Is the Ethical Culture of the Organization Associated with Sickness Absence? A Multilevel Analysis in a Public Sector Organization

The main aim of the present study was to examine whether an ethical organizational culture is associated with sickness absence in a Finnish public sector organization at both the individual (within-level) and work unit (between-level) levels. The underlying assumption was that employees working for organizations that are characterized by a strong ethical organizational culture report less sickness absence. The sample consisted of 2192 employees from one public sector city organization that included 246 different work units. Ethical organizational culture was measured with the Corporate Ethical Virtues scale covering eight sub-dimensions. Sickness absence was inquired by asking the participants to report how many days they had been absent from work because of their own sickness over the past year. Multilevel structural equation modelling showed that, at the individual level, perceptions of a strong ethical organizational culture were associated with less sickness absences after controlling for the background factors. This link was not found at the work-unit level. The findings indicate that an ethical organizational culture plays a significant role in enhancing employee well-being measured as sickness absence. It seems that especially supervisor’s ethical role modeling and possibilities to discuss about ethical issues are important factors in preventing sickness absence in the organizations.     

X射线测量InGaN多量子阱的厚度组分及应变

高分辨率X射线衍射具有不损伤样品,无污染、高精度等优点,能够得到有关晶体的完整信息,是研究薄膜性质的重要手段之一。本文采用高分辨X射线衍射得到InGaN/GaN样品的ω/2θ扫描图和倒易空间图,研究InGaN/GaN样品的应变和组分、InGaN/GaN多量子阱的平均组分级厚度周期。从倒易空间图像得出的晶格常数与由002面和105面摇摆曲线所计算出的晶格常数相比较,垂直晶格常数符合得很好,而水平方向的晶格常数则有较大的差别,可以认为从倒易空间图像中得出的晶格常数更为准确。     

Figuring the world of designing: Expert participation in elementary classroom

The purpose of the present article was to analyze the interaction between elementary students and a professional design expert. The expert was present in the classroom, facilitating a collaborative lamp designing process together with the teacher. Using the notion of figured worlds (Holland et al. 1998), we explored how learning could be expanded beyond traditional schooling by bridging the world of professional designing and the world of the inquiry-oriented classroom. The data consisted of video-recorded design sessions (N = 11) and the “Lamp Designing” view of the project’s electronic database. A qualitative content analysis was conducted for categorizing the social settings, the design inquiry phases, and the designer’s activities during the sessions. Three distinctive foci of the participants’ activity were identified in the present study: (1) Design rationale, (2) Design practices, and (3) Design community. The results indicate that, with the designer’s support, relatively young students became aware of the rationale directing the design practice, and were able to solve multifaceted, complex design tasks. The figured world of designing was collaboratively created in the classroom during the continuous interaction between the designer and the students. This enabled the students to recognize the meaning of the diverse design activities and practices they were learning. The figured world of designing was perceived as a world of possibility for the students, providing them new insights for learning within the world of schooling.     

FROM MARGINALISM TO INSTITUTIONALISM: DISTRIBUTIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE FINNISH PENSION REGIME

This study offers a longitudinal scrutiny of the development of pension policy in Finland and evaluates the impacts that the shift from a "marginal" to an "institutional" welfare state imposed on economic well-being among the elderly. The data that are used stem from household budget surveys from 1966 to 1990. During that period, average income of the elderly doubled in real terms, legislated pensions replaced other sources of income, the traditional cycle of poverty, where the elderly had a higher risk of poverty, disappeared, and income differences between the elderly diminished.     

Compatible human communities: The role of ethics in modern enterprise

This article deals with the idea of human communities in business, government and other economic institutions that are predicated upon compatibility and a mutual desire for the common good. It explores the notion that the greatest single contribution the 20th century might make is to improve the ways men and women live and work together. The achievement of such a worthy goal can increase the overall productivity of an economic system just as much as the most profound technological advances and discoveries. There is a fine metaphysical distinction between the human being as an individual and as a person. This distinction is important in understanding the interaction between the common good of the economic enterprise and a common ethical ground. Significant selections from managers, philosophers and ethics scholars are brought together and presented for consideration.     

The shortened Corporate Ethical Virtues scale: Measurement invariance and mean differences across two occupational groups

So far, the field of business ethics lacks validated measures for assessing virtues at the organizational level. The aim of this study is to investigate the measurement invariance of a shortened Corporate Ethical Virtues scale. In this manner, we contribute to validating an instrument that is both psychometrically sound and efficient to use. We conducted two survey studies of two independent groups (managers and school psychologists). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the eight‐factor model of the scale, and we found it to be invariant in two different occupational groups. The managers gave higher appraisals of ethical culture than the psychologists did in seven out of the eight dimensions. We found that despite the contextual differences, the shortened scale measures the eight dimensions of organizational ethical virtues, as intended. Thus, the use of this more compact scale can be recommended for future studies, which will hopefully stimulate more research on ethical culture in various work contexts.     

Why Do Managers Leave Their Organization? Investigating the Role of Ethical Organizational Culture in Managerial Turnover

This study contributes to the corporate social responsibility, stakeholder theory, and executive succession literature by examining the effect of corporate social irresponsibility (CSiR) on strategic leadership turnover. We theorize that firms’ CSiR increases the likelihood of executive turnover. We also investigate the nature of succession (non-voluntary or voluntary succession) and successor origin (internal candidate or external candidate) following CSiR. We further examine how the CSiR–CEO succession relationship is moderated by firm visibility to stakeholders and industry dynamism. Our results, based on a dataset of 248 U.S. public firms between 2001 and 2008, provide evidence that firms’ CSiR affects what is conventionally seen as primarily a market-driven decision on executive turnover, especially when firms operate in a more dynamic industry. Research contributions and implications are discussed.     

Assessing the value of the relationship between organizational culture types and knowledge management initiatives

This mixed‐methods study assessed the relationship between organizational culture type and continuous knowledge management initiatives in a prominent global company in the transportation industry. The two‐part sequential phase of grounded theory included triangulation through collection and analysis of quantitative data from a questionnaire followed by collection and analysis of qualitative data from interviews, observations, and documents. The theory emerged from the findings, and the results of this research study revealed the importance for leaders of assessing their organizational culture type as it relates to continuous knowledge management initiatives. Research indicates that it is imperative for leaders to understand organizational culture types for long‐term success to occur. By generating the right organizational culture and continuous knowledge management initiatives, leaders will enhance value and help increase an organization's competitive advantage.