Business Ethics Issues Research Articles

A Critical Examination of Business Ethics in Relation to Economic Sense: Perspectives of Customers and Business Proprietors in Region (5) Guyana

This study was pursued to provide statistical and empirical evidence of whether or not business ethics makes economic sense. A critical examination of business ethics and whether or not it makes economic sense was examined by taking into consideration the perspectives of business stakeholders. Economists, business proprietors and customers do not always agree on the concept of business ethics as the moral principles and values implemented for good governance. Customers and business proprietors were targeted to gain insights from different stakeholders on the issue of business ethics and whether or not it makes economic sense. The recommended strategies to be implemented to perpetuate business ethics while at the same time ensuring business growth and development were also considered. This research paper utilized a mixed methods research approach in conjunction with a descriptive online survey and structured interview for the quantitative and qualitative aspects respectively. The inculcation of primary and secondary data provided empirical and statistical substantiation to establish recommendations and to draw conclusion. An element of triangulation was integrated to add robust analytical evidence. The perspectives of customers and business owners on business ethics and economic sense were analyzed through the online survey and interviews responses were grouped, coded and themes were generated to answer the research question: To what extent does business ethics makes economic sense? The perspectives of customers guided the critical examination of what customers expect from businesses, where business ethics was the point of focus. On the other hand, the perspectives of business owners provided data on the implications of adhering stringently to business ethics and whether or not business ethics makes economic sense. The views of participants from opposing ends provided both conflicting and correlated data. However, both customers and business owners were in agreement that businesses should adhere to business ethics.

Deciphering CEO disclosure tone inconsistency: a behavioural exploration

PurposeThis research employs a behavioural approach to investigate the determinants of CEO disclosure tone inconsistency. By examining CEO characteristics and psychological attributes, the study aims to unravel the complexities underlying tone variations in Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) reports. Through this exploration, the research seeks to contribute to understanding ethical considerations in corporate communications and provide insights into the nuanced interplay between personal, job-related and psychological factors influencing CEO disclosure tone.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilises a dataset comprising 1,411 MD&A reports from 143 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange between 2012 and 2021. Multiple regression analyses with year- and industry-fixed effects are employed to examine the relationships between CEO gender, tenure, duality, ability and psychological attributes such as narcissism, myopia, overconfidence and tone inconsistency. Data analysis involves MAXQDA software for analysing MD&A reports and Rahavard Novin software for document analysis, supplemented by audited financial statements.FindingsThe findings reveal significant relationships between CEO characteristics, psychological attributes and tone inconsistency. Female CEOs exhibit reduced tone inconsistency, contrasting with previous research trends. CEO tenure correlates negatively with tone inconsistency, whereas CEO ability shows a positive correlation, indicating a nuanced relationship with performance. However, CEO duality does not exhibit a significant association. Psychological attributes such as narcissism and myopia are positively associated with tone inconsistency, while no substantial connection is found with managerial overconfidence.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the inaugural exploration of CEO disclosure tone inconsistency through a behavioural lens, advancing measurement precision in the field. By delving into CEO characteristics and psychological attributes, the study offers unique insights into the roots of tone inconsistency. Applying comprehensive lexicon and phraseology enriches the methodological approach, fostering dialogue among diverse stakeholders and adding distinct perspectives to the discourse on ethical issues in business. Through its meticulous examination of behavioural underpinnings, this study becomes a catalyst for reflection, dialogue and progress in corporate communications and ethical considerations.

Advantages and disadvantages of video conferencing and direct interaction: a conceptual framework for evaluating hybrid work models

Purpose This study aims to analyse the differences between professional interaction mediated by video conferencing and direct professional interaction. The research identifies diverging interests of office workers for the purpose of addressing work ethical and business ethical issues of professional collaboration, competition, and power in future hybrid work models. Design/methodology/approach Based on 28 qualitative interviews conducted between November 2020 and June 2021, and through the theoretical lens of phenomenology, the study develops explanatory hypotheses conceptualising four basic intentions of professional interaction and their corresponding preferences for video conferences and working on site. Findings The four intentions developed on the basis of the interviews are: the need for physical proximity; the challenge of collective creativity; the will to influence; and control of communication. This conceptual framework qualifies a moral ambivalence of professional interaction. The authors identify a connectivity paradox of professional interaction where the personal dimension remains unarticulated for the purpose of maintaining professionality. This tacit human connectivity is intertwined with latent power relations. This plasticity of both connectivity and power in direct interaction can be diminished by transferring the interaction to video conferencing. Originality/value The application of phenomenology to a collection of qualitative interviews has enabled the identification of underlying intention structures and the system in which they affect each other. This research identifies conflicts of interests between workers relative to their different self-perceived abilities to persevere in competitive professional interaction. It is therefore able to address consequences of future hybrid work models at an existential and societal level.

