Background: Moral distress is a major problem in nursing profession. Researchers identified that the stronger the ethical basis of the organization, the less moral distress is reported. However, different ethical climates may have different impacts on moral distress. Moreover, conceptualization of moral distress and ethical climate as well as their relationship may change according to the cultural context. Objectives: The main aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between different types of ethical climate as described in Victor and (...) Cullen’s framework, and moral distress intensity among nurses in Turkish healthcare settings. Research design: An online survey was administrated to collect data. Questionnaires included moral distress and ethical climate scales in addition to demographic questions. Participants and research context: Data were collected from registered nurses in Turkey. In all, 201 of 279 nurses completed questionnaires, resulting in a response rate of 72%. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval was obtained from the university to which the authors were affiliated, after a detailed investigation of the content and data collection method. Findings: Factor analyses showed that moral distress had three dimensions, namely, organizational constraints, misinformed and over-treated patients, and lack of time and resources, while ethical climate had four types, namely, rules, well-being of stakeholders, individualism, and organizational interests. Positive correlations were identified between certain types of ethical climate (rules, individualism, or organizational interests) and moral distress intensity. Discussion: Factor distribution of the scales shows some commonalities with the findings of previous research. However, context-specific dimensions and types were also detected. No particular ethical climate type was found to have a negative correlation with moral distress. Conclusion: Recommendations were made for reducing the negative impact of ethical climate on moral distress. These include solving the nursing-shortage problem, increasing autonomy, and improving physical conditions. (shrink)

This study examines the impact of ethical climate types (professionalism, caring, rules, instrumental, efficiency, and independence) on various facets of job satisfaction (pay, promotions, co-workers, supervisors, and work itself) in a large non-profit organization. Professionalism was the most reported and efficiency was the least reported ethical climate type in the organization. Among various facets of job satisfaction, respondents were most satisfied with their work and least satisfied with their pay. None of the climate types significantly influenced satisfaction with pay. (...) A professional climate significantly influenced satisfaction with promotions, supervisors, and work. It also significantly influenced overall job satisfaction. Those respondents who believed that their organization had caring climate were more satisfied with their supervisors. An instrumental climate had a significant negative influence on overall job satisfaction and satisfaction with promotions, co-workers, and supervisors. Rules, efficiency, and independence climate types did not significantly affect any facets of job satisfaction. (shrink)

We examined a largely ignored but imperative dimension of safety literature by testing the impact of ethical leadership style on organizational safety performance. We also tested dual mediating paths of safety culture and safety consciousness in the relationship between ethical leadership style and organizational safety consciousness. Data were collected from a large public sector telecom company in Pakistan. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the reliability and validity of the study scales and model fit. Preacher and Hayes’s macro (...) of mediation was employed to test the direct and indirect paths proposed in the study. The findings suggest that ethical leadership has a positive impact on organizational safety performance. Partial mediating roles of safety culture and safety consciousness were also found between the dependent and independent variables. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (shrink)

We examine the impact of an ethics education program on reporting behavior using two groups of students: fourth year Masters of Accounting students who just completed a newly instituted ethics education program, and fifth year students in the same program who did not receive the ethics program. In an experiment providing both the opportunity and motivation to misreport for more money, we design two social condition treatments – anonymity and public disclosure – to examine whether or (...) to what extent ethical values are internalized by students. We find that when participants are anonymous, misreporting rates are nearly the same regardless of ethics program participation. However, when their reporting behavior is made public to the cohort, participants who completed the ethics program misreported at significantly lower rates than those who did not receive the ethics program. The results suggest that ethics education does not necessarily result in internalized ethical values, but it can impact ethical behavior. (shrink)

Given the prevalence of corporate frauds and the significance of whistle blowing as a mechanism to report about the frauds, the present study explores the impact of ethical leadership and leader–member exchange (LMX) on whistle blowing. Additionally, the article also explores the moderating role of the moral intensity [studied as magnitude of consequences (MOC)] of the issue on this relationship. The article reports results of three experimental studies conducted on the postgraduate students of a premier technology institute in India. (...) Ethical leadership, LMX, and moral intensity are manipulated through scenarios. Study one ( n = 81) manipulates ethical leadership (ethical/unethical) and quality of LMX (low and high) as independent variables; study two ( n = 80) manipulates ethical leadership and moral intensity (high and low MOC), and study three ( n = 87) manipulates LMX and MOCs to assess their individual and joint effects on whistle blowing. Results show that not only do ethical leadership and LMX predict whistle blowing, but these relationships get moderated by the moral intensity of the issue as well. (shrink)

