Organizational factors encouraging ethical decision making: An exploration into the case of an exemplar
Journal of Business Ethics 52 (4) (2004)
| Abstract | What factors in the organizational culture of an ethically exemplary corporation are responsible for encouraging ethical decision making? This question was analyzed through an exploratory case study of a top pharmaceutical company that is a global leader in ethics. The participating organization is renowned in public opinion polls of ethics, credibility, and trust. This research explored organizational culture, communication in issues management and public relations, management theory, and deontological or utilitarian moral philosophy as factors that might encourage ethical analysis. Our understanding of organiza tional ethics is enhanced by elucidating factors the case revealed as encouraging ethical analysisan organizational culture that emphasizes the importance of ethics, Theory Y management, a symmetrical worldview valuing innovation and dialogue, a counseling role for issues management or public relations in the dominant coalition, rewarding ethical behavior, ethical analysis using moral philosophy, consistency between individual values and organizational philosophy, and ethics training. These factors, and perhaps others as yet unidentified, worked together to create an environment that encouraged ethical decision making at the exemplar organization. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,701 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesDebbie Thorne LeClair (1998). Integrity Management: A Guide to Managing Legal and Ethical Issues in the Workplace. University of Tampa Press.
Robert W. Armstrong, Robert J. Williams & J. Douglas Barrett (2004). The Impact of Banality, Risky Shift and Escalating Commitment on Ethical Decision Making. Journal of Business Ethics 53 (4):365-370.
Amy Klemm Verbos, Joseph A. Gerard, Paul R. Forshey, Charles S. Harding & Janice S. Miller (2007). The Positive Ethical Organization: Enacting a Living Code of Ethics and Ethical Organizational Identity. Journal of Business Ethics 76 (1):17 - 33.
David C. Wyld & Coy A. Jones (1997). The Importance of Context: The Ethical Work Climate Construct and Models of Ethical Decision Making -- An Agenda for Research. Journal of Business Ethics 16 (4):465-472.
K. Paudel Shishir (forthcoming). Organizational Ethics, Individual Ethics, and Ethical Intentions in International Decision-Making. Journal of Business Ethics.
Patricia C. Kelley & Dawn R. Elm (2003). The Effect of Context on Moral Intensity of Ethical Issues: Revising Jones's Issue-Contingent Model. Journal of Business Ethics 48 (2):139-154.
Joseph G. P. Paolillo & Scott J. Vitell (2002). An Empirical Investigation of the Influence of Selected Personal, Organizational and Moral Intensity Factors on Ethical Decision Making. Journal of Business Ethics 35 (1):65 - 74.
Craig E. Johnson (2012). Organizational Ethics: A Practical Approach. Sage Publications.
Terry W. Loe, Linda Ferrell & Phylis Mansfield (2000). A Review of Empirical Studies Assessing Ethical Decision Making in Business. [REVIEW] Journal of Business Ethics 25 (3):185 - 204.
Katie R. Place (2011). A Qualitative Examination of Public Relations Practitioner Ethical Decision Making and the Deontological Theory of Ethical Issues Management. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 25 (3):226-245.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads51 ( #20,554 of 549,124 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,361 of 549,124 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