PEDAGOGICAL METHODS OF DEVELOPING THE COMMUNICATIVE CULTURE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

The article is devoted to one of the important and topical issues of the development of communicative culture of students of Russian higher educational institutions. In the context of the expansion of the virtual communication space with unsettled norms and the change of generations, the problem under study acquires special signifi cance. The purpose of the article is to review pedagogical methods that contribute to the eff ective development of the communicative culture of university students. In connection with the ongoing serious transformations of modern society with its characteristic displaced moral orientations and worldviews, the relationship between worldview and moral consciousness, its static, dynamic and axiological aspects is considered. Particular attention is paid to the issue of business ethics, ethical aspects of communicative interaction in educational discourse. The article also discusses pedagogical methods for developing the communicative culture of students, and outlines prospects for further study of the problem of this research.

Are Companies Offloading Risk onto Employees in Times of Uncertainty? Insights from Corporate Pension Plans

AbstractWe investigate how firms adjust corporate pension plans in response to economic policy uncertainty (EPU). Using a sample of US-listed firms, we find that firms increase pension underfunding levels when facing higher EPU. The result is robust to controlling for pension portfolio returns, discount rates, plan sizes, pension liability, numbers of employees, other macroeconomic factors, difference-in-differences and instrumental variable estimation, and additional evidence of pension risk-shifting. Further analysis reveals that financial distress and information asymmetry induced through EPU are the potential channels. The effect is stronger for firms having CEOs being excessively paid, using cash flow as a performance metric in CEO compensation, paying high dividends, and having short-term institutional investors, whereas the presence of unions, positive corporate culture, and social capital alleviate the effect. Notably, managers, not shareholders, appear to be the party reaping the benefits. Our findings suggest that firms may shift risk to employees in response to heightened uncertainty and institutional characteristics play a moderating role in this crucial business ethics issue.

Expressing Dual Concern in Criticism for Wrongdoing: The Persuasive Power of Criticizing with Care

To call attention to and motivate action on ethical issues in business or society, messengers often criticize groups for wrongdoing and ask these groups to change their behavior. When criticizing target groups, messengers frequently identify and express concern about harm caused to a victim group, and in the process address a target group by criticizing them for causing this harm and imploring them to change. However, we find that when messengers criticize a target group for causing harm to a victim group in this way—expressing singular concern for the victim group—members of the target group infer, often incorrectly, that the messenger views the target group as less moral and unworthy of concern. This inferred lack of moral concern reduces criticism acceptance and prompts backlash from the target group. To address this problem, we introduce dual concern messaging—messages that simultaneously communicate that a target group causes harm to a victim group and express concern for the target group. A series of several experiments demonstrate that dual concern messages reduce inferences that a critical messenger lacks moral concern for the criticized target group, increase the persuasiveness of the criticism among members of the target group, and reduce backlash from consumers against a corporate messenger. When pursuing justice for victims of a target group, dual concern messages that communicate concern for the victim group as well as the target group are more effective in fostering openness toward criticism, rather than defensiveness, in a target group, thus setting the stage for change.

Selective Forfending on Controversial Issues Related to Large Corporations: An Exploration into the Public’s Acquisition and Transmission Characteristics by Conspiracy Orientation and Problem-Solving Situational Factors

Using the situational theory of problem solving (STOPS), this study examines the impact of closed-minded communication in the secondary digital information market in crisis situations where controversial issues about large corporations can unduly deteriorate the relationship between the business and publics. A combination model was constructed to examine the influence of the situational antecedents of STOPS and the conspiracy orientation on selective forfending. An analysis of online survey data ( N = 700) revealed the influences of conspiracy orientation and factors other than problem recognition were significant among the factors for problem situations. Publics was subdivided into “non-conspiracy theorists,” “conspiracy theorists,” and “situational problem solvers” groups with the “conspiracy theorist” group performing selective forfending of business ethics issue information, engaging in the most prominent degree of acquisition and transmission of the information among the groups.