Two elements of corporate governance—the strength of ethical executive leadership and the internal audit function (IAF hereafter)—provide guidance to accounting managers making decisions involving uncertainty. We examine the joint effect of these two factors, manipulated at two levels (strong, weak), in an experiment in which accounting professionals decide whether to book a questionable journal entry (i.e., a journal entry for which a reasonable business case can be made but there is no supporting documentation). We find that ethical leadership and the (...) IAF interact to determine the likelihood that accountants book the entry. Specifically, accountants are less likely to book a questionable journal entry when there is a weak ethical leader and a strong IAF compared to all other conditions. In addition, we find that accountants question the appropriateness and ethicalness of the request to book an undocumented journal entry more in the weak ethical leader and strong IAF condition than in the other conditions. These results suggest that the IAF has a different impact on financial reporting decisions depending on the ethicalness of executive leadership and that a strong IAF may cause accountants to question the appropriateness and ethicalness of an undocumented journal entry when combined with weak ethical leadership. We also find that the interactive effect of ethical leadership and the IAF on an accountant’s decision is fully mediated by his/her perception of the moral intensity of the issue. Thus, accountants, who perceive greater moral intensity associated with booking the entry, are less willing to do so. (shrink)

Background: The performance of nurses has become vital in hospitals. Some studies have suggested that nurses’ perceptions of the ethical climate in their hospitals are related to higher job satisfaction and organizational commitment and in turn lessen the issue of nursing shortage. Hypothesis: (1) The ethical climate types “caring,” “independent,” “law and code,” and “rules” have a significant positive impact on overall job satisfaction. (2) The ethical climate types and overall job satisfaction have significant positive influences on normative and (...) affective and significant negative influences on continuance commitment. Research design: The study uses path analysis to understand which types of ethical climate impact overall job satisfaction. It also tries to find the effect of different types of ethical climate and overall job satisfaction on the components of organizational commitment. The relationships between variables were evaluated using factor analysis, reliability, descriptive statistics, correlations, and regression in this study. Participants and research context: A total of 171 useful questionnaires were collected from nurses working in public and private hospitals in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ethical considerations: Formal research approval was obtained from the administration of each study hospital. Questionnaires with a cover letter were mailed to the hospitals that agreed to participate in the study. In the cover letter, the researchers explained the study purpose, encouraged nurses’ voluntary participation, and guaranteed the anonymity of participants. Findings: In the first path analyses, “rules” and “caring” climates significantly and positively affected overall job satisfaction. In the second one, while overall job satisfaction and “rules” climate significantly influenced normative commitment, “caring” climate and overall job satisfaction significantly affected affective commitment. Discussion: The findings of the study have been convenient with the literature. Conclusion: Public and private hospitals can enhance overall job satisfaction and organizational commitment by altering the ethical climate of organizations. Hospital administrations should nurture caring and rule types of ethical climate which influence overall satisfaction. By this way, they could reduce nursing shortage. (shrink)

Previous research indicates that ethical ideologies, issue-contingencies, and social context can impact ethical reasoning in different business situations. However, the manner in which these constructs work together to shape different steps of the ethical decision-making process is not always clear. The purpose of this study was to address these issues by exploring the influence of idealism and relativism, perceived moral intensity in a decision-making situation, and social context on the recognition of an ethical issue and ethical intention. Utilizing a (...) sales-based scenario and multiple ethics measures included on a self-report questionnaire, data were collected from a regional sample of business students, most of whom had modest work experience. The results indicated that perceived moral intensity was associated with increased ethical issue recognition and ethical intention. Idealism was also associated with increased ethical issue recognition, and relativism was associated with decreased ethical intention. Social consensus was positively related to ethical issue recognition and intention, while competitive context was inversely related to ethical intention. Finally, ethical issue recognition was associated with increased ethical intention. Idealism, moral intensity, social consensus, and work experience worked together as predictors of ethical issue recognition, whereas recognition of an ethical issue, relativism, moral intensity, social consensus, and competitive context worked together to predict ethical intention. (shrink)

Background Caring practice begins with awareness of the suffering of patients in a given context. Understanding the interrelationship between the perceived ethical climate of the clinical environment and the ethical sensitivity and caring efficacy of nurses is crucial for strengthening the caring competency of nurses. Research aim This study aimed to examine the associations between the ethical climate of the clinical environment and the ethical sensitivity and caring efficacy of nurses and to investigate the mediating effect of ethical sensitivity on (...) the association between ethical climate and caring efficacy. Research design This was a quantitative study with a cross-sectional descriptive correlational design. The participants completed an online survey that measured the ethical climate, ethical sensitivity and caring efficacy using the Hospital Ethical Climate Survey, Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire-Revised and Caring Efficacy Scale, respectively. Participants and research context The study recruited 293 nurses from two general hospitals that provided acute in-patient and extended care in Hong Kong. Ethical considerations Ethical approval was obtained from the ethics committee of the university and the hospitals involved. Written consent was obtained from the participants. Results Ethical climate was associated with caring efficacy ( β = 0.340, p <.001) and ethical sensitivity ( β = 0.197, p <.001). After adjusting for ethical climate, ethical sensitivity was associated with caring efficacy ( β = 0.860, p <.001). Ethical sensitivity showed a significant mediating effect on the association between ethical climate and caring efficacy (indirect effect = 0.169, 95% confidence interval: 0.097 to 0.261), which accounted for 50% of the total effect. Conclusions The study reveals the complex and interwoven relationship between contextual and personal factors that affect nurses’ caring efficacy from an ethical perspective. It provides insights into the significant roles of ethical climate and ethical sensitivity in strengthening caring efficacy. The results suggest theoretical and clinical implications for professionalisation. (shrink)

