...A Conceptual Model of Corporate Moral Development Author(s): R. Eric Reidenbach and Donald P. Robin Source: Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Apr., 1991), pp. 273-284 Published by: Springer Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25058230 . Accessed: 16/09/2013 07:44 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. . Springer is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Business Ethics. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 202.125.103.33 on Mon, 16 Sep 2013 07:44:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Conceptual Model Moral Development A of Corporate Donald R EricReidenbach P. Robin ABSTRACT: The conceptual model presented in this article argues that corporations exhibit specific behaviors that signal development. Accordingly, the authors identify five levels of moral development and discuss the that move corporations dynamics of corporate behavior another. Examples tive of of moral stages specific development from which...
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...| 4. | Year and Semester: | Semester May, 2015 | 5. | Credit Hour & Contact Hours: | 3 credit hours Lecture: 21 Hours Tutorial: 21 Hours Practical: | 6. | Lecturer: | Associate Professor Dr Intan Osman Email: Intan@ucsiuniversity.edu.my | 7. | Tutor: | Associate Professor Dr Intan Osman | 8. | Mode of Delivery: | LectureTutorial | 9. | Objectives: | * To provide students with a valuable source of reference on issues surrounding corporate misconducts and ethical principles and theories * To provide an understanding of how ethical theories can be applied in everyday individual and corporate undertaking. * To develop students’ appreciation of how an ethical manager may influence or drive a company towards being a responsible corporate entity. | 10. | Learning Outcomes: | Knowledge * To gain the background information on ethical principles and theories * To link the day-to- day events and issues faced by corporate to ethical dilemmas * To develop a strong appreciation of a range of significant issues, and case studies which demonstrate ethical dilemmas faced by large and small corporations * To select and apply theories effectively in resolving social responsibility problems and ethical dilemmas * To develop an awareness of rights of the shareholders and stakeholdersPractical skills * To impart reasoning and analytical skills needed to apply ethical principles onto business decisions.Social...
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...ETHICAL PRINCIPLES IN BUSINESS 3.1 Ethics Ethics has been defined as concerned with the development of moral standards by which actions, situations and behaviour can be judged. (Boyd et al) Oelgeschlager. et al gave the simplest definition of ethics as standards conduct. Ethics is the discipline that examines one’s moral standards or the moral standards of a society. It asks how these standards apply to our lives and whether these standards are reasonable or unreasonable, that is, whether they are supported by good reasons or poor ones. Therefore, a person starts to do ethics when he or she takes the moral standards absorbed from the family, church and friends and asks: “What do these standards imply for the situations in which I find myself? Do these standards really make sense? What are the reasons for or against these standards? Why should I continue to believe in them? What can be said in their favour and what can be said against them? Are they really reasonable for me to hold? Are their implications in this or that particular situation reasonable?” Ethics is the study of moral standards, the process of examining the moral standards of a person or society to determine whether these standards are reasonable or unreasonable in order to apply them to concrete situations and issues. The ultimate aim of ethics is to develop a body of moral standards that we feel are reasonable to hold standards that we have thought about carefully and have decided are justified standards for us...
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...& Ethics in Organizations Contents 1. Background 1 2. The Concept of Ethics and Values 1 2.1. Values 1 2.2. Ethics 1 2.3. Role of Leadership in Organizational Ethics and Values formation 1 2.3.1 Moral Spill-over Effect 1 2.4. Organisational Ethics 1 2.4.1 Basic Elements of Organizational Ethics 1 3 Motivation theories for building ethical organisations 1 3.1 Stakeholder Theory 1 3.2 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation 1 3.3 Incentive Theory 1 3.3.1 Reinforcements in Incentive Theory 1 3.4 Operant Conditioning Theory 1 3.4.1 Modifying Operant Behaviour: Reinforcements and Punishments 1 3.4.2 Operant conditioning for changing human behaviour 1 4 Industry Practices 1 5 Values & Ethics: A Cross-Cultural Perspective 1 5.1 Considerations for Evaluating Values of another Culture 1 5.2 Comparison of business cultures between China and USA 1 6 Case Analysis 1 6.1 NAICOM may sanction operators on unethical practices in insurance 1 6.2 Unethical and unauthorized medical practice - an alarming situation 1 6.3 Analysis and Recommendations 1 7 Conclusions 1 8 References 1 1. Background We end up in a century loaded with corporate embarrassments because of untrustworthy practices of corporate administrators over the globe. Outrages, for example, that of Enron, WorldCom,...