Maintaining Business Ethics during COVID-19 Pandemic in Globalized World: A Comparison of Ethical Theories and Future Research Perspective

Business ethics, from the start of the 21st century, has got attention among business communities. Globalization and workforce diversity have further extended this phenomenon and presently it is considered a part of the organization’s vision and mission statement. However, business ethics are not even practiced properly worldwide, especially in developing countries. Moreover, the present situation of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has deteriorated the situation. Despite ethical theories, nothing else can justify business ethics, especially employee treatment in this pandemic situation. This paper aims to synthesize, compare and discuss the ethical theories in detail and tries to know whether these theories are enough to properly explain the business ethical issues that emerge due to globalization and the pandemic or not. The paper used the theory synthesis technique. Our discussion revealed that not a single theory can properly explain all the ethical issues and dimensions that emerged due to globalization and the COVID-19 pandemic disruption. Further, this paper suggests different aspects to formulate the new ethical dimensions that could explain all ethical dimensions and issues in all situations. This paper provides practical implications to corporate social responsibility and business ethic specialists to formulate new more precise dimensions in explaining ethical issues.

Scoping Review & Perspektif : Business Ethic From Entrepreneur On SMEs

Various problems related to today's business ethics have increasingly developed with the emergence of easy access to available social media. The spread of ethical issues in business can significantly affect the quality and popularity of a company. The application of good business ethics will certainly help the company to be able to continue to survive and advance in the current era of increasingly inadequate technology. The purpose of this study is to describe how business ethics should exist in a company. This scoping study aims to examine the literature regarding the most relevant and significant aspects of business ethics in entrepreneurship, as well as the methods used in related research. This study searches multiple databases for articles published between 2012 and 2023. The results of the study show that the contribution of business ethics is needed to improve the quality of company development. The existence of the application of good business ethics will help the company achieve its vision and mission in accordance with what is expected.

Analyzing the Factors Affecting College Students’ Understanding of Business Ethics Courses

Today, with the rapid development of economic activities, the importance of business ethics education for college students has gradually increased. Many universities have set up courses related to business ethics to lay a foundation for students' future vocational education. In this work, a questionnaire was sent to college students from all over the country. SPSS analysis of data collected from participants found that the main factors affecting college students' understanding of business ethics and its curriculum were gender and age – women and older people showed a more rigorous and cautious attitude when considering business ethics issues, and had higher expectations and evaluations of the effectiveness of the courses. Besides, compared to understandings of ethics, the influence of other potential factors on college students is mainly reflected in the recognition of willingness to study and course effect.

Filozoficzne i pragmatyczne ograniczenia etyki biznesu

There are three working theses formulated and proved in the paper. First, business ethics as a science not wishful thinking, encounters the following, impossible to overcome, difficulties: Lack of a precise definition of business ethics, Ethical relativism, Strong competition on national, international, and global market, Shareholders’ interests vs. social responsibility of a company, Objective (based on scientific laws) limitations of business ethics, Ethical codes vs. the rules of a company, labour and employment legislation. Second, the author claims that a company cannot be treated as an ethical education institution. This kind of education should begin in a family, kindergartens, and schools. The issues of business ethics should be included into ethical education in above mentioned places. (e.g. negotiation, to keep one’s promise, to keep on schedule etc.) Third, the issue of business ethics (ethical codes) should not be restricted to a company only. It should be put into the context of sector, national, multinational, and global market.

