Economics,ethics, and tort remedies: The emerging concept of hedonic value

This article reviews the development of hedonic value of life as a remedy in wrongful death and personal injury tort cases. Hedonic value estimates the worth of lost pleasures of living in an effort to compensate for intangible enjoyments, such as quality of education and environmental standards. This remedy goes well beyond the traditional approach which has compensated primarily for lost earnings and other expenses directly related to the tortious conduct. Most of the attention regarding hedonic value as a relatively new tort remedy has focused on its application in non-business litigation. However, given the significant damage awards in recent cases, it is likely that this economic theory will arise in commercial litigation, especially products liability cases. The business community must be conversant with the ethical issues raised by this novel tort remedy in order to fashion a reasoned and socially acceptable contra-position.Jack E. Karns, is an Associate Professor of Business Law at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. His research is directed toward corporate law, securities, and government regulation of business issues including ethical considerations. He has published in numerous legal journals including the Dickinson, University of Richmond, and Memphis State University Law Reviews.     

The effect of the recent insider-trading scandal on stock prices of securities firms

This paper addresses the impact of the unethical business conduct of a few individuals that shook the financial market in 1986. Specifically, in the study undertaken for this paper, the wealth status of the shareholders of securities firms was examined in relation to the public disclosure of the insider-trading scandals involving Dennis Levine, Ivan Boesky, and their confederates. It was hypothesized that the expected market-adjusted stock returns for the securities firms would be negative as a result of the scandals. The findings of the study supported the hypothesis. Khalil M. Torabzadeh is Associate Professor of Finance at Radford University in Virginia. He earned his DBA in Finance from Mississippi State University in 1984. He began his teaching career at Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, in 1982, and joined the faculty of Radford University in 1985. He has had articles published in the Journal of Financial Research and the Journal of Applied Business Research. Dan Davidson is Professor of Business Law at Radford University in Virginia. He has five teaching awards, including the Razorback Outstanding Business Faculty Award from the University of Arkansas. He is the author of four textbooks published by PWS Kent Publishing Co., and his articles have been published in the Journal of Business Ethics, the Business Law Review, the Education Forum, and the Journal of Insurance Issues and Practices, among others.Hamid Assar is an Assistant Professor of Finance at Radford University in Virginia. His educational background includes a PhD in Financial Economics (expected in 1989) from Southern Illinois University, an MBA from Central State University in Oklahoma, and a Masters degree in Economics from the University of West Virginia. His research interests are in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, financial markets, and international finance.     

The ethical challenge of management buy-outs as a form of privatisation in Central and Eastern Europe

There has been a growing debate about the ethics of management buy-outs (MBOs). One possible criticism of the MBO is that it serves the interests of incumbent management at the expense of shareholders. In this paper we develop the general arguments concerning the ethical aspects of the MBO to include other forms of buy-out beyond “going privates” and apply the analysis to MBOs as a mode of privatisation in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). MBOs are justified in this context postperestroika as a means of incentivising economic activity by giving managers an ownership stake in former state enterprises. The actual mode of privatisation, though, raises issues of social justice and the criticism that MBOs are at the expense of the broader social good. The ethical problem for the CEE is to balance the economic gains of a move to markets with the ethical risks to the agents of these markets.     

Ethical ideology and ethical judgment regarding ethical issues in business

Differences in ethical ideology are thought to influence individuals' reasoning about moral issues (Forsyth and Nye, 1990; Forsyth, 1992). To date, relatively little research has addressed this proposition in terms of business-related ethical issues. In the present study, four groups, representing four distinct ethical ideologies, were created based on the two dimensions of the Ethical Position Questionnaire (idealism and relativism), as posited by Forsyth (1980). The ethical judgments of individuals regarding several business-related issues varied, depending upon their ethical ideology.Tim Barnett is Assistant Professor of Management at Louisiana Tech University. He has published in such journals asPersonnel Psychology, theJournal of Business Research, andHuman Relations. His research interests include ethical decision making and ethical issues in HRM.Ken Bass is Assistant Professor of Management at East Carolina State University. He has articles published in several journals, including theJournal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. His research interests include ethical decision making, ethical strategy, and methodology.Gene Brown is Associate Professor Marketing at Louisiana Tech University. He is published in such journals as theJournal of Retailing, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, theJournal of Business Research, Psychology and Marketing, and Industrial Marketing Management. His main interests include personal selling, retailing, ethics, and methodology.     

