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Ethical Work Climate 2.0: A Normative Reformulation of Victor and Cullen’s 1988 Framework

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Abstract

Ethical work climate (EWC), introduced by Bart Victor and John Cullen, plays a central role in the business ethics literature due to its influence on employee’s ethical decision-making. Yet, the often-used framework is limited as a descriptive and prescriptive model because it lacks a normative focus and does not allow for organizations guided by (arguably) universal ethical principles. We revisit Victor and Cullen’s original conceptualization of ethical climate and propose a reformulation of the ethical criteria to be conceptually consistent with Kohlberg’s theory of cognitive moral development and to accommodate principled climates. We also describe how the locus of analysis dimension can be simplified to allow for a more parsimonious and potentially more valid theory. In doing so, we eliminate redundancy noted in the original model and clarify normative preference among the ethical climate types. We discuss implications for research, teaching, and practice.

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Notes

  1. We do not suggest that the principles used illustratively here are exhaustive. They may reflect a Western bias resulting from the authors’ limited expertise. Our claim that these principles are universal is based on their having withstood debate over an extended period of time and based on the belief that the inherent thinking behind them is not limited to any given set of cultures but reflects a largely overlapping consensus (Donaldson 1996; Haidt 2007; Rawls 1971).

  2. Victor and Cullen’s “caring” EWC is unrelated to Gilligan’s “ethic of care” (Gilligan 1977, 1982, 1988). Victor and Cullen simply used a term that emphasizes “concern for others” rather than evoking an ethical theory of care.

  3. We acknowledge that Victor and Cullen’s focus was on work group climate and Weber (1995) found subclimates within a single organization, yet we will use the organization as the locus of analysis in our work for simplicity.

  4. https://www.chipotle.com/food-with-integrity last accessed June 14, 2020.

  5. The reader unfamiliar with B corporations can learn more at https://bcorporation.net.

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  1. Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15282, USA

    James Weber & Akwasi Opoku-Dakwa

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Correspondence to James Weber.

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Appendix A: Ethical Climate Questionnaire 2.0

Appendix A: Ethical Climate Questionnaire 2.0

Items for Measuring Ethical Criteria

Egoism

  1. 1.

    In this organization, people protect their own interests.

  2. 2.

    People are mostly out for themselves in this organization.

  3. 3.

    In this organization, each person is responsible for their own survival.

  4. 4.

    In this organization, your own safety and personal gain are a major consideration.

  5. 5.

    People are expected to protect their own interests in this organization.

  6. 6.

    Getting ahead is the major consideration in this organization. People protect their own interests.

Conventional

  1. 7.

    In this organization, people look out for each other’s good.

  2. 8.

    The most important concern is the good of all the people in the organization.

  3. 9.

    Work is considered substandard only when it hurts the organization’s interests.

  4. 10.

    People are expected to do anything to further the organization’s interests.

  5. 11.

    What is best for everyone in the organization is the major consideration.

  6. 12.

    Members of this organization consider equally our duty to all relevant organizational stakeholders (e.g., owners, employees, customers, suppliers, the environment, the local community, and the general public).

Principled

  1. 13.

    When making decisions, people in this organization are encouraged to weigh justice, fairness, human rights, and the effects of their actions on the greater good.

  2. 14.

    In this organization, we take responsibility for the impacts of our actions regardless of who is affected.

  3. 15.

    In this organization, people are expected to be fair and act in the interest of society and humanity.

  4. 16.

    In this organization, people are expected to always do what is right for society.

  5. 17.

    A respect for the rights of all is a major consideration in this organization.

  6. 18.

    The long-term effects of decisions and actions are a major consideration in this organization.

Items for Measuring Locus of Analysis

Individual locus of analysis (i.e., no or weak ethical climate)

  1. 1.

    In this organization, people are expected to follow their own personal and moral beliefs.

  2. 2.

    ach person in this organization decides for themselves what is right and wrong.

  3. 3.

    The most important concern in this organization is each person's own sense of right and wrong.

  4. 4.

    In this organization, people are guided by their own personal ethics.

Local locus of analysis

  1. 5.

    People in this organization tend to follow the organization's rules and procedures.

  2. 6.

    People in this organization strictly adhere to the organization's policies and standards.

  3. 7.

    In this organization, people are guided more by the organization’s standards than by external rules and standards

  4. 8.

    In this organization, the first consideration is whether a decision violates the organization's rules or standards.

Cosmopolitan locus of analysis

  1. 9.

    In this organization, external standards (such as laws, professional codes, cultural and religious norms, international standards, or moral principles) are a major consideration.

  2. 10.

    In this organization, people are guided to a large extent by external standards (e.g., laws, professional codes, cultural or religious norms, international standards, or moral principles).

  3. 11.

    In this organization, a primary consideration is whether a decision violates an external standard (e.g., legal, professional, cultural, religious, international, or moral standard).

  4. 12.

    In this organization, people are guided more by external rules and standards than by the organization’s specific rules and standards.

The first four items would indicate the absence of a strong ethical climate (the null hypothesis), the second four items indicate a local locus of analysis, and the last four would indicate a cosmopolitan locus of analysis.

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Weber, J., Opoku-Dakwa, A. Ethical Work Climate 2.0: A Normative Reformulation of Victor and Cullen’s 1988 Framework. J Bus Ethics 178, 629–646 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-021-04778-4

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