Business Ethics Issues in Finance: Challenges and Recommendations

Business Ethics Issues in Finance: Challenges and Recommendations

Political Risk in Emerging Markets: The Case of AfricaJUICE and Maranque Plants in Ethiopia

This comparative case study examines the experiences of two Dutch horticulture ventures in Ethiopia, East Africa. The first, africaJUICE, specialized in tropical fruit exports, while the second, Maranque Plants, specialized in floriculture exports. The two companies professed a commitment to business ethics and corporate social responsibility, and both operated farms in close proximity to each other in the same region in Ethiopia. This region faced political and social unrest in 2016. However, while africaJUICE’s property was torched by rioters, local community elders and stakeholders rushed to protect Maranque Plants’ properties from any attacks. This case study examines the political and economic contexts underlying international business ventures, and illuminates the specific business decisions that may have led to diverging outcomes during the Ethiopian political crisis of 2016. As such, it bears particular relevance to issues of business ethics, corporate social responsibility, and political risk in emerging market investments.

OPTIMIZATION OF THE PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT MECHANISM IN REGARD TO THE THEORY OF GENERATIONS

Abstract. The materials of the article focus on offering an aggregate approach to personnel management since it is the most important factor in ensuring the success of business structures. The aim of the study is to form a structural model of personnel management based on the application of the three-dimensional approach «employee — enterprise — external conditions», the theory of generations and the vector system of aspects of ethical issues in business. The study revealed a causal relationship between the behavioral characteristics of the generation and the tools of personnel management, in terms of a particular market situation, the stage of the business cycle and the level of perception of the postulates of the enterprise corporate structure. A network model of the ratio of employee and means of production based on the implementation of foreign methods of personnel management was patterned and a vector system of aspects of ethical issues in business was suggested thus ensuring the implementation of the principles of ethical behavior and universal morality. The method of economic experiment (to form a three-dimensional model of personnel management system), the method of scientific abstraction (to determine the main factors of model formation), and the method of dialectics (to determine the vectors of ethical problems in business), the method of comparison (to study the foreign experience in personnel management), the method of analysis and synthesis (to form the foundations of a new paradigm of personnel management based on the theory of generations), graphic method (to create network and vector systems) and statistical method (to identify countries determined by advanced results of progressive human-oriented management techniques) were used in the article. The outcome of the research is the creation of a structural generalized model of personnel management, which will ensure high efficiency of management methods in changing environmental conditions based on a personal approach to the employee as the representative of a certain generation. Further research will be related to the specification of each point of the three-dimensional model in a definite coordinate system, in order to use a certain theory of leadership and the principles of teamwork so to effectively manage the personnel of the enterprise. Keywords: enterprise personnel, generation theory, personnel management tools, corporate culture. JEL Classification M12 Formulas: 0; fig.: 4; tabl.: 3; bibl.: 22.

Significance of work-integrated learning on ethical perception: implications to business students

ABSTRACT The first interaction of students in tertiary education with the work-integrated learning environment happens often through cooperative education or internships, where students, as emerging professionals, develop technical abilities and practice critical ethical decision-making and professional values. Accordingly, this study aims at assessing the impact of cooperative education on students’ understanding of business ethics issues, by focusing on the differences in students’ perceptions depending on work-integrated learning experience, academic majors and ethics courses taken. Testing our hypothesis on a sample of 234 business students at a Saudi business school, the results showed an evolution process of ethical perceptions, which indicates a maturation of ethical behavior due to the business environment exposure and not only from practical training or any other single factor. It also showed the insignificance of ethics education in this process as students’ ethical values develop over time during their lives toward society’s expectations rather than being shaped through formal exposure.

Cross-cultural issues in business ethics: A review and research agenda

This paper reports a systematic literature review of articles published over the past 35 years on cross-cultural issues in business ethics. A screening process resulted in a final sample of 306 papers in 26 double-blind reviewed journals with an impact factor score of at least 1.0 in the field. This study uses citation analysis, systematic literature review method, and knowledge-stock analysis. This study highlights the findings from prior studies, compares and contrasts salient characteristics and provides directions for future research. This study identifies important gaps between the literature and the challenges of cross-cultural issues in business ethics. These gaps include lack of conceptual articles, multi-countries level analysis, and deficiency of comparison analysis between developed and developing countries. This article proposes to apply virtue ethics and model of cultural sense-making as some analytical frameworks in the field of cross-cultural issues in business ethics. This review of the literature could provide managers with a longitudinal perspective on how the institutional environment and national culture affect business ethics perception of employees. This paper contributes to the cross-cultural literature on ethical attitudes, helps us better understand cross-cultural differences in business ethics, and provides directions for further research.