An empirical and ethical analysis of factors motivating managers' merger decisions

This paper examines the role of managerial self-interest in the merger market. It looks at factors influencing managers' merger decisions by analyzing managerial expense preference factors on cross-sectional data employing non-parametric statistical methods. The same factors are examined for acquiring, acquired, and merging firms, and control groups used in each case. The results support the authors' contention that managerial discretion is a significant motivating factor for mergers. The changes in expense preference factors indicate management decisions which provide conditions allowing management to indulge in management preferred expenditures, while reducing risk to their career. The authors then provide a moral/philosophic framework of ethical analysis for examining manager's merger decisions, using teleological and deontological theories. They conclude that merger decisions motivated or influenced by self-interest are unethical and, in the process, provide managers facing a merger decision with a framework for making an ethical decision.Dr. Francis Achampong is a Professor of Business Law and Insurance at Norfolk State University, in Norfolk, Virginia. He is licensed to practice law in New York and Virginia. He has published in journals such as theJournal of Risk and Insurance, theInternational and Comparative Law Quarterly, Dickinson Law Review, and theAkron Law Review.Dr. Wold Zemedkun is an Associate Professor of Finance at Norfolk State University, In Norfolk, Virginia. He has published in journals such as theJournal of Business Strategies, theAkron Business and Economic Review,, theJournal of Financial Education, and theAtlantic Economic Journal.     

An integrative model for understanding and managing ethical behavior in business organizations

Managing ethical behavior is a one of the most pervasive and complex problems facing business organizations today. Employees' decisions to behave ethically or unethically are influenced by a myriad of individual and situational factors. Background, personality, decision history, managerial philosophy, and reinforcement are but a few of the factors which have been identified by researchers as determinants of employees' behavior when faced with ethical dilemmas. The literature related to ethical behavior is reviewed in this article, and a model for understanding ethical behavior in business organizations is proposed. It is concluded that managing ethics in business organizations requires that managers engage in a concentrated effort which involves espousing ethics, behaving ethically, developing screening mechanisms, providing ethical training, creating ethics units and reinforcing ethical behavior. W. Edward Stead, Ph.D., is Professor of Management at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. His research interests include ethical behavior, cancer in the workplace, social strategy implementation, the ethical implications of cost-benefit analysis, and managing professional employees. His articles have appeared in Psychological Reports, Personnel Journal, Business and Society Review, and the Journal of Accountancy among others, and he has published cases in leading business policy and social responsibility texts. Dan L. Worrell, Ph.D., is Professor of Management and Department Chairperson at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. He has published articles in such Journals as Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management, Business Horizons, and Psychological Reports among others. His research interests include managerial succession, ethical behavior and social responsibility. Jean Garner Stead, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Management at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. Her research interests include ethical behavior, cancer in the work place, social strategy implementation, and the ethical implications of cost-benefit analysis. Her articles have appeared in Psychological Reports, Personnel Journal, Business and Society Review and the International Journal of Management among others, and she has published cases in leading business policy and social responsibility texts.     

A cognitive style perspective on ethical questions

Previous research has shown that cognitive style impacts several areas of human behavior of interest to marketers. This article reports the results of an exploratory study testing the proposition that cognitive style can influence one's perceptions of what is and is not a matter of ethics. The findings indicate that cognitive style can play a role in one's perceptions of ethics, and may help further our understanding of the factors that bear on ethical points of view.Roger P. McIntyre is Assistant Professor of Marketing at East Carolina University. He has published in theJournal of Macromarketing, theJournal of Travel Research, theInternational Marketing Review, theJournal of Euromarketing, and numerous proceedings. His research interests center on the influence of cognitive style on marketing relationships.Margaret M. Capen is an Associate Professor of Decision Sciences at East Carolina University, with a Ph.D. in Economics. She has published in such journals asApplied Economics, Journal of Industrial Relations, andThe Real Estate Appraiser. Her primary research interest is in applied linear models.The authors thank Michael P. Mokwa for his guidance.     