The proposed adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the United States has ignited a debate as to whether the principles‐based nature of these standards better serves the interests of investors. While it is argued that these principled‐based standards will encourage more transparent financial reporting than the current rules‐based U.S. standards, critics argue that IFRS will invite more aggressive financial reporting through the liberal exercising of professional judgment. This empirical study aims to understand what individual and organizational factors may (...) affect aggressiveness when making accounting judgments. In particular, we examine the influence that prior ethics training, codes of ethics and an individual's predominant moral reasoning schema have on adherence to company policy in an accounting‐related (depreciation) judgment. Results of the study show that respondents with prior ethics training are more likely to adhere to company accounting policy than those who have not had formal ethics education. Respondents presented with a company ethics code also were less aggressive in their accounting judgments than those who were not presented with a code prior to reading the scenario. Finally, decision aggressiveness was moderated by individuals who used conventional moral reasoning schemas. (shrink)

Codes of ethics exist in many, if not the majority, of all large U.S. companies today. But how the impact of these written codes affect managerial attitudes and behavior is still not clearly documented or explained. This study takes a step in that direction by proposing that attention should shift from the codes themselves as the sources of ethical behavior to the persons whose behavior is the focus of these codes. In particular, this study investigates the role of (...) code familiarity as a factor impacting the influence of an ethics code on manager behavior. Data collected from 286 executives from companies in the direct selling industry are used to test hypotheses (1) that the perceived usefulness of ethics codes is positively related to the degree of familiarity with the code, and (2) that ethical climate as assessed by managers is positively related to the code''s perceived usefulness. Both hypotheses are supported, and their implications and further research directions are discussed. (shrink)

This study attempts to investigate the relationships among the ethical beliefs of Chinese consumers and orientations based on attitudinal attributes: materialism and moral philosophies (idealism and relativism). In addition, this study examines Chinese consumers' ethical beliefs in relation to five selected demographic characteristics (gender, age, religion, family income and education). Based on this exploratory study of 284 Chinese consumers, the following statistically significant findings were discovered. First, Chinese consumers regard that a passively benefiting activity is more ethical, but actively benefiting (...) from an illegal or a questionable activity is unacceptable. Second, the two dimensions of passively benefiting and no harm/no foul can be used to distinguish the consumers who endorse higher levels of idealism or relativism. Third, Chinese consumers with a high level of materialism are more likely to actively benefit from illegal and questionable activities, and the passively benefiting actions. Finally, the more ethical Chinese consumers seem to be younger, be religious, and have a lower family income. (shrink)

Without complete and accurate status information, a project manager’s ability to monitor progress, allocate resources effectively, and detect and respond to problems is greatly diminished, and this can lead to impaired project performance. Many different factors can contribute to intentional misreporting of status information by project members to the project manager. In this study, the impact of organizational ethical climate was assessed through the analysis of responses from 228 project members drawn from a variety of ongoing information systems projects. (...) Our results revealed that project members who perceived their organization to be one in which rules are followed strictly tended to misreport less, while those operating in an environment dominated by personal self-interest tended to misreport more. Somewhat surprisingly, the existence of a caring, team-spirited environment did not appear to have an impact on misreporting behaviors. Implications for researchers and project managers are discussed. (shrink)

The objective of this research is to assess the impact of ethics on research productivity within laboratories of public universities. To achieve this objective, neural networks’ method is used to highlight impacting and impacted variable modalities. Findings show ethical variables having the greatest impact on research productivity are ethics supporting document and transparency, while the variables most impacted by ethics are publications and scientific projects. Finally, the originality of this work lies in the reconciliation of (...) two dimensions that appear to be irreconcilable a priori, namely, ethics which has a social connotation and productivity which has an economic connotation. It also resides in employing neural networks’ method, with is rarely used in social sciences. (shrink)

The present study sought to determine the extent to which individuals'' ethical ideologies, as measured by Forsyth''s (1980) Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ), impacted the degree of punishment they advocated for differing ethical infractions, as well as their selection of non-ethics related variables that might be used to modify judgments of disciplinary action. The data revealed that individual ideology does impact both advocated punishment and choice of non-ethics related variables, but only in some measures. The data are (...) discussed in terms of potential moderating variables that could be examined in future studies. (shrink)