Differences in Occurrence of Unethical Business Practices in a Post-Transitional Country in the CEE Region: The Case of Slovakia

This study aims to contribute to the understanding of unethical practices in business and asks whether certain types of organizations are considerably more exposed to unethical business practices than others are. Drawing from the tenets of institutional theory, the paper investigates the occurrence of unethical practices in different organizational “fields”, namely the industry sector (with focus on Finance and Construction), company membership in professional networks, company ownership (public/private), and company age. The method of stratified random sampling by proportional allocation is used to establish the sample (n = 1295), composed mostly of company owners and higher managers. Results show that, in general, the industry sector, membership in professional networks, and company age are associated with significant variance in the perceived incidence of unethical practices, whereas company ownership has no significant effect in this regard. More specifically, the construction sector is significantly more exposed to unethical practices than other sectors in the sample, while the finance sector is not. Companies with membership in professional networks report a significantly lower occurrence of unethical practices. Young companies are significantly more exposed than their more mature counterparts; however, here the effect of company size must be accounted for. The research was conducted in one of the former CEE block countries—Slovakia. Given their common communist past and comparable peripeties with the transition process, these findings might be useful for understanding business ethics issues in a wider context of the CEE region.

On classic and modern ethical issues in business and management academic research

Ethical issues are critical to researchers, and this has been a hot topic in decades. Many classic ethical issues, such as plagiarism and fabrication, are repetitively discussed, but some contemporary ethical issues are still problematic and overlooked for researchers, especially those young scholars. The purpose of this paper is to analyse and discuss ethical issues around contemporary business and management academic studies. This paper found that first, scholars are internally and externally pushed to produce rigorous theory development papers, neglecting the relevance of practice. Second, researchers devoted themselves in improving their academy degree or meeting requirements from their employers instead of dealing with practical problems and their interests in research. Third, some 'self-plagiarism' behaviours, such as segmented publication, are arguable in the academy study, which leads to a waste of publication, but it is hard to discern and needs to be tackled.

Theological Eastern Orthodox Teachings and Ethical Business Practice for the 21st Century

What constitutes ‘good’ or ethical behaviour in business is a debatable issue in the increasingly modernistic profit-driven and materialistic world of the 21st Century. This article addresses this pertinent issue by examining the viewpoint of Orthodoxy as it relates to business ethics and ethics in general. It is argued that ethics as a distinct field of study cannot be found in the tradition of the Orthodox Church. What are the pitfalls of modernism when it comes to ethical issues in business as it is evident that modernism and Christianity diverge considerably. It is further argued that theology can undoubtedly make a distinguishing contribution to business ethics practice. Viewed through a moral realism lens, Orthodoxy communicates that any ethical vision is inseparable from and ultimately grounded in an Orthodox understanding of the Trinitarian Godhead. Viewed teleologically, the objective of human life is Theosis which commences in physical existence and continues into eternity in a spiritual sense. The limitations of the present study, as well as the areas of prospective research, have been taken into consideration. The paper nonetheless attempts to propose a tentative way of thinking about business ethics epitomising the implication of Orthodoxy for right business conduct.

EVOLUTION OF BUSINESS ETHICS: FROM GENERAL PHILOSOPHICAL PRINCIPLES TO CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The article traces the evolution of business ethics from the ideas of simple human responsibility that were put forward by ancient thinkers to complex philosophical moral and ethical, socio-economic constructions on corporate social responsibility. It is noted that in the process of such evolution a whole system of views, judgments and constructions was formed, which should be considered as peculiar stages of further theoretical understanding and expansion of the thematic framework of the phenomenon of “corporate social responsibility”. The analysis showed that the issues of business ethics and social responsibility (and corporate social responsibility as its highest manifestation) have always been most raised in the so-called turning points in the worldview paradigm of human civilization, and the most important theoretical achievements are related to the rationalization of social relations, when the acquired moral and spiritual values were included in the growth of socio-economic resources of society. It is shown that in the 21st century there is a steady demand from business to study the issue of social responsibility, which allows social technologists – representatives of various scientific fields to expand the categorical apparatus, filling new concepts of business ethics, as well as initiate new scientific discussions – valuable principles of society and various pragmatic concepts, the components of which are principles-process-results.