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...Actual Trends in Theory and in Practice of the International Business Ethics Gabriela Dubcová* ABSTRACT The ethics triangle: national law, culture and political economic system. Key factors of current ethics issues in an international environment. The most visible changes in environment dimensions. Principles of international business ethics. Current ethics challenges in international environment. Common issues of the international business ethics. Comparison of ethical standards in different cultures. Accelerating development of globalization and assimilation between Europe and the USA. Differences between Europe, the United States and Asia in the business ethics perspective. Development processes of global business ethics. Levels of global business ethic level. Principle of normative guidelines for business conduct of multinational corporations. Current functioning of institution engaged in the international business ethics. Key words: The ethics triangle; Current ethics issues; International business ethics; Ethical standards; Global business ethics; Institution engaged in the International Business Ethics. JEL classification: K2, M1 Introduction The present economic situation in the globalized world generates very efficient processes in international companies with large profits for managers but with a relevant risk in economic and noneconomic ambit to eliminate any negative impacts of the crisis from one country to another. In this case, it is necessary to enact and...
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...1. Discuss the concept of corporate social responsibility. What role does it play in the relationship between a company and its host country? (Course objective 1) International social responsibility is the expectation that MNCs concern themselves with the social and the economic effects of their decisions regarding activities in other countries. An MNC’s stance on international social responsibility determines how harmonious and productive its long-term relationships with host countries will be. By taking an open-systems perspective on CSR it is more likely that the MNC will be taking the right action relevant to all stakeholders. 2. Discuss the criticisms which have been levied against MNCs in the past regarding their activities in less-developed countries. What counter-arguments are there to those criticisms? (Course objectives 1, 2) MNCs have been criticized for disrupting the social, technological, and political climates in host nations. Governments often have a “love-hate” relationship with MNCs because they want the economic advantages produced by the presence of MNCs, but they regret the negative impacts MNCs often have on the political and social environments. MNCs can defend themselves by pointing out that, without their presence, host nations would not have as many jobs or trade opportunities, as well as opportunities to appropriate technology. MNCs have also been accused of destroying local culture through globalization. Although MNCs have increased the degree...
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...Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture Laurita M Jones, MBA, MSA Walden University The Role of Leadership in Shaping Organizational Culture Leaders have a profound impact on their organization and how well their teams perform. Thus, organizational leadership plays an influential role in shaping culture and culture in return forms administration. As a leadership perception, corporate culture has been acknowledged as one of the various elements that leaders can utilize to enhance a dynamic business. The process of establishing the cultural foundation of a company begins with the appointed leadership of organizations. They do so by enforcing their assumptions and expectations of organizational culture onto their followers. High-level superiors are the major sources for communicating norms and core values in organizations. Therefore, it is imperative that leaders convey the organization leadership and cultural principles to their followers for utilizing their leadership powers to support and preserve an organizational culture that is ethical and healthy. With the attentiveness to culture in today’s business entities, and its resilient influence on the behavior of subordinates, leaders in company’s can produce a culture that supports high moral and ethical behavior. The subsequent analysis of leadership and organizational culture will attempt to discuss several mechanisms of leadership, and the role leadership plays in shaping the culture of an organization. Leadership...
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...Is Business Sustainable? by megan51773 | studymode.com Business is an artificial person and has responsibilities. While making money is an important result of a company’s existence, many people wrongly assume this is their sole responsibility. A business can be defined as a combination of the products and services they provide, the customers they serve, and its work force. A business of one person or thousands takes on the personality of those wihin. Its culture, morals, and ethics are defined by the actions of the people that execute its bidding; and as such can take on its own identity. Although a business is not made of living tissue, to those that work for it or consume their products and services, it is treated as a living entity; and can therefore take on a variety of real responsibilities. These real responsibilities are realized through a responsibility toward a business’s consumers, protection of the environment and the law. Considering the many differences between an individual and a business, it’s understandable that many people would be eager to accept the idea that as an artificial person, businesses have no responsibilities. Supporters of this view believe that business corporations have no responsibility to society beyond the law as they go about their operations. Their argument is that a business’s principal and overriding responsibility is to shareholders, and it is a responsibility to conduct the operations of the company in such a way as...
