Bridging Ethics and Self Leadership: Overcoming Ethical Discrepancies Between Employee and Organizational Standards

In spite of extensive study and efforts to improve business ethics and increase corporate social responsibility, a quick review of almost any business publication will show that breaches of ethics are a common occurrence in the business community. In this paper we explore reasons for potential discrepancies or gaps between organizational and individual ethical standards, the consequences of such discrepancies, and possible methods of reducing the detrimental effects of these differences. The concept of self-leadership, as constructed through social learning theory is examined, and shown to be a potentially valuable tool for employees' use in making reasoned decisions in varying organizational ethical climates. Specifically, the authors will show how the practice of self-leadership can be employed as an important means to improve moral action within the firm.     

Ethical Culture and Employee Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Person-Organization Fit

We build on limited research concerning the mediation processes associated with the relationship between ethical culture and employee outcomes. A multidimensional measure of ethical culture was examined for its relationship to overall Person-Organization (P–O) fit and employee response, using a sample of 436 employees from social economy and commercial banks in Spain. In line with previous research involving unidimensional measures, ethical culture was found to relate positively to employee job satisfaction, affective commitment, and intention to stay. New to the literature, ethical culture was also found to be associated positively with employee willingness to recommend the organization to others. These effects were observed even when perceptions of P–O fit were controlled. Importantly, ethical culture was also positively related to overall P–O fit, which in turn, partially mediated the relationship between ethical culture and employee outcomes. Our findings add to studies that focus on the importance of the degree of ethical congruence between the individual employee and the organization. They suggest that ethical culture, with its expected impact on virtuousness and emotional well-being, will positively influence outcomes independently of the degree to which there is a match between employee and organizational values.     

Examining the Boundaries of Ethical Leadership: The Harmful Effect of Co-worker Social Undermining on Disengagement and Employee Attitudes

In recent years, scholars have sought to investigate the impact that ethical leaders can have within organisations. Yet, only a few theoretical perspectives have been adopted to explain how ethical leaders influence subordinate outcomes. This study therefore draws on social rules theory (SRT) to extend our understanding of the mechanisms linking ethical leadership to employee attitudes. We argue that ethical leaders reduce disengagement, which in turn promotes higher levels of job satisfaction and organisational commitment, as well as lower turnover intentions. Co-worker social undermining is examined as a moderator of the relationship between ethical leadership and disengagement, as we suggest that it is difficult for ethical leaders to be effective when co-worker undermining prevails. To test the proposed model, questionnaires were administered to 460 nurses in Romanian hospital settings over three time points separated by two-week intervals and the hypotheses were tested using generalised multilevel structural equation modeling (GSEM) with STATA. The findings revealed that ethical leadership has a beneficial effect on employee attitudes by reducing disengagement. However, the relationship between ethical leadership and disengagement was moderated by co-worker social undermining, such that when undermining was higher, the significance of the mediated relationships disappeared. These results suggest that while ethical leaders can promote positive employee attitudes, their effectiveness is reduced in situations where co-worker undermining exists.

     

CEO Ethical Leadership, Ethical Climate, Climate Strength, and Collective Organizational Citizenship Behavior

In spite of an increasing number of studies on ethical climate, little is known about the antecedents of ethical climate and the moderators of the relationship between ethical climate and work outcomes. The present study conducted firm-level analyses regarding the relationship between chief executive officer (CEO) ethical leadership and ethical climate, and the moderating effect of climate strength (i.e., agreement in climate perceptions) on the relationship between ethical climate and collective organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Self-report data were collected from 223 CEOs and 6,021 employees in South Korea. The results supported all study hypotheses. As predicted, CEOs?? self-rated ethical leadership was positively associated with employees?? aggregated perceptions of the ethical climate of the firm. The relationship between ethical climate and firm-level collective OCB was moderated by climate strength. More specifically, the relationships between ethical climate and interpersonally directed collective OCB and between ethical climate and organizationally directed collective OCB were more pronounced when climate strength was high than when it was low. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are addressed herein.     

Ethical Leadership and Subordinate Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Organizational Politics and the Moderating Role of Political Skill

This paper posits that ethical leadership increases important organizational and individual outcomes by reducing politics in the workplace. Specifically, we propose that perceptions of organizational politics serve as a mechanism through which ethical leadership affects outcomes. We further argue that the modeled relationships are moderated by political skill. By means of data from 136 matched pairs of supervisors and subordinates employed by a state agency in the southern US, we found support for our predictions. Specifically, we found that perceptions of organizational politics fully mediated the relationship between perceptions of ethical leadership and helping and promotability ratings. In addition, political skill was found to moderate the direct and indirect effects.     

