样本,实证考察营商环境对大股东掏空的影响。研究发现:营商环境与大股东掏空呈现显著的负相关关系,表明优化营商环境有利于抑制大股东掏空;相较于非国有企业,营商环境对大股东掏空的抑制作用在国有企业中更为明显;进一步的影响机制检验揭示,优化营商环境可以改善内部控制质量、提高审计质量和增强企业信息透明度,以上构成了营商环境抑制大股东掏空的主要影响路径。以上结论丰富了优化营商环境的经济后果相关文献研究,明晰了营商环境影响大股东掏空的作用机理,同时为改善和优化营商环境提供了直接经验证据。     

A Cross-Cultural Study of Ethics: The United States,Romania, Poland,and the Czech Republic

Global expansion of business into areas defined by different cultural and national environments creates the need for companies to better understand the impact of culture on business operations. Of particular importance is the role country of residence plays. Researchers argue that many cultural differences are malleable, capable of shifting to fit the corporate culture of an organization. However, additional research aimed at identifying different countries’ cultural values is needed. This paper presents the results of a multi-national survey of business students identifying differences in cultural perceptions of ethical behaviors. Differences in personal versus social decision making are discussed.     

Contrasting the evolution of corporate governance models: A study of banking in Hong Kong

The sub-prime mortgage crisis, the bankruptcies of important US banks, and many originally family controlled enterprises coming under non-family, CEO-type leadership during the 2008 global credit crunch led many people to rethink the relationship between risk management and family businesses. One of the foci was on the doctrine of separation of ownership. This paper attempts to compare and examine the evolution of corporate governance in the banking business in Hong Kong by using two key financial institutions based there. By contrasting the evolution of corporate governance, management style and pattern of succession, we can see that although they developed under the same business environment and legal framework, the East-West business culture and ideology led them to choose different ownership structures and ways of succession, which ultimately determined their different developmental trajectories.     

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.     

Creating Value Under Uncertainty

Abstract

The business environment in Nigeria has been unstable and chaotic for many years. Inflation reached 100% in 1995 and frequent unpredictable changes in economic policies have destabilized the economic environment. Yet, some business enterprises have sustained a tradition of superior competitive performance, earning good returns on investment even as many environment wearied multinationals divest.

The aim of this paper is to examine the actions taken by two successful companies to create value in Nigeria's uncertain business environment. The paper begins with a short summary of Nigeria's economic environment and its impact on manufacturing performance. It then reviews the principles of Economic Value Added (EVA) as a measure of corporate performance. The second part of the paper analyses the performance of two selected Nigerian companies-Nigerian Breweries Pic and Dunlop Nigeria Pic-and describes the strategies these companies used to achieve high and sustained corporate performance in Nigeria's economic environment. The paper ends with a discussion on the suitability of EVA-based performance measures in uncertain business environments.     

The State of Business Ethics in Israel: A Light Unto the Nations?

Whether the nation of Israel has become a “light unto the nations” in terms of ethical behavior among its business community remains in doubt. To examine the current state of business ethics in Israel, the study examines the following: (1) the extent of business ethics education in Israel; (2) the existence of formal corporate ethics program elements based on an annual survey of over 50 large Israeli corporations conducted over 5 years (2006–2010); and (3) perceptions of the state of business ethics based on interviews conducted with 22 senior Israeli corporate executives. In general, and particularly as a young country, Israel might be considered to have made great improvements in the state of business ethics over the years. In terms of business ethics education, the vast majority of universities and colleges offer at least an elective course in business ethics. In terms of formal business ethics program elements, many large companies now have a code of ethics, and over time continue to add additional elements. Most respondents believed they worked in ethical firms. Despite these developments, however, there appears to be significant room for improvement, particularly in terms of issues like: nepotism/favoritism; discrimination; confidentiality; treatment of customers; advertising; competitive intelligence; whistle-blowing; worker health and safety; and the protection of the environment. When compared with the U.S. or Europe, most believed that Israeli firms and their agents were not as ethical in business. A number of reasons were suggested that might be affecting the state of business ethics in Israel. A series of recommendations were also provided on how firms can better encourage an ethical corporate culture. The paper concludes with its limitations.     

A Workflow-Based Methodology for Developing Hypermedia Information Systems

Recently, many enterprises have attempted to construct hypermedia systems for electronic commerce innovation by the use of Internet technologies. In this hypermedia-enabled environment, hypermedia development can be considered in terms of workflow. In this article we propose a workflow-aware hypermedia development methodology, workflow-based hypermedia development methodology, to guide developers in creating hypermedia information systems. The methodology employs a workflow model based on corporate documents and is thus more likely to utilize users' business requirements in a natural fashion. The methodology consists of four phases: workflow analysis, document analysis, hypermedia design, and implementation. The emphasis of each phase is on aligning business requirements with hypermedia development technologies. To demonstrate the practical usefulness of the methodology, a real-life case is illustrated.     