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...relation to the position and to the business as well. It is shown to be beneficial to employees and executives to use a decision making process in the development of making important decisions; there are many approaches as well as many consequences to making ethical decisions. Good ethics start with the employer and how they handle and execute their ethics and provide a good working example for their employees. There are many viewpoints on what ethics are, especially in relation to business, “Ethical obligations are a set of “ought to” standards that define a moral course of action and draw a line between right and wrong” (Lohrey). Business ethics can be comprised of written and formal guidelines in relation to an organization’s morals. Many businesses use their code of conduct or credo as their guidelines to communicating their organizational ethics, “Business ethics manifests both as written and unwritten codes of moral standards that are critical to the current activities and future aspirations of a business organization. They can differ from one company to another because of differences in cultural perspectives, operational structures and strategic orientations” (Merchant). It is said that at times a law may not be morally right to some and at times what is morally wrong is completely legal; it is not always strictly the law to refer to when it comes to business ethics, “The law defines what is and is not legal, but the...
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...BarCharts, Inc.® DEFINITION: The study of the nature, purpose, function and justification of rules of right conduct within the context of commerce; broadly conceived to include the transaction of goods and services at the individual, corporate, and international level of exchange. PRIMARY ETHICAL CONSTRUCTS 1.The Question of Generality: Can the rules of right conduct that apply to individuals be generalized to collective entities, such as corporations? 2. The Question of Responsibility: Can a corporation have moral responsibility? If so, how is responsibility to be diffused and distributed throughout the corporate hierarchical structure? 3. The Question of Liability: Provided that corporations can be meaningfully said to be morally responsible, must their liability necessarily be proportional to their responsibility? 4. The Question of Allegiance: Do the commonly accepted personal virtues of loyalty, commitment, and devotion have a place in the employer/ employee dichotomy? Does a corporation have an obligation to provide for a worker based purely upon that worker’s loyalty to the corporation over many years – even if the continued employment of the worker is counter-productive? ETHICAL CONCEPTS IN BUSINESS 1. Conflict of Interest: A state of affairs is said to constitute a conflict of interests – or potential thereof – in a set of circumstances where the individual has the capacity to influence decisions that promote their self-interest but...
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...what was right and wrong, good and bad, to be the best one can be, and to make sure the decisions that are made are based on a common set of values and principles. As an adult, the adherence to these values has played a fundamental role in my own success as a business leader in my profession. EXPLANATION OF KEY TERM The general definition of ethics is ”the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation” (Satterlee, 2009, p. 48). Every culture in the world will have some form of ethics and the society would have a set of values or moral duties and obligations. In some instances, these values may become law. Many of these moral values are based on a religion; for example, Christianity refers to the Ten Commandments, which forms a set of values. Some ethics are secular in nature. In business, ethics plays a major role on how companies act in relation to their core values. A world viewpoint would look at international business ethics as compared to domestic business ethics. The international business ethics would focus on the culture of that society along with their values and core beliefs. With our growing global economy, it is important to understand the ethical duties and obligations for businesses wishing to conduct business in the respective countries. The global business has a duty and obligation to conform to the values and ethics of that society; this is their social responsibility. One of the main aspects of social responsibility...