Ethical behavior among marketing researchers: An assessment of selected demographic characteristics

This study considers the relationship between perceptions of ethical behavior and the demographic characteristics of sex, age, education level, job title, and job tenure among a sample of marketing researchers. The findings of this study indicate that female marketing researchers, older marketing researchers, and marketing researchers holding their present job for ten years or more generally rate their behavior as more ethical. Scott W. Kelley is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Kentucky. His research has been published in the Journal of Business Research, the Journal of Services Marketing, and national and regional conferences. O. C. Ferrell is the Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Business Ethics at Memphis State University. He is co-author of Marketing: Basic Concepts and Decisions. Sixth Edition. His articles have appeared in a wide variety of marketing journals. Steven J. Skinner is a Professor and Ashland Oil Research Fellow in the Department of Marketing at the University of Kentucky. He is the author of the first edition of Marketing. His research has been published in a number of journals.     

Religiosity,ethical ideology,and intentions to report a peer's wrongdoing

Peer reporting is a specific form of whistelblowing in which an individual discloses the wrongdoing of a peer. Previous studies have examined situational variables thought to influence a person's decision to report the wrongdoing of a peer. The present study looked at peer reporting from the individual level. Five hypotheses were developed concerning the relationships between (1) religiosity and ethical ideology, (2) ethical ideology and ethical judgments about peer reporting, and (3) ethical judgments and intentions to report peer wrongdoing.Subjects read a vignette concerning academic cheating, and were asked to respond to a question-naire concerning the vignette. Data were analyzed using structural equation methodology.Results indicated that religiosity was positively associated with an ethical ideology of non-relativism. Individuals whose ethical ideologies could be described as idealistic and non-relativistic were more likely to state that reporting a peer's cheating was ethical. In turn, individuals who believed reporting a peer's cheating was ethical were more likely to say that they would report a peer's cheating. Tim Barnett is Assistant Professor of Management at Louisiana Tech University. He has authored or coauthored articles appearing in Human Relations, Personnel Psychology, the Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of Business Ethics, among others. His current research interests include whistle-blowing and the ethical decision making process. Ken Bass is Assistant Professor of Management at East Carolina University. He has published articles in journals including the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management and the Journal of Business Ethics. His research interests include ethical decision making, ethical strategy, and methodology. Gene Brown is Professor of Marketing at Louisiana Tech University, and received the Ph.D. from the University of Alabama. He has published in a variety of journals including the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Business Research, the Journal of Business Ethics, and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. His research intersts include personal selling, retailing, ethics, and methodology.     

The ethics of going private

In this paper, we analyze some of the ethical dimensions of going private transactions (GPTs), wherein publicly traded firms are taken private. Financial theory suggests that efficiencies may be realized in these transactions such that outside shareholders are made better off. Empirical evidence supports this theory. We therefore argue that GPTs are not inherently exploitive or unethical. The issues of the fiduciary duty of corporate managers to shareholders and their obligations to non-shareholders are also explored. Douglas A. Houston is Associate Professor of Business Economics at the University of Kansas. He has written several articles which have been published in journals such as Cato Journal and Kansas Law Review. John S. Howe is Assistant Professor of Business at the University of Kansas. In 1985 he was awarded Outstanding Educator in the MBA Program. His articles have appeared in Journal of Banking and Finance and Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.     