Abstract:This research examines in a collectivist culture the influence of cognitive moral development, attitudes toward rule-directed behavior, and the perceived importance of codes of conduct and professional standards on auditor judgments about ethical dilemmas. Taiwanese audit professionals were asked to respond to two ethical dilemmas. The first dilemma concerns a situation in which the auditor is asked to acquiesce to a controller’s request to conceal an irregularity. The probability that the auditor’s acquiescence is discovered (i.e., the threat of a sanction) (...) was manipulated in this scenario. The second dilemma involves a case in which the auditor has information that a write-down of obsolete inventory will have a material effect on the earnings of a corporation, and must consider whether or not to inform an individual who is heavily invested in the corporation. The individual’s ingroup status (i.e., whether the individual was a relative or friend of the auditor) was manipulated in this scenario.Auditors were more likely to agree with violations of ethical standards in the first scenario (concealing a client employee’s irregularity) than in the second (revealing confidential information to parties outside the client). In the first scenario, auditors with lower levels of cognitive moral development were less likely to agree with violations of ethical standards when the threat of a sanction was present, while the judgments of those with higher levels of cognitive moral development were not affected by the presence of sanctions. Contrary to expectations, auditors were more likely to agree with violations of ethical standards when the individual involved was a close friend, rather than a relative. In general, as the perceived importance of rules increased, the propensity to violate the Code of Conduct decreased. (shrink)

Nurses who try to reduce inequalities in health care by defending individuals they care for should be able to perceive ethical situations sensitively as patient advocates. This study aimed to examine the effects of ethics education provided to nursing students on ethical sensitivity and patient advocacy. The study adopted a pre-test, post-test, one-group quasi-experimental design and was conducted at a public university in Turkey. The sample comprised 44 nursing students taking the Professional Ethics course. Data were collected from (...) October 13, 2021, to January 6, 2022, using a Descriptive Characteristics Form, the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire, and the Patient Advocacy Scale for Nurses. The study was approved by an ethics committee. While no significant difference was found between the pre-test and post-test mean Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire scores (t = 0.426, p > 0.05), a significant difference was noted between the total mean Patient Advocacy Scale for Nurses scores (Z = − 2.443, p < 0.05). The findings showed that ethics education provided to the nursing students did not affect ethical sensitivity but increased patient advocacy. (shrink)

Ethical leadership can lead to preparing the ground for employee voice, highlighting employees’ creativity, and encouraging knowledge-sharing behavior in the organization. Thus, this study examines the impact of ethical leadership on organizational identity with the mediating role of employee voice in digital startups. However, previous studies investigating the relationship between ethical leadership and organizational identity disregarded the intervening role of employee voice in this relationship. A cross-sectional design using a sample of 137 managers of digital startups in science parks. (...) Through the PLS3 software, the results show that employees tend to discuss their work-related opinions and concerns more often if they consider their leaders trustworthy, and this can lead to competitive advantage and quick responses to environmental crises. According to the findings of this study, ethical leadership can prepare the ground for employee voice, highlight employees’ creativity, and encourage knowledge-sharing behavior in the organization. Hence, we suggest that leaders demonstrate personal integrity, openly receive employees’ ideas and recommendations, treat employees impartially, and attempt to maximize the benefits to their employees. (shrink)

The goal of our work is to explore and highlight factors that contribute to positive experiences of Black employees. To accomplish this, we integrate behavioral ethics research into the Black scholarship literature. Specifically, we focus on the role of ethical leadership. We leverage signaling theory to explain the Black cultural implications associated with ethical leadership and how ethical leaders create racially just workplaces. Across three studies (i.e., one cross-sectional field study and two experimental vignettes), we demonstrate that ethical leadership (...) operates as a welcoming signal for Black employees, which positively impacts Black employees’ evaluations of psychological diversity climate. By cultivating Black employees’ evaluations of psychological diversity climate, Black employees are more likely to be engaged and are less likely to be ostracized in the workplace, which are key indicators of a racially just workplace. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. We conclude with limitations and future research ideas. (shrink)

This study examined the impact of ethics training engagement on unethical decision-making in the workplace. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions. Next, a baseline measurement of ethical ideology was collected using the Ethics Position Questionnaire and participants then engaged in ethics training based on the condition to which they were randomly assigned. They then had the option to read along or listen to a hypothetical scenario about an employee faced with the opportunity (...) to make an unethical decision, and completed the Unethical Decision Questionnaire. Results showed that participants in the passive learning condition were significantly more likely to perceive an unethical situation as ethical compared to participants in the active learning ethics training condition. Additionally, participants in the passive learning condition were significantly more likely to engage in unethical decision-making than participants in the active learning condition. The current findings contribute to the existing literature by providing evidence that active learning in ethics training programs could reduce unethical decision-making within the workplace. (shrink)

