Ethical Business Practices Research Articles

Individual Flourishing and Spiritual Leadership: An Approach to Ethical Leadership

Unethical organizational practices persist, despite regulations to curb such practices. Individuals, organizations, and the economy are interdependent. Unethical transgressions begin with the individual, but affect all. Spiritual leadership is proposed as a leadership model that can contribute to ethical business practices. There is a social and economic benefit to fostering spiritually oriented practices and disciplines. In the current article, the role of individual ethical actions within organizations is examined, and how spiritual leadership, particularly at the individual level, contributes to ethical organizational behavior.

Combatting Identity Theft: A Proposed Ethical Policy Statement and Best Practices

The purpose of this article is to explore the law related to identity theft, to review corresponding rights, and responsibilities of stakeholders involved in identity theft and to formulate a system of best practices businesses could engage in to prevent or reduce identity theft threats. Utilizing two ethical frameworks based on deontological approaches, the authors conclude that there should be a well-defined management scheme to prevent identity theft, which is easy to comprehend and comply with for all stakeholders. Our proposed management scheme incorporates both legal and ethical elements such that identity theft will be more difficult. Further, our proposal would also address business entities’ practices that are so careless that identity theft is made possible at all or made easier: ethical business practice can do much to reduce or eliminate identity theft.

Law, Management, and Strategy: Collapsing Boundaries and Managing the Interstices

Law undergirds the capitalist system and is “at the interface” of business and social relationships but remains largely walled off from many traditional approaches to management education, scholarship, and practice. Although a simple definition of law is “enforceable rules between individuals and individuals and society,” law is also a medium by which relationships among and obligations between management and internal and external stakeholders are negotiated and formalized. Law can also drive (or impede) innovation by creating new rights (or burdening new business models with undue regulation) and promote (or prevent) social change by setting the boundaries for acceptable corporate actions. Legal rules for disclosure and corporate governance can and have changed the rules of engagement between organizations and their internal and external stakeholders. Environmental regulations, complemented by responsible corporate decision-making, can profoundly affect the long-term viability of industries and of humans’ ability to coexist with the natural environment. Law, and management of legal dimensions of business, should be seen as inseparable from strategy, ethics, stakeholder engagement, and sustainability. This interdisciplinary panel includes both legal and management scholars who focus in their teaching and research on these topics. As a matter of execution, this panel will also be at the interface: roughly half the time is budgeted for Q&A and conversation with attendees, moderated with a clear goal in mind. The goal is to stimulate awareness and actionable “take-away” ideas that (1) involve law and (2) relate to the teaching, research, and practice of strategy, business ethics, stakeholder engagement, and sustainability.

Cultural variations and ethical business decision making: a study of individualistic and collective cultures

PurposeThis study aims to examine the ethical beliefs and moral philosophical typologies, the relative effect of religiosity on personal ethical beliefs and behavior of the collectivist and individualistic business executives.Design/methodology/approachThis research assesses the relative impact of significant cultural factors on the business ethical decision-making process in a Western and individualistic cultural context (the USA) in comparison to a non-Western and collective cultural context (Morocco). To understand how cultural variations influence business ethical practices, this study adopts Hofstede’s cultural framework for comparison of business executives’ ethical decisions within a cross-cultural context. Hypotheses are tested on survey data on 172 business executives.FindingsResults show that most collective business executives are “Situationists”. The findings reveal a strong, positive relationship between business managers’ religiosity and their idealism degrees. This study also reveals mixed findings in examining the correlation of religiosity with various components of ethical intentions.Research limitations/implicationsThe link between religiosity and ethical intentions needs to be viewed with caution. This calls for expanding the scope of this study into other cultures and religions.Practical implicationsDifferences of the findings in ethical typologies between collective and individualistic business executives may lead to different negotiation styles on ethical business decisions and issues. Managers from a collective culture are not as likely to exhibit much change in their initial ethical orientation(s). There is a strong positive relationship between a business manager’s religiosity and his/her degree of idealism. Thus, the more religious business managers are, the more Absolutist they are when making ethical and moral judgments.Originality/valueThis research works to fill the gap by examining the impact of culture on the business/marketing ethical decision-making processes within the contexts of a Western cultural and developed nation and a non-Western cultural, and developing/Mediterranean/North African nation. The findings clarify the influence of culture on business ethical decisions. Such an understanding can assist corporate managers in developing and successfully implementing business ethical codes that lead to enhanced moral conduct in their organizations.

正しい利益を実現する真の経営倫理の実践 : 非正規雇用を減少させ、改善して公平で正しい社会をつくろう(統一論題 経営倫理と利益)

正しい利益を実現する真の経営倫理の実践 : 非正規雇用を減少させ、改善して公平で正しい社会をつくろう(統一論題 経営倫理と利益)

Law, Management, and Strategy: Collapsing Boundaries and Managing the Interstices

Law undergirds the capitalist system and is “at the interface&x201D; of business and social relationships but remains largely walled off from many traditional approaches to management education, scholarship, and practice. Although a simple definition of law is “enforceable rules between individuals and individuals and society,&x201D; law is also a medium by which relationships among and obligations between management and internal and external stakeholders are negotiated and formalized. Law can also drive (or impede) innovation by creating new rights (or burdening new business models with undue regulation) and promote (or prevent) social change by setting the boundaries for acceptable corporate actions. Legal rules for disclosure and corporate governance can and have changed the rules of engagement between organizations and their internal and external stakeholders. Environmental regulations, complemented by responsible corporate decision-making, can profoundly affect the long-term viability of industries and of humans' ability to coexist with the natural environment. Law, and management of legal dimensions of business, should be seen as inseparable from strategy, ethics, stakeholder engagement, and sustainability. This interdisciplinary panel includes both legal and management scholars who focus in their teaching and research on these topics. As a matter of execution, this panel will also be at the interface: roughly half the time is budgeted for Q&A and conversation with attendees, moderated with a clear goal in mind. The goal is to stimulate awareness and actionable “take-away&x201D; ideas that (1) involve law and (2) relate to the teaching, research, and practice of strategy, business ethics, stakeholder engagement, and sustainability.

Ethical perceptions of employees in small retailing firms: A case of indigenous-owned fast-food outlets in Zimbabwe

Background: Although the subject of ethical business practices has a well-established tradition in large corporations where shareholder value maximisation is largely dependent on such entities’ conduct of good business ethics, its investigation in small businesses in agile, economically depressed economies such as that of Zimbabwe has targeted business owners and managers but excluded their employees. Given the middleman role that employees of emerging indigenous-owned retail firms play in the distribution chain from manufacturers to the consumers, the ethical perceptions of these employees are critical to the leveraging of businesses’ strategic orientations. Employees are the coal face of the firm, withering intense competition from these firms’ rivals and achieving the firms’ strategic orientations (profitability, market share, business growth and survival). In order to meet stakeholder expectations simultaneously largely depends on the ethical conduct of such employees.Aim: The overall aim of this study is to contribute to ethical theory and literature by demonstrating how employees’ ethical perceptions and behaviour shape the strategic orientations of the business. To achieve this aim, the study sought to: (1) establish the typical ethical dilemmas that employees of these retail firms faced in their daily tasks, (2) assess how they responded to these ethical challenges, (3) ascertain whether demographic factors such as age, level of education, gender and their position in the organisational hierarchy influence their reaction to ethical dilemmas; and (4) determine these employees’ overall perceptions of ethical issues within their organisations.Setting: The study was conducted on employees of an indigenous-owned fast-food firm operating in two cities in Zimbabwe.Methods: A survey was conducted on 108 employees working in two cities. A structured questionnaire was developed and administered to the employees.Results: The results suggested that a majority of the respondents were ethically conscious and could make ethical choices. In addition, most respondents deemed the ethical scenarios presented to them as morally wrong, suggesting that the surveyed employees wished to engage in ethical behaviour. However, while the respondents were deemed to be ethically astute in their individual capacities, they seemed to lack an in-depth knowledge of the ethical policies of their organisation.Conclusion: The study concludes that owners and managers of small firms should provide interventions to cascade ethical policy to the lower ranks of the organisation to enhance the ethical perception amongst employees of these firms. The study implication is that an institutional top-down approach is critical to embedding ethical sensitivity into employees without which employees may continue to speculate about the business ethics of their organisation.

Stakeholder Relationships in the Framework of R&D-based Startups: Evidence from Turkey

It is widely acknowledged that R&D based startups play a significant role in the economic growth of many countries. However, founding such an enterprise is a risky endeavor, one that requires a balance between the technological search process and business capabilities. Most of the time these varied skills are found among several different people. The task becomes more difficult for recent engineering school graduates who are neither scientists nor business people. Therefore, it is critical for these new techno-entrepreneurs to conscientiously work on building relationships with stakeholders through whom they might access scientific knowledge on one hand and commercial knowledge on the other.The paper explores the process of building relationships with stakeholders based on evidence from Turkish companies. It begins with a review of literature, presenting the different theories concerning relationships with stakeholders as far as entrepreneurship is concerned. Then, it presents the methodology, classification and analysis of in-depth interviews with the founders of R&D-based startups, which help justify the use of a qualitative approach. The case profiles are considered with a focus on the following issues: the counterbalancing of stakeholder power, learning by the entrepreneur as a by-product of interactions with stakeholders, and the earning of a reputation through ethical and passionate business practices. Building upon these preliminary findings, the author draws three main propositions that could be the subject of further research.The main finding of this paper is that there are two opposing forces affecting the development of any company - problem and supporter stakeholders. At that, a stakeholder who was once a supporter could turn into a challenger or vice versa. The entrepreneur could benefit from the counterbalancing effect of these forces. Two major stakeholder groups emerged at the initial stage of the business: the family members and the state’s grant-handling officers. Then, the ethical and passionate conduct of business by these startups could become a factor drawing third parties in to become stakeholders of these startups. The nature and impact of these relationships should be researched further. Such an analysis allows one to understand how R&D-based startups are established and what kind of problems they face when turning (hopefully) into large corporations. On such a basis, this could help governments develop more suitable support programs that would benefit and expand the opportunities available to the founders of new R&D-based firms.

Enforcing Corporate Ethicss Through Law: Is it the Right Option?

‘Corporate Ethics’ or ‘Business Ethics’ plays a very important role in the present day business environment. It is all about building ‘Brand’ and ‘Good-Will’. A company with unethical organizational practice/culture may not prosper in long run, as it would find itself landing in some scandal. While some of the ethical norms may be put in black and white by way of legal provisions; it would not be possible to do it in a number of cases. It is the companies which have to device mechanisms to promote ethical business practices. Over a period of time, it may been noted that ethical behaviour of corporations were required to be enforced by way of ‘law’; for example, the concept of independent directors were introduced in the voluntary code of corporate governance principles without a definition of independent directors or its clear role and responsibilities, but after a series of corporate frauds like ‘Satyam’, there was a need felt to spell out clear responsibilities of independent directors which was done in the latest Companies Act, 2013. Similarly, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was left to the corporates ethical judgment, but in absence of any significant movement towards this practice by companies; the Government introduced a compulsory requirement of CSR spend in the new Companies Act, 2013. This is what we call enforcing ‘corporate ethics’ through law. Here, the basic question which arises is, how far it would be proper to enforce ‘corporate ethics’ through law and whether this would be the right option. The present paper would discuss this issue in light of prevailing law and facts in India.

The Implications of Consumer Protection Legislation for Hotels and Guests in South Africa

During the apartheid era, consumers in South Africa, based on their race and ethnicity, were restricted when concluding contracts, as there was no open market trade. As consumers, hotel guests could also be victims of unfair business practices. Hotels use standard form contracts that may include unfair terms that favour the business and which are over-protective of business interests. A significant percentage of the population have low literacy levels, which severely disadvantage them when it comes to understanding the content and consequence of contracts. The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) introduces wide-ranging legal measures to protect consumers, including hotel guests, from exploitation and abuse in the marketplace and sets out comprehensive obligations for hotels. This article provides a descriptive critique based on literature and describes the challenges faced by hotel guests and discusses the implications of the Act for hotels and guests. It concludes that not only does the CPA advocate ethical business practices that are mandatory for hotels, but it also introduces a range of rights and protection for guests as consumers. The CPA has introduced a shift in contract law from a standpoint which allowed the parties the freedom to choose the content of the contract to one where fairness and transparency is imperative, as protection in terms of legislation compensates for the weaker bargaining position of the consumer.

The Implications of Consumer Protection Legislation for Hotels and Guests in South Africa

During the apartheid era, consumers in South Africa, based on their race and ethnicity, were restricted when concluding contracts, as there was no open market trade. As consumers, hotel guests could also be victims of unfair business practices. Hotels use standard form contracts that may include unfair terms that favour the business and which are over-protective of business interests. A significant percentage of the population have low literacy levels, which severely disadvantage them when it comes to understanding the content and consequence of contracts. The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) introduces wide-ranging legal measures to protect consumers, including hotel guests, from exploitation and abuse in the marketplace and sets out comprehensive obligations for hotels. This article provides a descriptive critique based on literature and describes the challenges faced by hotel guests and discusses the implications of the Act for hotels and guests. It concludes that not only does the CPA advocate ethical business practices that are mandatory for hotels, but it also introduces a range of rights and protection for guests as consumers. The CPA has introduced a shift in contract law from a standpoint which allowed the parties the freedom to choose the content of the contract to one where fairness and transparency is imperative, as protection in terms of legislation compensates for the weaker bargaining position of the consumer.

Expert Witness Participation in Civil and Criminal Proceedings

The interests of the public and both the medical and legal professions are best served when scientifically sound and unbiased expert witness testimony is readily available in civil and criminal proceedings. As members of the medical community, patient advocates, and private citizens, pediatricians have ethical and professional obligations to assist in the civil and criminal judicial processes. This policy statement offers recommendations on advocacy, education, research, qualifications, standards, and ethical business practices all aimed at improving expert testimony.

How Socially Responsible is Construction Business in Australia and New Zealand?

Interest in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is growing in the construction sector. In response to societal changes, construction professionals and the businesses they work in are expected to contribute positively to the environments and communities in which they build. Hitherto, it appears that there has been little research in mapping out the CSR focuses and initiatives of construction and engineering firms. In addressing this gap, 104 professionals from across the construction supply chain in Australia and New Zealand was undertaken. The overall results reveal that many firms’ CSR focuses are mainly on occupational health and safety, ethical business practices and environmental management and that their CSR initiatives are very much internally focused. Companies have generally focused on their CSR workplace, supply chain and environmental initiatives and largely ignored the mutuality of interests between the community and business. In moving CSR in the construction sector forward, it is argued that the industry must move from altruism to strategy and from a client focus to a community focus.

Social Justice Attitudes and Concerns for Labor Standards

This study utilizes an adapted version of the Social Justice Scale to capture and assess the extent to which social-justice-related values and attitudes toward labor standards relate to consumer intentions and behaviors. This social cognitive model assesses, based on Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior, how “perceived behavior control” affects these behaviors either directly or indirectly through consumers’ intentions. It is hypothesized that individuals who value fairness and equity in social interactions are going to be more likely to engage with businesses that are known for ethical business practices and abstain from firms that are known to violate labor rights. The results confirm that consumers who are concerned with social justice are less likely to conduct business with enterprises that have the reputation of violating both human rights and labor rights. However, the results also reveal that consumers with low levels of “perceived behavioral control” justify their consumer behaviors as they do not think that they can make a difference.

Influence of Small Business Ethics on Buying Decisions of Customers: A case of Indigenous Owned Fast-Food Outlets in Zimbabwe

While the prevalence of ethical consumerism has pressured small businesses to embrace ethical behaviour, in ethically precarious business conditions the relentless pursuit for profit by small businesses may compel them to compromise their moral values. As such, a tacit struggle may persist between such businesses’ strategic orientations (e.g. profitability, improved performance) and demands of ethically conscious consumers. Drawing on ethics theory, this study explored the influence of the ethical conduct of small fast food outlets on buying intentions of customers. A survey was conducted on 116 probabilistically sampled customers of an indigenous owned fast-food outlet in two cities in Zimbabwe. Findings suggest that customers considered ethical conduct of business ventures when making their purchase decisions although it was unclear whether ethical consumers persistently maintained their buying decisions (i.e. purchasing ethically made products). Ethical business practices, however, remained an enduring feature of enterprises striving to optimise their profit motives.

Tobacco industry governance and responsibility discourses in Bangladesh

During the past decade, academics, bloggers, media practitioners and civil society groups in Bangladesh have criticized the tobacco industry for bringing about negative effects on societal health, environment, agriculture and education. Moreover, several newspaper reports have suggested these companies to be corrupt – engaging in bribery, breaking of government regulations and laundering of money. In reply to these criticisms, tobacco firms have propagated discourses through the art of rhetoric in the public domain and initiated corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to project themselves as caring and responsible entities. In light of this, the paper studied and evaluated the discourses on governance, transparency and responsibility as well as the CSR undertakings of the leading tobacco firms in the country – British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB), Dhaka Tobacco Industries (DTI), Akij Group and Nasir Tobacco Industries. We searched related electronic and/or printed documents using a snowball technique and discourse analysis approach to review the documents. Findings indicated that tobacco companies highlighted in their communication materials (websites, annual reports, news releases, brochures, etc.) the following: ethical business practices, social responsibility, sound corporate governance, quality management and economic success. They likewise made it a point to associate themselves with important events in the nation’s history, particularly the 1971 Liberation War. More importantly, these companies conducted CSR activities in the areas stakeholders criticized them the most – environmental protection (afforestation, biodiversity conservation and renewable energy), health (hospitals), education (primary education, youth development and scholarships) and agriculture (extension services). In so doing, these firms have managed to divert criticisms and instead, create a buzz regarding their social initiatives and governance practices. In this sense, the tobacco industry had succeeded in placing itself at a high moral ground in the country. In this light, it is recommended that further studies should be conducted regarding the CSR projects of tobacco companies in the country analyzing whether these fit to the relevant criteria and acceptable standards of a CSR.South East Asia Journal of Public Health Vol.5(2) 2015: 13-22

Democratic Business Ethics: Volkswagen’s Emissions Scandal and the Disruption of Corporate Sovereignty

There is an established body of politically informed scholarly work that offers a sustained critique of how corporate business ethics is a form of organizing that acts as a subterfuge to facilitate the expansion of corporate sovereignty. This paper contributes to that work by using its critique as the basis for theorizing an alternative form of ethics for corporations. Using the case of the 2015 Volkswagen emissions scandal as an illustrative example, the paper theorizes an ethics that locates corporations in the democratic sphere so as to defy their professed ability to organize ethics in a self-sufficient and autonomous manner. The Volkswagen scandal shows how established organizational practices of corporate business ethics are no barrier to, and can even serve to enable, the rampant pursuit of business self-interest through well-orchestrated and large-scale conspiracies involving lying, cheating, fraud and lawlessness. The case also shows how society, represented by individuals and institutions, is able to effectively resist such corporate malfeasance. The ‘democratic business ethics’ that this epitomizes is one where civil society holds corporations to account for their actions, and in so doing disrupts corporate sovereignty. This ethics finds practical purchase in forms of dissent that redirect power away from centres of organized wealth and capital, returning it to its democratically rightful place with the people, with society.

Building Customer Value And Profitability With Business Ethics

Firms assume ethical business practices only add costs to the firm. However, business ethics actually add value for customers and result in increased profitability and performance for the firm.

The Neenan Company: rebuilding from a crisis

Synopsis The Neenan Company is a construction firm based in Fort Collins, Colorado, known for their efforts in pioneering the advancement of the design/build approach to construction. With a history of industry leadership, innovative contracting methods, and ethical business practices, the company now faces management, customer relations, and financial challenges. Serious structural problems were discovered in a number of public schools and other buildings built by the company. Thrown into a whirlwind of shock, Randy Myers, President of the company, must consider how to respond to the crisis, and how to prevent these issues in the future. Written from his perspective, this case provides a platform for considering the challenges that can result from industry innovation, ethical decision-making, and crisis management. Research methodology For the development of this case, the authors interviewed the top management at the Neenan Company: Founder David Neenan, President Randy Myers, and Donna Smith, Vice President of Business Development. The authors also interviewed current employees, previous employees of Neenan, representatives of school buildings built by Neenan, stakeholders, other experts in the construction field and existing customers of the company. The company made internal documents available to the authors, including financial statements and quality control and assessment tools, which were provided by Ryan Dellos, Chief Financial Officer. The authors surveyed financial documents and business documents to analyze pertinent information and data relevant to the case. All the interviews were recorded, coded, and analyzed to include multiple perspectives. Extensive online research was conducted on the construction industry and The Neenan Company which included several news articles and interviews on David and Randy. Additionally, the authors carefully studied the news reports by The Denver Post and other related press materials. Experts from the construction field and financial field provided assistance with data analysis and interpretation. The authors used a variety of academic resources to draw connections between the issues faced by Neenan and concepts discussed in business courses. Relevant courses and levels This case has applications in entrepreneurship, small business management, business ethics, leadership, organizational structure/design, and new venture management courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels. It also contains critical areas of decision-making relevant to an advanced strategic management course. The case can be introduced at any stage of the term, and is specifically relevant to discussions focussing on innovation and growth, corporate social responsibility, ethical decision-making, stakeholder theory, entrepreneurial crisis management, and long-term venture success.

Having Burned the Straw Man of Christian Spiritual Leadership, what can We Learn from Jesus About Leading Ethically?

In considering what it means to lead organizations effectively and ethically, the literature comprising spirituality at work (SAW) and spiritual leadership theory (SLT) has become highly influential, especially in the USA. It has also attracted significant criticism. While in this paper, we endorse this critique, we argue that the strand of literature which purportedly takes a Christian standpoint within the wider SAW school of thought, largely misconstrues and misapplies the teaching of its founder, Jesus. As a result, in dismissing the claims and application of SAW and SLT, there is a real risk that we lose the vital contribution of Christian thought, not least some of the timeless counter-cultural wisdom of Jesus which, we contend, offers a vital foundation to the practice of ethical leadership and business ethics in organizations. In proposing a way forward, two thorny issues which face all leaders are addressed: dealing with ego and closing the gap between what we say and what we do. The more we understand about the dynamics of human nature, the more we learn about the profundity of Jesus’ teachings. We then propose a number of ways in which Jesus-centred ethical leadership can be practised. Each is radical and each implies risk: both the personal risk of inner renewal arising from repentance as a doorway to personal integrity, as well as the risk of opposing unethical practices and promoting the excellence of core practices in the workplace.