The impact of a shift in organizational role on ethical perceptions: A comparative study

This study investigates ethical decision-making by considering the differences in ethical judgments between undergraduate business and MBA students on selected ethical issues facing employees and managers of today's businesses. The study further investigates differences in ethical judgments between undergraduates and MBAs in terms of a perceived position as an employee or as a manager. The findings indicate that undergraduate students tend to be more ethical than MBA students and that both groups tend to be more ethical when they perceive themselves as managers rather than employees. The authors discuss the implications for both business practitioners and educators.Shohreh A. Kaynama is Associate Professor of Marketing in the School of Business and Economics at Towson State University in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned a Ph.D. in Marketing and the Decision Sciences. Dr. Kaynama has published extensively in numerous National and International proceedings. Her area of research is strategic marketing, consumer behavior, applications of computers and decision sciences in marketing and global marketing. Louise W. Smith is Professor of Marketing in the School of Business and Economics at Towson State University in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Smith's main professional interest is consumer behavior. Dr. Smith's articles have appeared in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Journal of Health Care Marketing, Journal of Marketing Education, Journal of Services Marketing, and Journal of Consumer Marketing among others. Algin B. King is Professor of Marketing in the School of Business and Economics at Towson State University in Baltimore, Maryland. He has served on the Faculties of seven universities, publishing numerous articles in National Professional Meetings Proceedings and scholarly journals including Journal of Euro-Marketing, Atlantic Economic Journal. In addition he has served as a business consultant to numerous business firms.     

Ethical concerns in grievance arbitration

Although the use of arbitration has become commonplace in the organizational world, the ethical issues surrounding arbitration have never been fully explored. The paper reviews ethical issues in arbitration, particularly in terms of forensic bias parallels, that may affect decision-making and make the arbitrator's decision questionable. Finally, the maintenance of fairness in the arbitration process, and the importance of an ethically acceptable system of organizational justice are also discussed.Robert A. Giacalone is Associate professor of Management Systems at the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business, University of Richmond. He is co-editor (with Paul Rosenfeld) ofImpression Management in the Organization (Erlbaum, 1989) andApplied Impression Management (Sage, 1991) and has authored papers on business ethics, organizational sabotage, exit interviewing, and impression management in organizational life. His work has appeared inHuman Relations, Business and Society Review, Journal of Business Ethics, andJournal of Social Psychology, as well as in a variety of other journals.James C. Goodwin is Professor of Management at the University of Richmond. He previously taught at the University of North Carolina and at Florida State University and served as a petroleum engineer with Chevron and Atlantic-Richfield. Dr. Goodwin is the author of numerous articles which have appeared in national and international journals.Martha L. Reiner is Assistant Professor of Management at the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business, University of Richmond. She received her Ph.D. in business and public policy. She has co-authored articles that appeared in theCalifornia Management Review and theNonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.The authors would like to thank Hinda Greyser Pollard for her insightful comments on a previous draft of this paper.     

The manager seeking virtue: Lessons from literature

The authors argue that studying classic literature (fiction) is useful in strengthening the manager's ability to resolve specific ethical dilemmas.The authors summarize stories, plays and novels that explicitly address a series of ethical trials common to many managers (e.g., whistleblowing, discrimination and greed). Recognizing the multicultural nature of contemporary business practice, the authors draw upon literature from Europe and Asia to illustrate their thesis. Studying literature offers a challenging and personally compelling method for managers (and management students) to improve their moral sensitivity and strengthen the decision making skills used in addressing the ethical ambiguities of business practice.The article concludes with a supplemental reading list that summarizes additional pieces of international literature with strong business ethics themes.Tony McAdams is Professor of business law in the Management Department at the University of Northern Iowa. Professor McAdams has been published in theHarvard Business Review andThe Academy of Management Review, among other journals, and he is the principal author of the text,Law, Business, and Society. He received the 1978 Distinguished Teaching Award from the student government at the University of Kentucky.Roswitha Koppensteiner received an MBA degree from the University of Northern Iowa in 1990.     