Background: Although numerous studies on job satisfaction among nurses have been conducted, there is a lack of research considering the ethical perspectives of leadership and organizational climate in job satisfaction. Objective: The purpose of this study was to clarify the impact of the ethical climate and ethical leadership as perceived by nurses on job satisfaction in South Korea. Research design: A descriptive and correlational study was conducted with a convenience sample of 263 nurses from four general hospitals in South (...) Korea. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the Institute Review Board of Hallym University before data collection. Results: Job satisfaction was positively correlated with ethical climate and ethical leadership. The ethical climate in relationship with hospitals and people orientation leadership were influential factors in the level of job satisfaction among nurses. Discussion: Organizations in the nursing environment should pay attention to improving the ethical climate with acceptable ethical norms in the workplace and nurse leaders should respect, support and genuinely care about their nurses in ethical concerns. (shrink)

Leadership studies on corporate ethical behavior and practices have grown considerably, contributing significant knowledge on ethical leadership challenges that are organizational and industry focused. However, complex socio-ecological systems are placing pressure on organizational culture and old patterns of leadership behavior that play a role in organizational justice. In this study, we argue that scholars of business ethics must consider the role of organizational justice and use person-organization fit (P–O fit). To address this, our study investigates the mediating effect of (...) organizational justice on the relationship between ethical leadership and employees’ ethical behavior. We also examine the moderating role of P–O fit on the relationship between organizational justice and employee’s ethical behavior. The study survey focused on 295 employees belonging to organizations in Iraq. We show that ethical leadership positively influences employees’ ethical behavior, and this relationship is shaped by organizational justice. The findings reflect the positive impact of organizational justice on ethical behavior, and this relationship is more pronounced in employees with high rather than low P–O fit. This study clarifies the importance of employee’s P–O fit and its impact on organizational processes for creating a positive impact on ethical behavior in the workplace. We also share practical implications of the study and recommend systemic research that explores this area. (shrink)

This study examines factors impacting organizational commitment of 214 employees working at a Chinese state-owned steel company. Ethical behavior of peers and ethical behavior of successful managers had a significant impact on organizational commitment. The four facets of job satisfaction (pay, coworker, supervision, and work itself) had a significant impact on organizational commitment. Respondent’s age also significantly impacted organizational commitment. Perceptions of ethical behavior of successful managers, satisfaction with work, and gender were significantly correlated with social desirability bias.

Considering a growing nurse shortage and the need for qualified nurses to handle increasingly complex patient care situations, how ethical beliefs are influenced and the consequences that can occur when moral conflicts of right and wrong arise need to be explored. The aim of this study was to explore influencers identified by nurses as having the most impact on the development of their ethical beliefs and whether these influencers might impact levels of moral distress and the potential for (...) conscientious objection. Nurses whose ethical beliefs were most influenced by their religious beliefs scored higher in levels of moral distress and demonstrated greater differences in areas of conscientious objection than did nurses who developed their ethical beliefs from influencers such as family values, life and work experience, political views or the professional code of ethics. (shrink)

Communication programs seek to cultivate students who become professionals not only with expertise in their chosen field, but also ethical awareness. The current study investigates how exposure to ethics instruction and internship experiences may influence communication students’ ethical perceptions, including ideological orientations on idealism and relativism, as well as awareness of contemporary ethical issues related to social media and artificial intelligence (AI). The effects were also assessed on students’ support for general uses of AI for communication practices and adoption (...) of generative AI, specifically ChatGPT. The survey results based on a student sample in Taiwan show that internship experience is more significant than ethics instruction on swaying ethical perceptions and behavioral inclinations of adopting AI applications. Adding to the limited body of knowledge on the effect of ethics education and internship programs, the findings also offer insights for how communication education can address emerging ethical challenges brought by new technology. (shrink)

The interdisciplinary Hannover Qualification Programme on ethics consultation has trained hospital staff to operate clinical ethics services in their respective hospitals since 2003. To evaluate Hannover Qualification Programme, all former participants were contacted using an online questionnaire including four domains: status quo before attending Hannover Qualification Programme, present status, impact of Hannover Qualification Programme, future challenges. Research objectives were the long-term satisfaction with Hannover Qualification Programme and its impact on clinical ethics services. The response rate (...) was 45% (167/369). Hannover Qualification Programme was evaluated as helpful and the responders were capable of applying their acquired skills. Most participants could contribute to the implementation of clinical ethics services. They were satisfied with Hannover Qualification Programme and with the degree of changes in their hospitals. In conclusion, clinical ethics education had long-term effects on trainees and on their respective hospitals. Problems were mentioned rather in the field of utilisation than with implementation or quality of clinical ethics services. (shrink)