“Managing” Corporate Community Involvement

In academic research, many attempts have been undertaken to legitimize corporate community involvement by showing a business case for it. However, much less attention has been devoted to building understanding about the actual dynamics and challenges of managing CCI in the business context. As an alternative to existing predominantly static and top-down approaches, this paper introduces a social movement framework for analyzing CCI management. Based on the analysis of qualitative case study data, we argue that the active role of employees pressuring for CCI policies and practices, as well as the organization audience responses to their efforts, are at the core of the challenges involved in managing CCI. These challenges also pose limits to how far CCI can be extended to a “business as usual” activity.     

Everybody Else is Doing it,So Why Can’t We? Pluralistic Ignorance and Business Ethics Education

In light of the myriad accounting and corporate ethics scandals of the early 21st century, many corporate leaders and management scholars believe that ethics education is an essential component in business school education. Despite a voluminous body of ethics education literature, few studies have found support for the effectiveness of changing an individuals ethical standards through programmatic ethics training. To address this gap in the ethics education literature the present study examines the influence of an underlying social cognitive error, called pluralistic ignorance. We believe that if pluralistic ignorance is reduced, the result will be more effective business ethics education programs. Eighty undergraduate management students participated in this longitudinal study, and a mixed-model ANOVA revealed that the reduction of pluralistic ignorance (due to an ethics education program designed to reduce pluralistic ignorance) resulted in higher personal ethical standards over the course of a semester, when compared to a class that did not receive a formal ethics education program as part of their course. We discuss the implications of pluralistic ignorance in training business ethics and ethics education.     

Three Realms of Corporate Responsibility: Distinguishing Legitmacy, Morality and Ethics

In the mid-1960s and 1970s the field of business ethics saw a basic shift in emphasis from personal responsibility to corporate responsibility. While the notion of corporate responsibility has come to be a dominant concept in the field of business ethics since that time, it is a contested concept that admits of a range of conceptions. A concern underlying this paper is that many of these conceptions are less adequate than they might be. This paper has two overlapping goals. First, it seeks to elaborate a more adequate conception of corporate responsibility by drawing upon critical theory to distinguish three different normative realms (viz., legitimacy, morality and ethics). Second, the paper attempts to indicate from a critical theory perspective the nature of corporate responsibilities in each of these realms. The paper begins with a short introduction to German critical theory and an explanation of the different normative realms. The following three sections elaborate in turn the responsibilities of corporations in each on the three normative realms. Finally, the conclusion attempts to indicate some of the advantages of a critical theory conception of corporate responsibility.     

Business Ethics and the Development of Intellectual Capital

This paper documents that business ethics has positive impacts upon the development of intellectual capital. Knowledge has become the most important asset of modern businesses, and this study argues that business ethics is associated with the development of intangible knowledge resources—intellectual capital. Businesses with ethical values at the core reinforce ethical conducts and successfully build trust with their various stakeholders, leading to the formation of an ethical and trustworthy corporate culture and a positive corporate environment. Thus, in this reasoning, an ethical approach to business can encourage open communication, problems solving, knowledge sharing and creativity among employees to increase organisational capital; enhance interactions and relationships with suppliers, customers and other stakeholders to increase social capital; attract and retain good talent to increase human capital. Questionnaire survey is adopted as the research method with businesses in the electronic and information technology industries in Taiwan as sample. The results suggest that business ethics is associated with increased intellectual capital. Thus, this study demonstrates that the development of intellectual capital is in line with strengthened ethics. It contributes to the literature through combining research on business ethics with intellectual capital theories and extends the extant intellectual capital literature.     

Managing threats in the global era: The impact and response to SARS

In early 2003, the SARS virus brought disruption of public and business activities in many areas of the world, particularly Asia. As a result of its impact, SARS quickly established itself as a new kind of global uncertainty and posed challenges for traditional methods of risk management. This article examines the impact that SARS has had through means of a case study and builds on this to provide recommendations for how uncertainty may be managed in an increasingly globalized world. Reconsideration of strategic and risk‐management approaches have become necessary. Supply‐chain management and corporate strategy require a fundamental rethink to balance the pursuit of efficiency with increased responsiveness and flexibility. Unpredictability and turbulence in the international business environment suggest that traditional planning approaches that assume linear growth may give way to more scenario‐based planning. This will encourage firms to contemplate a variety of possible futures and better prepare them for unanticipated events. Similarly, contingent‐based continuity plans help businesses continue running even during a crisis. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.