Leaders,Values, and Organizational Climate: Examining Leadership Strategies for Establishing an Organizational Climate Regarding Ethics

This paper examines the critical role that organizational leaders play in establishing a values based climate. We discuss seven mechanisms by which leaders convey the importance of ethical values to members, and establish the expectations regarding ethical conduct that become engrained in the organizations climate. We also suggest that leaders at different organizational levels rely on different mechanisms to transmit values and expectations. These mechanisms then influence members practices and expectations, further increase the salience of ethical values and result in the shared perceptions that form the organizations climate. The paper is organized in three parts. Part onebegins with a brief discussion of climates regarding ethics and the critical role of values. Part two provides discussion on the mechanisms by which leaders and members transmit values and create climates related to ethics. Part three provides a discussion of these concepts with implications for theory, research, and practice.     

Measuring Ethical Organizational Culture: Validation of the Spanish Version of the Shortened Corporate Ethical Virtues Model

Journal of Business Ethics - A key issue in the business ethics field is the design of effective measures for assessing the ethical culture of organizations. The Corporate Ethical Virtues Model...     

Organizational Leadership, Ethics and the Challenges of Marketing Fair and Ethical Trade

This article critically evaluates current developments in marketing fair trade labelled products and “no sweat” manufactured goods, and argues that both the fair trade and ethical trade movements increasingly rely on strategies for bottom-up change, converting consumers “one cup at a time”. This individualistic approach, which we call “shopping for a better world”, must, we argue, be augmented by more collectivist approaches to affect transformative change. Specifically, we look at the concept of mission-driven organizations pursuing leadership roles in developing affinity relationships to promote fair and ethical trade and developing ethical spaces. Increasingly, a range of organizations are restructuring their operations, so that their mission is reflected in ethical practices throughout their operations, including product sourcing and product sales. First, ethical purchasing policies operated by non-profits and public agencies represent markets through which fair/ethical products reach end consumers. The efforts discussed to create ethical spaces through direct democracy and electoral mandate build on a broad-based affinity with the principles of fair and ethical trade. Second, we explore the potential for “mission-driven” non-profit organizations, such as zoos and aquaria for merging their mission of conservation education with their marketing activities through the operation of their shops and cafés. Interesting initiatives to link the conservation message to food choices is being undertaken by a number of zoos and aquaria, while there is scope for increased linkages in the giftware sold in their shops.     

Predictors of Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Ethical Leadership and Workplace Jealousy

This paper analyzes how national institutions impact corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the food-processing industries of France and Morocco. In this study, CSR practices are defined around two main dimensions: corporate performance (financial vs. global) and the CSR approach (defensive vs. active). Qualitative data were collected during semi-structured interviews with SME managers in charge of CSR issues. We then performed a content analysis. Our study shows that there is a distinct difference between the CSR practices adopted by SMEs in France and Morocco. Indeed, the findings suggest that under the rule-based governance system of France, most SMEs view CSR as an economic tool and it is adopted as an opportunity-seeking perspective anchored in the search for global performance. The findings also show that under the relationship-based governance system of Morocco, SMEs mainly see CSR from a constraint-reducing perspective. However, some Moroccan SMEs have begun to see the economic opportunities of CSR, especially in accessing foreign markets.     

The Effects of Ethical Leadership and Ethical Climate on Employee Ethical Behavior in the International Port Context

This study empirically examined the effects of ethical leadership and ethical climate on employee ethical behavior in the international port context using survey data collected from 128 respondents who worked in Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC) in Taiwan. Research hypotheses were formulated from the previous literature and tested using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that ethical leadership had a significant impact on ethical climate and the ethical behavior of TIPC employees. Ethical climate was found to be positively associated with employee ethical behavior. The theoretical and practical implications of the research findings are discussed.     

伦理型领导与伦理问题报告：一个多层次模型

基于社会学习理论及社会信息加工视角,文章探讨了伦理型领导激发员工报告组织内部伦理问题的多层次作用机制。文章采用两阶段问卷调查方式收集67名团队领导与302名员工调查样本,运用多层线性模型进行假设检验,结果表明,个体导向的伦理型领导对员工伦理问题报告具有显著正向影响,道德勇气在二者之间起部分中介作用。同时,团队导向的伦理型领导显著正向影响员工伦理问题报告,伦理氛围在二者之间起完全中介作用。此外,在伦理氛围更强的团队,个体导向的伦理型领导对伦理问题报告的作用更强。研究结果揭示了伦理型领导影响员工伦理问题报告的多层次作用路径及边界条件,对于加强组织的伦理管理具有重要的现实意义。     