We report the results of an experiment designed to determine the effects of psychological proximity—proxied by awareness of pain and friendship—on moral reasoning. Our study tests the hypotheses that a moral agent’s emphasis on justice decreases with proximity, while his/her emphasis on care increases. Our study further examines how personality, gender, and managerial status affect the importance of care and justice in moral reasoning. We find support for the main hypotheses. We also find that care should be split into two (...) components, one related to protection and the other to the preservation of relationships. Although gender does not affect moral reasoning directly, we find that it does so indirectly via personality, controlling for age, professional status, and professional background. We do not find a significant effect of managerial status on ethics of justice, but do find that holding a managerial position has a negative impact on ethics of care. Regarding personality, we detect significant positive effects of conscientiousness on ethics of justice and of neuroticism on ethics of care. (shrink)

This study examined the impact of perceived ethical culture of the firm and selected demographic variables on auditors’ ethical evaluation of, and intention to engage in, various time pressure-induced dysfunctional behaviours. Four audit cases and questionnaires were distributed to experienced pre-manager level auditors in Ireland and the U.S. The findings revealed that while perceived unethical pressure to engage in dysfunctional behaviours and unethical tone at the top were significant in forming an ethical evaluation, only perceived unethical pressure had an (...) impact on intention to engage in the behaviours. Country was also found to have a significant impact, with U.S. respondents reporting higher ethical evaluations and lower intentions to engage in unethical acts than Irish respondents. Implications of the findings and areas for future research are discussed. (shrink)

Business ethics has been emphasized throughout the past decade and organizations are aware of the influence it has on the organization’s performance. As a result, ethical leadership is important as it influences the employees profoundly. This study aims to address this issue and explore the influence ethical leadership has on employees by examining job satisfaction, subjective well-being at work, and life satisfaction. Two groups of independent data were collected and a multi-group analysis was conducted before pooling together for a (...) two-step structural equation modeling test. The results revealed that ethical leadership has a negative direct effect on employee well-being which offers significant findings for the meaning of ethical leadership in the Chinese culture. Useful managerial implications are provided for managers and supervisors at the end of this study. (shrink)

This paper develops and tests a new conceptual model incorporating the indirect impact of two ethical ideologies (idealism and relativism) on Chinese consumers’ ethical judgments under four ethically problematic consumption situations (active benefit, passive benefit, deceptive practice, and no/indirect harm) through two cultural values (integration and moral discipline). Data from a large-scale online consumer survey in five major Chinese cities (_N_ = 1046) support most hypotheses. The findings are consistent with the postulated global impact of ethical ideology on (...) forming an individual’s beliefs and values and highlight the importance of a thorough understanding of the significant determinants of consumer ethics to promote ethically responsible consumption behaviors. This study also uses an emic approach to conceptualize and measure Chinese cultural values by using cultural constructs and measures that are designed explicitly in the Chinese context. (shrink)

Corruption is a serious problem in Mexico and the available information regarding the levels of academic dishonesty in Mexico is not very encouraging. Academic integrity is essential in any teaching-learning process focussed on achieving the highest standards of excellence and learning. Promoting and experiencing academic integrity within the university context has a twofold purpose: to achieve the necessary learnings and skills to appropriately perform a specific profession and to develop an ethical perspective which leads to correct decision making. The objective (...) of this study is to explore the relationship between academic integrity and ethical behaviour, particularly workplace behaviour. The study adopts a quantitative, hypothetical and deductive approach. A questionnaire was applied to 1203 college students to gather information regarding the frequency in which they undertake acts of dishonesty in different environments and in regards to the severity they assign to each type of infraction. The results reflect that students who report committing acts against academic integrity also report being involved in dishonest activities in other contexts, and that students who consider academic breaches less serious, report being engaged in academic misconduct more frequently in different contexts. In view of these results, it is unavoidable to reflect on the role that educational institutions and businesses can adopt in the development of programmes to promote a culture of academic integrity which: design educational experiences to foster learning, better prepare students to fully meet their academic obligations, highlight the benefits of doing so, prevent the severity and consequences of dishonest actions, discourage cheating and establish clear and efficient processes to sanction those students who are found responsible for academic breaches. (shrink)

There has been little previous research regarding the effectiveness of ethics education interventions for residential care‐givers. The Researching Interventions to Promote Ethics in social care project responded to the question: Which is the most effective ethics education intervention for care‐givers in residential social care? A pragmatic cluster trial explored the impact of three ethics education interventions for: (a) interactive face‐to‐face ethics teaching; (b) reflective ethics discussion groups; and (c) an immersive simulation experience. There (...) was also a control arm (d). 144 trial participants were recruited from 39 residential care homes for older people in southern England. Change scores compared across intervention arms showed a significant reduction in work‐related moral stress in the teaching arm compared with control group (p =.03); there were no significant differences between control and intervention arms in change scores for moral sensitivity, interpersonal reactivity (empathy) or ethical leadership. Qualitative data themes were as follows: ethical care; care challenges; and ethical care inhibitors. Overall findings stimulate reflection on the value of three different ethics education interventions and the most appropriate means to evaluate their impact. Findings suggest the complexity and diverse nature of ethical competence in care. We suggest a way forward for research evaluating ethics education. (shrink)