Towards a code of conduct for the tourism industry: An ethics model

There are four areas of concern in the ethical pursuit of tourism. Too often, tourism development is planned without consideration of the local environment's or community's needs and characteristics. An ethical treatment of the environment and community should involve consideration and participation in the planning and decision-making process, as well as implementing effective guidelines to assure fairness in employing both traditional and non-traditional employees. Finally, the industry must pay special attention to the target market: tourists. Dinah Payne is an Associate Professor of Management at the University of New Orleans. Her teaching and research interests include business ethics, the legal environment of business, international business and international management. She has published articles in the Journal of Business Ethics,the Labor Law Journal,the Journal of Managerial Issuesand Management Accounting.She is the current Vice President/Program Chair of the Southern Academy of Legal Studies in Business. Frédéric Dimanche is an Assistant Professor of the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism at the University of New Orleans. His teaching and research interests include tourist behavior and tourism marketing. He has published articles in the Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing,the Journal of Leisure Research,and Leisure Sciences.He is the President of the Travel and Tourism Research Association, South Central Chapter.     

The Relationship between Religiousness and Corporate Social Responsibility Orientation: Are there Differences Between Business Managers and Students?

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether there is a relationship between a person’s degree of religiousness and corporate social responsibility orientation. A total of 411 managers and 506 students from seven universities were surveyed. The statistical analysis showed that religiousness does influence students’ orientation toward the economic, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities of business. It does not, however, have a significant impact upon the managers’ attitudes. When the “low religiousness” students and managers were compared, differences were found with respect to the economic, ethical, and philanthropic components of corporate social responsibility. Similar results were obtained when the “high religiousness” students and managers were compared. The implications of these findings are discussed. Nabil Ibrahim is the Grover Maxwell Professor of Business Administration at Augusta State University, Augusta, Georgia. He teaches courses in Strategic Management and Applied Statistics. Dr. Ibrahim’s articles have appeared in the Journal of Business Ethics, Health Care Management Review, the Journal of Applied Business Research, as well as many other journals and proceedings. Donald P. Howard is an Associate Professor of Management at Augusta State University, Augusta, Georgia. He teaches courses in Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship. His articles have appeared in a number of journals such as the Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Applied Case Research, and Health Care Management Review, as well as many proceedings. John Angelidis is Professor and Chair, Department of Management, St. John’s University, New York, NY. He teaches courses in Strategic Management and International Business. Dr. Angelidis has published articles in the Journal of Business Ethics, Review of Business, Journal of Commerce and Management, as well as many other journals and proceedings.     

A cross-cultural comparison of the ethics of business students

The ethical tendencies of university business students from the USA, Denmark, and New Zealand were examined by analyzing their reactions to ethical dilemmas presented in a set of ethical problem situations. These dilemmas dealt with coercion and control, conflict of interest, physical environment, paternalism and personal integrity. Findings indicate that students' reactions tended to be similar regardless of their country. A comparison of these findings to practicing managers indicated that students and practicing managers exhibit a similar degree of sensitivity to ethical dimensions of business decision-making. Implications are drawn for business education and further research. Steven Lysonski is an Associate Professor at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is a former member of the marketing faculty at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, NZ and the University of Rhode Island at Kingston. In addition to presenting research to more than 30 academic conferences, he has published widely in such journals as the Journal of Marketing, The European Journal of Marketing, the International Journal of Advertising, the Journal of Product Innovation and Management and Psychological Reports. His research interests focus on product management, international issues of marketing, and ethical implications of marketing. William Gaidis is an Assistant Professor at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has published articles in the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Consumer Affairs, and other journals and academic conferences. His research interests focus upon decision-making, strategic-implementation problems, and business ethics.     