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...Corporate Social Responsibility & the Law Assessment 1: Individual Essay Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is defined by Ferrell et al (2011) as “an organisation’s obligation to maximize its positive impact on stakeholders and minimize its negative impact”. CSR can therefore be viewed as a corporation's agreement with the world. CSR is most commonly used alongside the “ethics” term but they actually differ as ethics are the guidelines to be used for business decision making. Ethics, according to Preston (1996), is concerned with what is right, fair, just or good, about what we ought to do, not just what can be done or what is most acceptable or expedient. Ethics allows for set standards and rules to be used to guide behaviours which form just one level of the considerations of CSR. The International Labour Office (2006) identifies CSR as giving consideration to operational impacts on society and affirming values in their internal methods, processes and external interactions – CSR is voluntary, enterprise-driven and refers to activities considered to exceed legal compliance. With the expectation that business will give as well as take from a society and environment in which it operates, the concept of social obligation proposes that a firm has obligations to area that spread beyond making profit. Additionally, the community expects socially and environmentally responsible behaviour practices; the so-called triple bottom line approach. This anticipation...
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...CHAPTER 1: THE IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS ETHICS Ethics- Inquiry into the nature and grounds of morality where the term of morality is taken to mean moral judgments, standards and rules of conduct. The American Heritage Dictionary- Ethics- The study of the general nature of morals and of specific moral choices, moral philosophy, and the rules or standards governing the conducts of the members of a profession. Applying Ethics to business: 1.To survive, business must earn a profit 2. Business must balance their desires for profits against the needs and desires of society. Business ethics comprises the principles and standards that guide behavior in the world of business. CHAPTER 2: STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS, SOCIAL RESPONDSIBILITY, AND CORPERATE GOVERNANCE. In a business context, customers, investors and shareholders, employees, suppliers, government agencies, communities, and many others who have a “stake” or claim in some aspect of a company’s products, operations, markets, industry, and outcomes are known as stakeholders. These groups are influenced by business, but they also have the ability to influence businesses; thus, the relationship between companies and their stakeholders is a two-way street. Stakeholders provide resources that are more or less critical to a firm’s long-term success. These resources may be both tangible and intangible. Primary stakeholders are those whose continued association is absolutely necessary for a firm’s survival; these include...
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...policies, powers, responsibilities, codes, cultures, procedures) would mark out an ethical organization? Business ethics is an applied ethics. It is the application of our understanding of what is good and right to do. A discussion of business ethics must begin by providing a framework of basic principles for understanding what is meant by the terms “good” and “right”. In popular usage the term “ethics” has a variety of different meanings. One of the meanings often given to it is: the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group. We use the term “personal ethics” to refer to the rules by which an individual lives his or her personal life, and use the term “accounting ethics” to refer to the code that guides the professional conduct of accountants (Velasquez (1988).,p.11). Ethics is concerned with the moral judgments involved in moral decisions. Ethics does not study all normative judgment, only those that are concerned with what is morally right and wrong, or morally good and bad. When something is judged to be morally right or wrong, or morally good or bad, the underlying standards on which the judgment is based are moral standards. Moral standards include both specific moral norms and more general moral principles. Moral norms are standards of behavior that require, prohibit, or allow certain specific kinds of behavior. Prohibitions against lying, stealing, injuring, and so on, are all moral norms. Moral principles are much more general standards...
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...A summary of Robert Jackall’s Moral Mazes The theme of this work is that managers constantly adapt to the social environments of their organisations in order to succeed. In such contexts, they have no use for abstract ethical principles, but conform to the requirements of bureaucratic functionality. What implications follow for the ethical leader in business? Jackall found that managers assess their decisions against contextual criteria. Essentially, managers try to gauge whether they feel “comfortable” with proposed resolutions to specific problems, a task that always involves an assessment of others’ organisational morality and a reckoning of the practical organisational and market exigencies at hand. The notion of comfort has many meanings. When applied to other persons, the idea of comfort is an intuitive measure of trustworthiness, reliability, and predicability in a polycentric world that managers often find troubling, ambiguous, and anxiety-laden. Such assessment of others’ organisational morality is a crucial aspect of a more general set of probations that are intrinsic to managerial work. (p.13) Jackall notes that power in corporations is centralised at the top in the person of the CEO, while ‘responsibility for decisions and profits’ is pushed down the line as far a possible (p.17) This has ethical implications. The displacement of responsibility for decisions onto subordinates takes the burden from senior managers and the person at the top. Too much knowledge is...
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