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Ethical perceptions of organizational politics: A comparative evaluation of American and Hong Kong managers

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Abstract

This paper presents a cross-cultural analysis of ethics with U.S. and Hong Kong Chinese managers as subjects. These managers were given the Strategies of Upward Influence instrument and asked to evaluate the ethics of using various political strategies to attain influence within their organizations. Differences were found between Hong Kong and U.S. managers on a variety of dimensions, indicating important differences between these two groups on their perceptions of ethical behavior. In the paper, we identify potential reasons for the findings, and suggest directions for future work in this area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Connecticut, 06268, Storrs, CT, USA

    David A. Ralston, Robert A. Giacalone & Robert H. Terpstra

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  1. David A. Ralston
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  2. Robert A. Giacalone
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  3. Robert H. Terpstra
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Additional information

David A. Ralston is Associate Professor of Management at the University of Connecticut. His management development programs have been presented in both China and Russia. His research interests include cross-cultural managerial issues including work values, influence strategies and stress. Recent research has focused upon Asia and the Pacific-Rim nations. His most recent research has been published in theJournal of Applied Psychology, Journal of International Business Studies, and theAsia-Pacific Journal of Management.

Robert Giacalone is currently Associate Professor of Management Systems at the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business, University of Richmond, and is a consultant to both the private and public sectors. He is the author of over 40 management articles and two books, and is the editor of the special issue in theJournal of Business Ethics on behavioral approaches to business ethics. In 1992, he was named editor of the Sage Series in Business Ethics.

Robert H. Terpstra is Senior Lecturer of Finance at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has consulted for companies in both Hong Kong and China. His current research interests include cross-cultural studies of managerial decision making and risk-taking behavior. His recent work has been published in theJournal of International Business Studies, Asia-Pacific Journal of Management, Pacific-Basic Finance Journal, International Journal of Management and theJournal of Applied Psychology.

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Ralston, D.A., Giacalone, R.A. & Terpstra, R.H. Ethical perceptions of organizational politics: A comparative evaluation of American and Hong Kong managers. J Bus Ethics 13, 989–999 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00881669

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