Gender and ethical orientation: A test of gender and occupational socialization theories

Ethics and associated values influence not only managerial behavior but also managerial success (England and Lee, 1973). Gender socialization theory hypothesizes gender differences in ethics variables whether or not individuals are full time employees; occupational socialization hypothesizes gender similarity in employees. The conflicting hypotheses were investigated using questionnaire responses from a sample of 308 individuals. Analysis of variance and hierarchical regression yielded unexpected results. Although no significant gender differences emerged in individuals lacking full time employment, significant differences existed between employed women and men, with women appearing more ethical. While occupational socialization predicts an interaction between employment status and gender, these group differences were opposite to those predicted. An implication for the two theories and the current conflicting research support is that these commonly used theories may be of limited usefulness. Some alternative concepts are proposed.E. Sharon Mason is an Assistant Professor of organizational behavior and human resource management in the Faculty of Business, Brock University, St Catharines, Ontario.Peter E. Mudrack is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management and Organization Sciences at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.     

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.     

Investor efficiency in the face of takings

Governmental entities at all levels are empowered to acquire private property for the public's benefit, provided that just compensation is paid. The level of compensation typically viewed by courts as just is market value, but questions arise as to whether market value compensation motivates the private owner of land, potentially subject to a taking, to improve the property to a degree that is socially efficient. Earlier works have found market value to be a compensation level too high to promote efficiency. The present paper offers an analysis, based on a simple model of investor profit maximization, that provides a unified view of models presented in some important earlier works. In a special application of the general case, it is shown that market value can be too low a level of compensation to promote efficient behavior by the land owner.