This study investigates factors impacting perceptions of ethical conduct of peers of 293 students in four US universities. Self-reported ethical behavior and recognition of emotions in others (a dimension of emotional intelligence) impacted perception of ethical behavior of peers. None of the other dimensions of emotional intelligence were significant. Age, Race, Sex, GPA, or type of major (business versus nonbusiness) did not impact perception of ethical behavior of peers. Implications of the results of the study for business schools and (...) industry professionals are discussed. (shrink)

Background Home care nurses are central in providing holistic and compassionate care to patients in home-based palliative care. Ethical caring competency is essential for home care to sustain nurses’ integrity in the face of moral adversity. Interprofessional collaboration is vital for ensuring ethical decision-making and providing patient-centered care in home-based palliative care settings. Aim This study explored the predictive roles of interprofessional collaboration and moral resilience on ethical caring competency among home care nurses in home-based palliative care. Methods A cross-sectional (...) survey of 400 nurses was conducted from October to December 2023, utilizing standardized scales to measure interprofessional collaboration, moral resilience, and ethical caring competency. A convenience sample of 400 home care nurses was also included in this study. Correlation and linear regression analysis were used to clarify the associative and predictive findings. Ethical Considerations Ethical approval from the ethics committee, institutional permission, and informed consent from the participants were obtained for data collection. Results Correlation analysis showed significant positive correlations between the ethical caring competency, interprofessional collaboration, and moral resilience constructs, with coefficients ranging from 0.482 to 0.967. Linear regression revealed that management of collaborative systems and total moral resilience significantly predict ethical caring competency, explaining 14.6% and 36.6% of its variance, respectively. Other variables, such as the effects of collaboration and communication, did not significantly influence ethical caring competency. Conclusion The study highlights the significant impact of interprofessional collaboration, particularly the management of collaborative systems and moral resilience, on enhancing ethical caring competency among nurses. Implications Enhancing interprofessional collaboration and moral resilience through targeted strategies in nursing practice and education can significantly improve ethical caring competencies. These efforts are essential for delivering high-quality, patient-centered care and for fostering a healthcare environment that respects the ethical principles guiding nursing practice. (shrink)

This study examines how our personal values influence our judgment of the morality of some workplace behaviours. Sixty-nine undergraduates were asked to rank order separately Rokeach''s instrumental and terminal values in terms of their importance as guiding principles in their life. Subjects then read four scenarios, each of which described ethically questionable behaviour of the sort that might be encountered in business. They were then asked to rate whether or not the behaviour of the person described in the scenario was (...) ethical, and whether or not they had any intentions to rectify the situation. People with different value hierarchies perceived the targeted behaviours differently. For example, subjects who valued honesty perceived the behaviour as more immoral than subjects who did not value honesty. While the ranking of the instrumental valuehonesty was the best predictor of people''s judgments about the morality of the behaviour, their ranking of the instrumental valueambition was the best predictor of their behavioural intentions. (shrink)

Future population growth is uncertain and matters for climate policy: higher growth entails more emissions and means more people will be vulnerable to climate-related impacts. We show that how future population is valued importantly determines mitigation decisions. Using the Dynamic Integrated Climate-Economy model, we explore two approaches to valuing population: a discounted version of total utilitarianism (TU), which considers total wellbeing and is standard in social cost of carbon dioxide (SCC) models, and of average utilitarianism (AU), which ignores population size (...) and sums only each time period’s discounted average wellbeing. Under both approaches, as population increases the SCC increases, but optimal peak temperature decreases. The effect is larger under TU, because it responds to the fact that a larger population means climate change hurts more people: for example, in 2025, assuming the United Nations (UN)-high rather than UN-low population scenario entails an increase in the SCC of 85% under TU vs. 5% under AU. The difference in the SCC between the two population scenarios under TU is comparable to commonly debated decisions regarding time discounting. Additionally, we estimate the avoided mitigation costs implied by plausible reductions in population growth, finding that large near-term savings ($billions annually) occur under TU; savings under AU emerge in the more distant future. These savings are larger than spending shortfalls for human development policies that may lower fertility. Finally, we show that whether lowering population growth entails overall improvements in wellbeing—rather than merely cost savings—again depends on the ethical approach to valuing population. (shrink)

This paper posits that organizational variables are the factors that lead to the moral decline of companies like Enron and Worldcom. The individuals involved created environments within the organizations that precipitated a spiral of unethical decision-making. It is proposed that at the executive level, it is the organizational factors associated with power and decision-making that have the critical influence on moral and ethical behavior. The study has used variables that were deemed to be surrogate measures of the ethical violations (OSHA (...) and EPA violations), the risky shift phenomenon (executive team size), banality of wrong-doing (reputation score for firms) and escalating commitment (tenure with the firm/change in revenue for declining firms). The research found that there were small correlations between ethical violations and the three organizational variables. (shrink)

