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Ethical Reasoning and Corporate Programs

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American managers were found to be more protective of organizational resources ... Source: Lori Tansy Martens and Amber Crowell, 'Whistle-blowing: A Global ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Ethical Reasoning and Corporate Programs


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Ethical Reasoning and Corporate Programs
Chapter
6
  • The Core Elements of Ethical Character
  • Analyzing Ethical Problems in Business
  • Whistle-blowing
  • Making Ethics Work in Corporations

3
Managers values in contrast
Exhibit 6.Aa
  • American managers were found to be more
    protective of organizational resources and more
    interested in compliance with rules than Russian
    managers.
  • German managers were found to be more ethical,
    although more difficult to work with, than other
    managers within the European Union.
  • Chinese were more concerned with profits and more
    willing to accept bribes than Americans, although
    Americans were less ethical in their reasoning
    than subjects from the developing country of
    Belize.

4
Exhibit 6.Ab
Managers values in contrast
  • Spanish executives were found to be more ethical
    than American managers and they were more
    concerned with global harmful impacts than
    Americans.
  • Chilean managers scored higher than Australian
    managers on issues of bribery, and American and
    Australian mangers were more concerned with who
    was being harmed in their ethical reasoning than
    Chilean or Ecuadorian managers.
  • Iranian managers were found to be conformists and
    were sociocentric. These traits were found in
    other predominantly Arab countries and differed
    significantly from traits exhibited by American
    managers.

5
Stages of moral development and ethical reasoning
Figure 6.1
Age Group Development Stage and Major Ethics Referent Basis of Ethics Reasoning
Mature adulthood Stage 6 Universal principles Justice, fairness, universal human rights Principle-centered reasoning
Mature adulthood Stage 5 Moral beliefs above and beyond specific social custom Human rights, social contract, broad constitutional principles Principle-centered reasoning
Adulthood Stage 4 Society at large Customs, traditions, laws Society-and-law-centered reasoning
Early adulthood, adolescence Stage 3 Social groups Friends, school, coworkers, family Group-centered reasoning
Adolescence, youth Stage 2 Reward seeking Self-interest, own needs, reciprocity Ego-centered reasoning
Childhood Ego-centered
Childhood Stage 1 Punishment avoidance Punishment avoidance, obedience to power Ego-centered reasoning
6
Corporate culture and ethical climates
  • Corporate culture
  • A blend of ideas, customs, traditional
    practices, company values, and shared meanings
    that help define normal behavior for everyone who
    works in a company.
  • Ethical climate
  • The unspoken understanding among employees of
    what is and is not acceptable behavior.

7
The components of ethical climates
Figure 6.2
Ethical Criteria Focus of Individual Person Ethical Company Concern Society
Egoism (self-centered approach) Self-interest Company interest Economic efficiency
Benevolence (concern-for-others approach) Friendship Team interest Social responsibility
Principle (integrity approach) Personal morality Company rules and procedures Laws and professional codes
Source Adapted from Bart Victor and John B.
Cullen, The Organizational Bases of Ethical Work
Climates, Administrative Sciences Quarterly
33(1988), p. 104.
8
Three methods of ethical reasoning
Figure 6.3
Method Critical Determining Factor An Action is Ethical When Limitations
Utilitarian Comparing benefits and costs Net benefits exceed net costs Difficult to measure some human and social costs majority may disregard rights of minority
Rights Respecting entitlements Basic human rights are respected Difficult to balance conflicting rights
Justice Distributing fair shares Benefits and costs are fairly distributed Difficult to measure benefits and costs lack of agreement on fair shares
9
Figure 6.5a
An analytical approach to ethical problems
Step 1
Ask
Utility Do benefits exceed costs?
Rights Are human rights respected?
Justice Are benefits and costs fairly distributed
?
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
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Figure 6.5b
An analytical approach to ethical problems
Step 2
Compare results
If yes is the answer to all three questions, it
is probably ethical
If no is the answer to all three questions, it is
probably unethical
If the answers are mixed, it could be
either ethical or unethical
11
Whistle-blowing protection around the world
Exhibit 6.Ba
  • United KingdomThe U.K. Public Interest
    Disclosure Act protects most workers from
    retaliation by their employers, including
    dismissal, disciplinary action, or transfer.
  • European UnionThe EU published a charter for
    whistle-blower protection, identifying terms
    under which commission staff may blow the
    whistle, imposing a duty upon officials to report
    suspected wrongdoing, and outlining the channels
    for reporting malpractice.
  • South AfricaThe Protected Disclosures Act 2
    prohibits employers from subjecting an employee
    to an occupational detriment for raising concerns
    about unlawful or irregular conduct.

Source Lori Tansy Martens and Amber Crowell,
Whistle-blowing A Global Perspective (Part
1), Ethikos, May-June 2002, pp.6-8.
12
Exhibit 6.Bb
Whistle-blowing protection around the world
  • IsraelThis country adopted whistle-blowing
    protection legislation that protects corporate
    and government workers.
  • GhanaA whistle-blower protection act has been
    proposed to offer rewards and protection to
    people who volunteer information leading to the
    prosecution of white-collar criminals.
  • South KoreaThe Anti-Corruption Act established
    the Korea Independent Commission Against
    Corruption, whose mission includes the
    encouragement, protection, and compensation of
    whistle-blowers.

Source Lori Tansy Martens and Amber Crowell,
Whistle-blowing A Global Perspective (Part
1), Ethikos, May-June 2002, pp.6-8.
13
Stigmas against whistle-blowing
  • Divided loyaltiesIn some Asian countries,
    members of the company are treated as family
    members and it is considered wrong to report on
    family members.
  • HistoryThe country may have a tragic history of
    reporting on others.
  • LogisticsEmployees of global companies may be
    faced with numerous time zones and language
    differences that could prevent whistle-blowing or
    make it more difficult.
  • Fear of retributionDespite government laws to
    protect whistle-blowers, many employees of global
    businesses fear retaliation.

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Organizations ethics safeguards at work
Figure 6.5
Ethics safeguard Fortune 1000 (1992) Fortune 1000 (1999) SW PA Organizations (1996) 1,500 employees (2000)
Promoted ethics at work 93 71
Developed code of ethics 93 98 57 79
Created ethics office 17 30
--Ethics hotline 9 51
--Ethics office or hotline 50
Offered ethics training 25 20 55
Conducted audit/evaluation 11 23
15
Corporate ethics awards
  • Business Ethics Awards criteria
  • Be a leader in the field, showing the way
    ethically.
  • Have programs or initiatives that demonstrate
    sincerity and ongoing vibrancy that reaches deep
    into the company.
  • Have a significant national presence whose
    ethical behavior sends a loud signal.
  • Be a standout in at least one area of ethical
    performance.
  • Have recently faced a challenging situation and
    overcome it with integrity.
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