Ethical decision making in the medical profession: An application of the theory of planned behavior

The present study applied Ajzen's (1985) theory of planned behavior to the explanation of ethical decision making. Nurses in three hospitals were provided with scenarios that depicted inadequate patient care and asked if they would report health professionals responsible for the situation. Study results suggest that the theory of planned behavior can explain a significant amount of variation in the intent to report a colleague. Attitude toward performing the behavior explained a large portion of the variance; subjective norms explained a moderate amount of the variance; and, perceived behavioral control added little to the explanation of variance. Implications for research and practice are discussed. Donna M. Randall is an Associate Professor in Management and Systems at Washington State University. Her research interests include organizational commitment, media coverage of elite crime, and ethical issues in management. Her publications have appeared in such journals as Decision Sciences, Academy of Management Review, and Journal of Business Ethics. Annetta M. Gibson is a doctoral student in the Department of Accounting and Business Law at Washington State University and a CPA. Her research interests lie in the area of behavioral accounting and ethical issues in auditing, accounting, and management. She has published in the Journal of Business Ethics.     

Justice in preferential hiring

This paper reports studies designed to examine perceptions of preferential selection. Subjects evaluated the fairness of hypothetical cases of selection decisions based on either candidate sex or ethnic origin. A within-subjects design and a between-subjects design yielded convergent results showing that (1) preferential selection was perceived as unfair, irrespective of respondent sex or the basis for the preferential treatment (i.e., candidate sex or ethnic origin), (2) the level of perceived injustice was directly related to the discrepancy in merits between the successful minority candidate and the more qualified yet unsuccessful majority candidate, and (3) the provision of either an ethical or legislative justification for the selection decisions further exacerbated feelings of injustice. Possible interpretations for the findings and practical implications of the study were then discussed. M. S. Singer is a senior lecturer in psychology at Canterbury University. Her published work includes papers in Personnel Psychology, Journal of Applied Psychology, Current Psychology: Research and Reviews,and Applied Psychology: An International Review. A. E. Singer is a senior lecturer in strategic management and business ethics at Canterbury University. He has published various papers in academic journals including Omega: The International Journal of Management Science, Decision Sciences, International Journal of Forecasting, International Journal of Research in Marketing,and Journal of Business Ethics.     

Motives for purchase decision-making: combining attribution and functional approaches

The motivations which lead to consumer decisions have been given relatively little research attention, since motivations are difficult to quantify. The four part typology developed by Katz,¹ when combined with self-perceived attributions, provides a useful method of examining the motivational underpinnings of consumer-purchase decisions. This study involved an experimental design to evaluate self perceptions of the four functional motives—ego defensive, value expressive, knowledge and utilitarian. A sample of 105 undergraduate students attributed their use or purchase for each of 52 items to one of the four functional motives. Using these responses as self-perception attributions, two research questions were examined: (i) would the four part typology be useful in explaining self-perceptions of past behaviour? and (ii) would one function of the typology dominate these reports for each item? An across-subject analysis suggested the four part typology could be meaningfully employed within a self-perception context. However, one functional motive dominated attributions for only six of 52 items. Since motivations and consumer behaviour are clearly linked, this research offers a method of providing additional insight into that linkage. The paper concludes with further research possibilities that integrate the functional motive approach and self-perception attributions.     

Managing organizational culture in a Japanese organization in Hong Kong

The issue of how MNCs manage the organizational culture in their overseas subsidiaries is one of the central questions for managing overseas employees. The study explores how a Japanese MNC in Hong Kong manages its organizational culture across cultures. The results imply that a company will not be effective if it uses artifacts only, such as ceremonies to convey the desired culture to the local employees. The more important mechanism is the human resource management system which is considered as the statement of the company's values, beliefs and assumptions. Since the case company uses a dual human resource management system and a dual control practice for the Japanese and local employees, these practices send out mixed messages and signals to the local employees who cannot project the desired state culture. Furthermore, because local employees bring along with them their values derived from national culture, they tend to adhere to these values rather than those of the company.     

Responding to Agenda 21: purchase and waste behaviour and the introduction of weight-based billing – a case study

In many societies unsustainable consumption patterns are currently being recognized as a critical problem receiving increasing public attention. Communities in many parts of the world are responding to United Nations Agenda 21 by attempting to increase public awareness about the necessity of increasing recycling, by increasing fees and taxes on products that are harmful to the environment, by introducing re-use systems, and by changing legislation. These are just a few examples of the kinds of measures that are being employed in an attempt to move towards an ecocyclic society. This article reports a case study from a Swedish municipality, Varberg, and the focus is on the relationship between household routines related to purchases of everyday commodities and waste management. In 1994, Varberg introduced a weight-based billing system for household waste and at the same time a green shopping campaign was launched by the authorities. The article reports findings from a study of 39 households, located in two different areas, a town area with rented apartments and a suburban area with owner occupied, one-family houses. Data have been obtained through interviews and weighing of household waste. Results show that there are important differences between these areas with respect to awareness of the information launched in the campaign, knowledge of the goals of the campaign and in the manners in which dwellers felt affected by the message conveyed. Households in the suburban area, for instance, had a better knowledge of green labels and what they stand for. There are also clear differences in concrete actions that can be taken by those living in the two areas. In the area with rented apartments, weight-based billing for the individual household is not possible, nor is composting a viable alternative. For the suburban families living in their own houses, there are a broad set of measures that could be taken to modify purchase behaviours and waste management towards more environmentally friendly alternatives.     