An experimental assessment of alternative teaching approaches for introducing business ethics to undergraduate business students

This study employs a pretest-posttest experimental design to extend recent research pertaining to the effects of teaching business ethics material. Results on a variety of perceptual and attitudinal measures are compared across three groups of students — one which discussed the ethicality of brief business situations (the business scenario discussion approach), one which was given a more philosophically oriented lecture (the philosophical lecture approach), and a third group which received no specific lecture or discussion pertaining to business ethics. Results showed some significant differences across the three groups and demonstrated that for a single lecture, the method used to teach ethics can differentially impact ethical attitudes and perceptions. Various demographic and background variables did not moderate the relationship between the teaching method and the dependent variables, but the sex of the student was strongly associated with the ethical attitude and perception measures. Scot Burton is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Louisiana State University. His research has appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Consumer Research, and the Journal of Marketing, among others. Mark. W. Johnston is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Louisianna State University. His research has been published in journals such as the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Applied Psychology, and the Journal of Business Research. Elizabeth J. Wilson is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Louisiana State University. Her research has been published in the Journal of Advertising Research and Industrial Marketing Management.     

The Chief Executive Officer and corporate social performance: An interdisciplinary examination

This paper attempts to cross the disciplinary boundaries of strategic management and social issues management to demonstrate the relationship between managerial characteristics and corporate social performance (CSP). Drawing on studies in strategic leadership research we develop and test hypotheses about linkages between top management attributes and different levels of CSP. Our results add credence to the argument that organizations are a reflection of their top managers, and encourage further systematic research of the influence of key executives in developing and implementing socially responsible policies and programs.Dr Anisya S. Thomas is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management and International Business at Florida International University. She received her Ph.D in Strategic Management. She has published in a variety of journals includingStrategic Management Journal, the Journal of Management and theJournal of Strategic Change. Dr Thomas's research interests include social responsibility, strategic leadership and international management.Dr Roy Simerly is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at East Carolina University. His research focuses on network organizations and corporate social responsibility. Dr. Simerly is an active member of the Academy of Management and has published in journals such as theJournal of Business Strategy.     

Ethical perceptions of Hong Kong Chinese business managers

This paper investigates ethical perceptions among Hong Kong Chinese managers of themselves and peers according to age, location of education and employment (local vs. multinational), based upon responses to thirteen potentially unethical situations.The major conclusions of the study are: (1) there is little consistency among perceptions of ethical situations; (2) Hong Kong managers perceive their peers as more unethical than themselves; (3) ethical perceptions in some situations are affected by age and to a lesser extent, place of education; and (4) significant interactions were found between age and the nature of employer, as well as between the place of education and the nature of employer.To conclude, the management implications of these findings are discussed.Miss McDonald has for the past five years been Assistant Professor of Marketing and Human Resource Management on the South East Asian postgraduate business programmes of the University of East Asia, Macau. Her commercial experience is in the fields of Advertising, Personnel Consultancy, and Industrial Relations.Dr. Zepp teaches Statistics and Operations Research at the University of East Asia. He was a lecturer at the Ohio State University (USA), where he received his doctorate. He spent 8 years in Africa, teaching at the University of Maiduguri (Nigeria), and the National University of Lesotho. He was an American Fulbright Professor at the Universite d'Abidjan (Ivory Coast), and a statistical consultant to the government of Haiti.     

An empirical examination of three machiavellian concepts: Advertisers vs. the general public

This paper examines the perceived ethics of advertisers and the general public relative to three ethical concepts. Based on the survey findings, it can be concluded that with regard to the ethically-laden concepts of manipulation, exploitation, and deviousness, advertisers are perceptually as ethical as the general public. The research also clarifies some of the differences between ethics and Machiavellianism.John P. Fraedrich is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Dr. Fraedrich's teaching and research interests are primarily in the areas of business ethics, international channels, strategy, and theory. His recently completed dissertation was entitled Philosophy Type Interaction in the Ethical Decision Making Process of Retailers. O. C. Ferrell is the Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Business Ethics in the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at Memphis State University. Dr. Ferrell is the author of articles in the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Risk and Insurance, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Journal of Health Care Marketing, as well as others. He is co-author of Marketing: Concepts and Strategies, 6th ed., Marketing Strategy and Plans, 3rd ed., and Business. William M. Pride is a Professor of Marketing at Texas A&M University. Dr. Pride's teaching and research interests are primarily in the areas of consumer behavior, promotion, and advertising. He has written several books and has published numerous articles in a variety of journals including the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Retailing, and the Journal of Advertising.