A Meta-analytic Review of Ethical Leadership Outcomes and Moderators

We develop and use an integrated individual-level model to explain the driving forces behind digital piracy (DP) practice in two nations. The proposed model combines the Norm Activation model and Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology models. This study also explores the effect of culture on intention (INT) to practice DP in two nations: US (individualistic) and India (collectivistic). A survey instrument was used to collect data from 231 US and 331 Indian participants. Use of the integrated model proves to be a powerful and a viable approach to understanding DP across cultures. In each nation, all 10 path coefficients on the research model are statistically significant thereby establishing the fact that personal norm, together with other factors, influences INT to engage in DP, which in turn, may influence the actual practice. The results reveal a support for cross-cultural generalizability and applicability of the proposed model. Culture clearly plays a strong moderating role in two out of the three paths tested. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Ethical Codes of Conduct and Organizational Context: A Study of the Relationship Between Codes of Conduct, Employee Behavior and Organizational Values

Codes of ethics are being increasingly adopted in organizations worldwide, yet their effects on employee perceptions and behavior have not been thoroughly addressed. This study used a sample of 613 management accountants drawn from the United States to study the relationship between corporate and professional codes of ethics and employee attitudes and behaviors. The presence of corporate codes of ethics was associated with less perceived wrongdoing in organizations, but not with an increased propensity to report observed unethical behavior. Further, organizations that adopted formal codes of ethics exhibited value orientations that went beyond financial performance to include responsibility to the commonweal. In contrast to corporate codes of ethics, professional codes of ethical conduct had no influence on perceived wrongdoing in organization nor these codes affect the propensity to report observed unethical activities.     

Exploring the Process of Ethical Leadership: The Mediating Role of Employee Voice and Psychological Ownership

The study of ethical leadership has emerged as an important topic for understanding the effects of leadership in organizations. In a study with 845 working adults across multiple organizations, the relationships between ethical leadership with positive employee outcomes were examined. Results suggest that ethical leadership is related to both psychological well-being and job satisfaction in employees, but the processes are different. Employee voice mediated the relationship between ethical leadership and psychological well-being. Feelings of psychological ownership mediated the relationship between ethical leadership and job satisfaction. A discussion of theoretical and practical implications concludes the article.     

Supervisor Role Modeling,Ethics-Related Organizational Policies,and Employee Ethical Intention: The Moderating Impact of Moral Ideology

The moral ideology of banking and insurance employees in Spain was examined along with supervisor role modeling and ethics-related policies and procedures for their association with ethical behavioral intent. In addition to main effects, we found evidence supporting that the person–situation interactionist perspective in supervisor role modeling had a stronger positive relationship with ethical intention among employees with relativist moral ideology. Also as hypothesized, formal ethical polices and procedures were positively related to ethical intention among those with universal beliefs, but the relationship was much weaker among relativists. Thus, firms wishing to optimally promote ethical attitudes and behavior must tailor their organization-based initiatives to the individual characteristics of their employees.     

变革型领导与员工角色行为:一个多步多重中介模型

以变革型组织为研究对象,本文构建了变革型领导对员工角色行为产生影响的双中介模型,从战略执行过程中如何获得组织所需要的员工角色行为这一实践目的出发,先后引入组织支持感和员工自我效能感作为中介变量,形成一个多步多重中介模型进行实证研究。结果显示,变革型领导对员工角色行为有一定的直接影响;同时组织支持感和变革自我效能感在变革型领导和员工角色行为之间起到了多步多重的中介作用。这表明在变革的组织中,领导者需要突破以往管理思路,不仅通过测试甄选来获得高效执行战略的"完美员工",也需要尝试通过管理手段,管控员工的组织支持感和变革自我效能感,开发出更多能够进行高效执行的员工角色行为来支持组织的变革。     

The Effect of Organizational Culture and Ethical Orientation on Accountants' Ethical Judgments

This paper examines the relationship between organizational ethical culture in two large international CPA firms, auditors' personal values and the ethical orientation that those values dictate, and judgments in ethical dilemmas typical of those that accountants face. Using an experimental task consisting of multiple judgments designed to vary in "moral intensity" (Jones, 1991), and unique as well as tried-and-true approaches to variable measurements, this study examined the judgments of more than three hundred participants in our study. ANCOVA and path analysis results indicate that: (1) Ethical judgments in situations of high moral intensity are affected by personal values and by environmental variables, such as the professional code of conduct (direct and indirect effects) and previous ethics instruction (direct effect only). (2) Corporate ethical culture, and a relatively strong firm rules-orientation, affect auditors' idealism but not relativism, and therefore indirectly affect ethical judgments. Jones' (1991) moral intensity argument is supported: differences in the characteristics of specific judgment tasks apparently result in different decision processes.