Retailing from the margins - the re-emergence of a food co-operative movement?

The disadvantage faced by low-income food consumers has long been recognized, with such groups likely to pay more for their food products, which are commonly limited in terms of range and quality. Such disadvantage stems not only from economic constraints, but also from geographical, sociodemographic and infrastructural factors, such as low car ownership levels (which limit mobility), age, family structure and infirmity. Issues of access and mobility are especially pertinent given that the majority of U.K. food retailers have sought to achieve increased market share through the pursuit of economies of scale, the inherent benefit of high margin maintenance, large format development and the relocation to edge-of-town/out-of-town and affluent suburban sites. To date, little attention in the form of research has been directed to examining strategies adopted by those on low incomes to address such circumstances. This paper outlines the initial findings of a wider longitudinal study that examines the activities of food co-operatives and food groups within the Glasgow area, which are run by, and are for the benefit of, those on low incomes. Through semi-structured interviews with relevant local government departments and funding bodies, management committees and volunteers involved in the daily operation of food groups, the initial aim was to identify the operational and organizational characteristics of food cooperative initiatives. The next stage was to determine what those involved perceived as the contribution made to the members and wider community, and finally, future opportunities for food cooperatives were identified. The results therefore, provide an invaluable insight, not only into the workings of food co-operatives, but also into the experience of those on low incomes in respect of food shopping. The research findings, perhaps ironically, provide a possible strategic direction for food retailers who, in the face of traditional market saturation, must identify new market growth opportunities within areas that they have previously neglected.     

The effects of product knowledge on the evaluation of warranteed brands

This study explores the effects of consumer knowledge on respondents' evaluations of both known and unknown brands that include either a 2-year or a 20-year warranty. Both experts and nonexperts evaluated warranty as more important than brand name in their product quality decision. Warranty length was positively correlated with product quality perceptions for both known and unknown brands. With the unknown brand, nonexperts perceived significant improvement in product quality when the warranty length was increased from 2 to 20 years. For the known brand, nonexperts perceived little difference in quality for the two warranty lengths. Experts indicated no significant differences in perceived quality, given the four brand/warranty-length conditions. The results indicate that warranty length is most heavily weighted as a cue to product quality when consumers are not highly knowledgeable, and the brand name is not well known. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Ethical issues confronting travel agents

This article provides an overview of current and prospective ethical issues facing commercial (as opposed to leisure) travel agents. Industry wide ethical issues include conflicting pressures from suppliers and clients, competency requirements for agents and misleading advertising and sales claims (vaporware in industry jargon). Issues with travel suppliers include calculation and payment of commissions, fare loopholes, frequent flyer plans and the use and abuse of benefits directed to individual employees. Issues with corporate clients of travel agents include hidden preferred carriers or suppliers, client pressure to use fare loopholes and hidden relationships with corporate travel consultants. Future issues include protecting client privacy, free riding, and divergent international business practices. Thomas W. Dunfee is the Kolodny Professor of Social Responsibility at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His current research interests focus on social contract theory and business ethics and on developing ethical standards for business transactions. He has published articles in the Business Ethics Quarterly,the Journal of Business Ethics,the Business and Professional Ethics Journal,and the Journal of Social Philosophyin addition to a variety of business and legal journals. He has consulted to a number of corporate clients and to several trade associations.Bruce M. Black is founder and president of McCord Travel Management. Since founding the company in 1980, he has led its growth to one of the 30 largest travel management firms in the United States, with annual sales of more than $100 million. Black is one of the inaugural members of the University of Illinois at Chicago Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame and is on the board of the International Theatre Festival of Chicago. He is also active in the exploration of a variety of industry related issues on behalf of the Super Regional Group of agencies.     

Strategic marketing planning guided by the quality-of-life (QOL) concept

An emerging ethical philosophy in marketing is developing. This philosophy is based on quality-of-life studies which are becoming an important topic of research in behavioral and social sciences (basic and applied research). This paper addresses the QOL orientation in marketing from a decision-making perspective. Specifically, this paper shows how marketers can engage in strategic marketing planning guided by the QOL concept. M. Joseph (Joe) Sirgy is social/consumer psychologist and a professor of marketing at Virginia Tech. He has written extensively about quality-of-life issues in business and society. He is presently serving as executive director of the newly formed International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies.