Ethical Infrastructure Research Articles

Perceptions of the Ethical Infrastructure, Professional Autonomy, and Ethical Judgments in Accounting Work Environments

Perceptions of the Ethical Infrastructure, Professional Autonomy, and Ethical Judgments in Accounting Work Environments

Ethical infrastructure: Halal and the ecology of askesis in Muslim Russia

This article explores the ecology of late-modern askesis through the concept of ‘ethical infrastructure’: the array of goods, locales, technologies, procedures, and sundry pieces of equipment upon which the possibility of ethicists’ striving is premised. By looking at the ethnographic case of halal living among Muslim pietists in post-Soviet Tatarstan (Russia), I advance a framework that highlights the ‘profane’, often unassuming or religiously unmarked, yet essential material scaffolding constituting the ‘material conditions of possibility’ for pious life in the lifeworld of late modernity. Halalness is conceptualised not as an inherent quality of a clearly defined set of things, but as a (sometimes complicated) relationship between humans, ethical intentionality, and infrastructurally organised habitats. Pointing beyond the case of halal, this article syncretises theories of self-cultivation, material religion, ethical consumption, and infrastructure to address current lacunas and explore fresh theoretical and methodological ground. This ‘ethical infrastructure’ framework enables us to conceptualise the embeddedness of contemporary ethicists in complex environments and the process by which processes of inner self-fashioning change and are changed by material worlds.

Discernment and relativity of moral codes

In this article I will present an analysis of axiological anticipatory discernment, I will insist on some limits of particular moral codes and possible main lines of efficiency of moral codes, with permanent reference to a universal moral code. This reporting is a useful mechanism in the analysis and the way of discerning the current social dilemmas, because, for a good social functioning, it is necessary to have a deep understanding and responsible assumptions of the codes, contexts and ethical infrastructures to which we refer.

Ethical infrastructure on small and medium enterprises: Actionable items to influence the perceived importance of ethics

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to explore the influence of the ethical infrastructure in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on the perceived importance of ethics and the ethical culture of these companies. The study also aims to identify the individual actionable items that contribute to this influence and help managers willing to improve the importance of ethics and the ethical culture within their organizations. The method used consisted of a quantitative study based on partial least squares (PLS) with 148 valid questionnaires from 65 SMEs. The actionable elements that have a more significant impact on the perceived importance of the role that ethics plays in the company are the following: to establish norms of behavior, whether written or not; to communicate clearly that nonethical behavior is not tolerated; to put in place sanctioning mechanisms for actions that while not ethical, could benefit the company; to consider employee expectations; and to give voice to employees in critical issues that might affect the company and to set up measures for work–life balance.

Counterproductive work behaviors and work climate: The role of an ethically focused management control system and peers’ self-focused behavior

The importance of curtailing undesirable behaviors and, ultimately, self-focused work climates in organizations is undeniable. This study examines how management control systems (MCSs), as a crucial part of a firm's formal ethical infrastructure, can contribute to this objective. We conceptualize an ethically focused MCS as one that communicates ethical values and motivates employees to act accordingly. Our study is based on data from a sample of 120 department managers from 120 different firms. We show that department managers' perceptions of the extent to which the MCS imposed on them is ethically focused are associated with a reduction in their counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). We also examine department managers' perceptions of peer managers' self-focused behaviors, as a core part of a firm's informal ethical infrastructure and find that peers' behaviors are not associated with an increase in CWBs of the department manager. However, we find some evidence that the negative association between an ethically focused MCS and managers' CWBs is limited when peers act in ways that are more self-focused. Finally, we find that CWBs of department managers are not only relevant in and of themselves, but they translate into more self-focused behaviors of department employees (as manifested in their work climates). Overall, this study suggests that, while including and emphasizing ethical content in the MCS is associated with less CWB and, in turn, with a work climate less focused on self, peer managers' behaviors are also seemingly important.

Voice or silence: antecedents of whistleblowing intentions

Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of peer ethical behavior and individual differences in valuation of fairness vs loyalty on whistleblowing intentions in academic settings. This study also tests the underlying mechanism responsible for the effects of peer behavior on reporting intentions, namely, fear of reprisal. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted with 947 undergraduate students. The model was tested using ordinary least squares regression models followed by bootstrapped mediation analyses. Findings Results showed that the effects of peer ethical behavior on whistleblowing intentions are mediated by fear of retaliation. Moreover, the findings indicated that, for low-severity transgressions, there is an interactive effect between fear of retaliation and endorsement of fairness over loyalty on whistleblowing intentions. Research limitations/implications When the misconduct is seen as minor, a potential whistleblower may understand that the expected costs outweigh the possible benefits of blowing the whistle. In such situations, higher fear of retaliation would undermine the effects of individual’s endorsement of fairness over loyalty on reporting intentions. Practical implications As the social environment significantly affects someone’s whistleblowing intentions, there should be visible efforts to improve and to foster an ethical infrastructure in organizations. Social implications As fear of retaliation by peers is one of the most important determinants affecting the decision to report misconduct in general, there must be serious efforts from leaders to mitigate any threat of retaliation to those who come forward. Originality/value This work contributes to the discussion about individual and situational antecedents of whistleblowing. More importantly, it sheds light on one potential boundary condition for the influence of the fairness–loyalty tradeoff on whistleblowing decisions: severity of the transgression. The findings provide initial evidence that, for low-severity transgressions, fear of retaliation weakens the positive effects of one’s moral compass in terms of preference for fairness over loyalty on whistleblowing intentions.

Enhancing patient safety by integrating ethical dimensions to Critical Incident Reporting Systems

BackgroundCritical Incident Reporting Systems (CIRS) provide a well-proven method to identify clinical risks in hospitals. All professions can report critical incidents anonymously, low-threshold, and without sanctions. Reported cases are processed to preventive measures that improve patient and staff safety. Clinical ethics consultations offer support for ethical conflicts but are dependent on the interaction with staff and management to be effective. The aim of this study was to investigate the rationale of integrating an ethical focus into CIRS.MethodsA six-step approach combined the analysis of CIRS databases, potential cases, literature on clinical and organizational ethics, cases from ethics consultations, and experts’ experience to construct a framework for CIRS cases with ethical relevance and map the categories with principles of biomedical ethics.ResultsFour main categories of critical incidents with ethical relevance were derived: (1) patient-related communication; (2) consent, autonomy, and patient interest; (3) conflicting economic and medical interests; (4) staff communication and corporate culture. Each category was refined with different subcategories and mapped with case examples and exemplary related ethical principles to demonstrate ethical relevance.ConclusionThe developed framework for CIRS cases with its ethical dimensions demonstrates the relevance of integrating ethics into the concept of risk-, quality-, and organizational management. It may also support clinical ethics consultations’ presence and effectiveness. The proposed enhancement could contribute to hospitals’ ethical infrastructure and may increase ethical behavior, patient safety, and employee satisfaction.

Influence of the Covid-19 pandemic on trends in development of professional ethics

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for businesses and organizations in the public and private sectors around the world. It has forever changed the business environment and pushed companies to a turning point in technology change. The catastrophic consequences of the pandemic for human health, its psychological endurance, emotional resilience and moral consciousness are striking. The results of the study show that in the near future it is necessary to prepare for overcoming the consequences of the pandemic not only in terms of medical and practical aspects, but also in terms of ethical issues. The article considers the challenges and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the world economy, professional moral norms. Six megatrends that transform the world after the end of the pandemic, identified by the United Nations, including the advent of the big data economy: hyper-connected society; the wellbeing economy; low-carbon economy; the circular economy; the bio growth economy; the experience economy. It is noted that the likely emergence of new approaches to professional activities may create new threats or affect the level of previously identified threats to the basic principles of professional ethics and lead to certain ethical dilemmas in the performance of professional duties. These examples of the application of the basic principles of professional ethics in modern conditions will help to formulate the necessary ethical values for each person and better guide professionals in solving complex problems that currently arise in decision-making and create an ethical infrastructure that will improve the culture of business management at the operational and strategic levels. This will increase the efficiency of managing the economic development of the country. The emphasis is on the ethical responsibility of professionals in any field in the post-pandemic period. The results of the study suggest that the risk of discrediting ethics increases against the background of a pandemic. The article outlines the main directions of overcoming these challenges, trends in the development of professional ethical systems. There is a growing need for ethical regulation of professional behavior and actions in vital areas of human life.

Этическое регулирование поведения государственных служащих

The concept of “ethics of public service” is specified. Moral principles of public servants’ activities are considered. A mechanism for effective support and control of ethical principles, as well as an ethical infrastructure of public administration is proposed.

Ethics in the public services – selected aspects

The article discusses various aspects of the theoretical foundations and genesis of the canon of ethics of the Polish public services. A well-functioning public administration is the foundation of the modern state. Working in the public services entails a great deal of responsibility as administration employees must meet certain special requirements. Society expects that the administration, serving its citizenry, act with the common good in mind, which requires that the officials possess a degree of ethical awareness. Officials responsible for decision-making must adhere to applicable laws, in addition to taking into consideration the public interest and the rights of citizens, which frequently leads to conflicts of interest, in particular on the interface of the administration, economy and politics. The purpose of this paper is to present the role of ethics in the functioning of public administration organs in a modern democratic state adhering to the rule of law. Ethical issues are closely related to the legal and institutional aspects of public administration – and should be analysed as such. The article discusses various theoretical and general aspects of the relations between law, morality and ethics, the role of ethics infrastructure in public administration and the institutional and legal instruments used to prevent pathological behaviours.

Research Ethics, Open Science and CRIS

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how current research information systems (CRIS) take into account ethical issues, especially in the environment of open science. The analysis is based on a review of the literature on research information management, CRIS, open science and research ethics. The paper provides a framework for the assessment of CRIS on two levels: are CRIS (= their data model, format, functionalities, etc.) compliant with ethical requirements from the research community, funding bodies, government, etc., i.e., can they appropriately process data on research ethics (protocols, misconduct, etc.), and which are the ethical issues of the development, implementation and usage of CRIS? What is the impact of new ethical requirements from the open science movement, such as integrity or transparency? Can CRIS be considered as ethical infrastructures or “infraethics”? Concluding this analysis, the paper proposes an empirical approach for further investigation of this topic. The originality of the paper is that there are very few studies so far that assess the implications of research ethics and open science on the CRIS.

Where Can We Find an Ethics for Scale? How to Define an Ethical Infrastructure for the Development of Future Technologies at Global Scale

Despite companies facing real consequences for getting ethics wrong, basic ethical questions in emerging technologies remain unresolved. Companies have begun trying to answer these tough questions, but their techniques are often hindered by the classical approach of moral philosophy and ethics – namely normative philosophy – which prescribe an approach to resolving ethical dilemmas from the outset, based on assumed moral truths. In contrast, we propose that a key foundation for ‘getting ethics right’ is to do the opposite: to discover them, by going out into the world to study how relevant people resolve similar ethical dilemmas in their daily lives – a project we term ‘grounded ethics'. Building from Durkheim's theory of moral facts and more recent developments in the anthropology of morals and ethics, this paper explores the methods and theory useful to such a mission – synthesizing these into a framework to guide future ‘grounded ethics’ practice.

The Effects of Investigative Sanctioning Systems on Wrongdoing, Reporting, and Helping: A Multiparty Perspective

Over the past two decades, organizations have established sanctioning systems as an important component of their ethical infrastructures to detect and punish wrongdoing. However, empirical knowledge about the overall effectiveness of such systems remains limited. Existing studies have mostly adopted a single-party perspective even though many wrongdoing situations involve dynamic multiparty interactions between actors, recipients, and observers of wrongdoing. Moreover, most existing research has emphasized an economic perspective—that sanctioning systems only affect behavior because of economic considerations while crowding out ethical ones. In this research, we develop a moral and normative perspective of sanctioning systems. Using a novel experimental game design, our study focuses on the investigative dimension of sanctioning systems to examine their psychological and behavioral effects in actor–recipient–observer wrongdoing interactions. Findings reveal that investigative sanctioning systems influence wrongdoing, reporting, and helping behaviors as well as alter ethical and normative considerations, such that as systems become stronger, wrongdoing behaviors are judged as more unethical and perceived as less typical than when weaker systems are in place. These moral judgments and norm perceptions mediate the effect of investigative sanctioning system strength on wrongdoing behavior. Our research extends previous empirical and theoretical work on sanctioning systems by applying a more holistic perspective and by demonstrating that highly effective systems can serve as important behavioral guides because they activate and alter moral and normative considerations about wrongdoing.

The impact of leadership and organizational context on the acceptability of unethical HRM practices

Recent research has found that human resource (HR) practitioners judge the acceptability of ethically questionable practices based on the importance their organization attributes to ethical infrastructure (e.g., codes of conduct) and corporate social responsibility practices. This study sought to evaluate the effects of ethical leadership and the aforementioned factors on other non-HR organizational actors. More specifically, this research examined how these individuals judge the acceptability of three ethically dubious HR management practices: discrimination, disregard for the individual, and favoring those in power. Results obtained from data collected through an online survey indicate that ethical leadership is negatively associated with the acceptability of all three practices. Individuals in organizations with a stronger ethical infrastructurealso find discrimination and disregard for the individual less acceptable. The same is true of participants in organizations perceived as more socially responsible regarding employees and economic aspects.

Organizational Prevention and Management Strategies for Workplace Aggression Among Child Protection Workers: A Project Protocol for the Oslo Workplace Aggression Survey (OWAS).

BackgroundPrevious research has established exposure to workplace aggression as a significant risk factor for employee functioning, well-being, and health. However, less is known about effective prevention and management strategies. The main objectives of the current project were to determine the impact of physical and psychological aggression on the well-being, health, and work ability of employees in the child welfare service and to establish whether a strong psychosocial safety climate and an ethical infrastructure are effective with regard to protecting employees against aggression. This project may help identify the specific risks child welfare workers are exposed to, the impact of workplace aggression on their health and well-being, and the most effective strategies to manage the problem. Furthermore, the findings should be central for developing laws and regulations and to any political decision on measures to tackle aggression in the workplace.MethodsThe study will employ two prospective data collections. Firstly, a three-wave longitudinal survey with a 6-month time lag between measurement points will be conducted among all 1,500 employees in the child welfare services in Oslo Municipality, Norway. Data will have a multilevel structure and will be linked to registry data on sickness absence. Secondly, a quantitative daily diary study over a 14-day period will include 150 of the respondents from the main survey study. The survey questionnaires mainly comprise well-established and psychometrically validated indicators of workplace aggression, health and well-being, psychosocial safety climate, ethical infrastructure, and other relevant factors. The Regional Committees for Medical and Health Research Ethics (REC) in Norway (REC South East) have approved this project (project no. 28496).DiscussionThis project will identify the impact of workplace aggression on child protection workers as well as provide information on how organizations can actively manage exposure to workplace aggression. The findings may serve as a starting point for intervention studies as well as the development of policies and guidelines on how to handle workplace aggression.

Ética pública y Derecho administrativo en la era de la posverdad

Este artículo analiza el impacto de la denominada “ética pública” en las normas, los principios, los instrumentos y la sistemática propia del paradigma iuspositivista en el que se basa el Derecho administrativo de corte continental-europeo. Este análisis permite constatar que la promoción de la ética pública desde instancias internacionales, y su concreta incorporación a nuestro ordenamiento jurídico, introduce numerosas distorsiones axiológicas y sistemáticas que no se compensan ni con una mejora de los estándares de integridad pública, ni con un aumento de la confianza de los ciudadanos en las instituciones públicas. Los empleados públicos y los políticos honestos no encuentran en los instrumentos de derecho blando soluciones adecuadas a los conflictos éticos que plantea la posmodernidad, al tiempo que aquellos que no tienen empacho alguno en saquear las arcas públicas y mentir, enarbolan su adhesión a los códigos éticos como muestra de su integridad. Los rasgos del discurso político y mediático en la era de la posverdad dificultan la construcción de una infraestructura ética sostenible, capaz de restaurar la confianza en la administración pública. Esta dificultad puede resultar insalvable si se confirma la intuición apuntada en este artículo según la cual la “ética” que está ganando terreno al Derecho Administrativo, lejos de anclarse en una sólida teoría filosófica, se justifica, tanto en términos finalistas como instrumentales, principalmente en la Economía.

Improving Ethics Infrastructure: Looking for Customized Approaches and New Facets

Improving Ethics Infrastructure: Looking for Customized Approaches and New Facets

More Meaningful Ethics

Firms have exponentially increased their investment in the creation and implementation of ethics and compliance programs over the past fifteen years. The convergence of more robust corporate enforcement actions and more sophisticated industry standards and practices surrounding compliance efforts has created a booming compliance industry with commonly accepted standards and responsibilities. Within these efforts is a formal acknowledgment by the government, industry leaders, and academics that ethics has a role to play in helping to prevent misconduct within firms and that compliance without concern for ethics is insufficient. The reality, however, is that within firms’ efforts to implement effective ethics and compliance programs, compliance is king and ethics is something far less significant. This Essay questions the wisdom of focusing on compliance without an equal focus on ethics. It challenges academics, industry leaders, compliance officers, and inside and external counsel to think critically about how firms might incorporate “More Meaningful Ethics” within their compliance efforts. This Essay argues that firms should implement specific and explicit ethical infrastructures within their compliance programs. In particular, this Essay suggests that firms commit to adopting policies and procedures that (i) protect the dignity of, (ii) promote the flourishing of, and (iii) advance the interests of the various stakeholders of firms as a baseline to be used for establishing the ethics components of their ethics and compliance programs.

Ethical Infrastructure for a Modern Judiciary

The ethical conduct of judicial officers has been traditionally seen as a matter for individual judges to determine for themselves. Today, judges are still frequently left to consider ethical dilemmas with little formal institutional support. They must rely on their own resources or informal advice and counsel from colleagues and the head of jurisdiction. This article will explore whether this arrangement continues to be appropriate. We consider a hypothesis that a number of factors, including the growing numbers and diversity of the judiciary mean that it is less likely that there will be common understandings of the ethical values to be employed in resolving difficult dilemmas. Thus, we further hypothesise, the traditional arrangements are likely to prove insufficient. Drawing on the findings of a survey of judicial officers across Australian jurisdictions conducted in 2016, we test these hypotheses by reference to the perceptions of Australian judicial officers as to the adequacy of the ethical support available to them. Finally, we consider the variety of supports that are available in comparable jurisdictions and also in the legal profession, before turning to possible solutions to the question our hypotheses raise, including the introduction of ‘ethical infrastructures’ in the form of more formal arrangements that provide ethical guidance to judges. We argue that these ethical support mechanisms have the potential to enhance the quality of ethical decision-making and foster an ethical culture within the judiciary.

\u2018You can give them wings to fly\u2019: a qualitative study on values-based leadership in health care

BackgroundWithin contemporary health care, many of the decisions affecting the health and well-being of patients are not being made by the clinicians or health professionals, but by those involved in health care management. Existing literature on organizational ethics provides insight into the various structures, processes and strategies - such as mission statement, ethics committees, ethical rounds … - that exist to create an organizational climate, which fosters ethical practices and decision-making It does not, however, show how health care managers experience their job as being intrinsically ethical in itself. In the present article, we investigate the way in which ethical values are present in the lived experiences and daily practice of health care management. What does it imply to take up a managing position within a health care institution and to try to do this in an ethically inspired way?MethodWe carried out a qualitative study (Grounded Theory Approach) to explore the essence of values-based leadership in health care. We interviewed 15 people with extensive experience in health care management in the fields of elderly care, hospital care and mental health care in the various regions of Flanders, Belgium.ResultsSix predominant themes, presented as metaphors, illustrate the essence of values-based leadership in health care management. These are: (1) values-based health care management as managing a large garden, (2) as learning and using a foreign language, (3) going on a trekking with an ethical compass, (4) embodying integrity and authenticity in a credible encounter with everyone, (5) being a present and trustworthy leader during sun and storm, and (6) contributing to human flourishing by giving people wings to fly.ConclusionsNotwithstanding the importance of organizing a good ethics infrastructure, values-based leadership in health care entails much more than that. It is about the co-creation of an integrated and comprehensive ethical climate of which community-model thinking and authentic leadership are essential components. As a never-ending process, the six metaphors can help leaders to take substantive proactive steps to shape a fruitful ethical climate within their organization.