Using professional accountants as respondents in Hong Kong, this study strives to develop a model to depict the effect of ethical reasoning on the relationships between guanxi and auditors; behaviour in an audit conflict situation. The results of the study found that (1) there is a significant relationship between an auditor's ethical judgement and one's moral cognitive development; (2) there is a relationship between an auditor's ethical judgement and the existence of guanxi; and (3) the impact of guanxi on (...) an auditor's judgement is depending on the level of ethical reasoning. (shrink)

This study examines factors impacting ethical behavior of 103 hospital nurses. The level of emotional intelligence and ethical behavior of peers had a significant impact on ethical behavior of nurses. Independence climate had a significant impact on ethical behavior of nurses. Other ethical climate types such as professional, caring, rules, instrumental, and efficiency did not impact ethical behavior of respondents. Implications of this study for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Despite regulatory reforms aimed at inhibiting aggressive financial reporting, earnings management persists and continues to concern practitioners, regulators, and standard setters. To provide insight into this practice and how to mitigate it, we conduct an experiment to examine the impact of two independent variables on CFOs’ discretionary expense accruals. One independent variable, incentive conflict, is manipulated at two levels —i.e., the presence or absence of a personal financial incentive that conflicts with a corporate financial incentive. The other independent variable (...) is CFOs’ earnings management ethics, measured as their assessment of the ethicalness of key earnings management motivations. We find that incentive conflict and EM-Ethics interact to determine CFOs’ discretionary accruals such that in the presence of incentive conflict, CFOs with low EM-Ethics tend to give into the personal incentive by booking higher expense accruals; and in the absence of an incentive conflict, CFOs with low EM-Ethics tend to give into the corporate incentive by booking lower expense accruals. We also find support for a mediated-moderation model in which CFOs’ level of EM-Ethics influences their moral disengagement tendencies which, in turn, differentially affect their discretionary accruals, depending on the presence or absence of incentive conflict. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. (shrink)

ABSTRACT Researchers have increasingly acknowledged that affect plays a role in ethical decision making. However, the impact that specific affective states may have on the expression of decision biases in the context of ethical dilemmas has received limited empirical attention. To address this, the present effort examined the impact of happy and sad affective states on biases in ethical decision making. In an online experiment, undergraduate students read short stories that either induced happy, sad, or relaxed affective states, (...) followed by a covert measure of three types of biases held to inhibit ethical decision making. Results demonstrated that happy affective states increased the expression of regulation biases, and sad affective states increased the expression of simplification biases, compared to relaxed affective states. Implications are discussed for advancing research on ethical decision making and reducing unethical behavior in organizations. (shrink)

Background The impact of healthcare ethics educational interventions on participants’ ethical development is rarely reported on and assessed; even less attention is paid to educational interventions that focus on end-of-life ethical issues. Aim To evaluate the impact of the Ethical Framework for End-of-Life Care Study Sessions Programme ( EOLCSS) on the moral development of healthcare staff who are delivering end-of-life care. Methods The EOLCSS was delivered to 20 multi-disciplinary health care staff in Ireland in May 2013. Effect (...) on moral reasoning was measured pre and post education using the Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT2). Inferential statistics were used to examine the relationships between change in DIT2 scores and demographic variables. Results Participants experienced moral reasoning development following receipt of EOLCSS. Age and previous ethics education contributed to the observed changes in moral reasoning. Conclusions Receipt of the EOLCSS may contribute to moral reasoning development in practicing healthcare professionals. (shrink)

Aims and background: The present work assessed the impact of two decrees on ethics committees in Italy, aimed at bringing the national laws on the conduct of clinical trials into line with the rest of the EC, and regulating and facilitating not-for-profit research.Material and methods: Prospectively collected data from an Italian multicentre study were examined with respect to the ethics review process. Administrative and time elements of the review process were audited. Main outcome measures were time between (...) the application submission and the ethics committee definitive opinion, type and number of application submission forms, number of ethics committees that refused fee exemption, and time between the ethics committee approval and the administrative authorisation.Results: A total of 134 local research ethics committees were approached. Application submission procedures and application forms varied greatly; paper submission was mandatory. The median time from submission to approval was 72 days. Only two LRECs refused the fee exemption. The median time from LREC approval to administrative agreement was 50 days and only 9.6% of local authorities came to a verbal agreement with the sponsor.Conclusions: Italian LRECs are still not sufficiently efficient in complying with the Directive 2001/20/EC requirement . Better coordination of LRECs work is needed although the optimal level of coordination between them is still not known. In the meantime, national guidelines are needed concerning the application of Directive 2001/20/EC. The behaviour of Italian LRECs towards not-for-profit research was excellent although only the fee exemption was requested. (shrink)

The aim of this study was to get a deeper understanding of student nurses’ experiences of personal caring ethics by reflection on caring encounters with patients in clinical practice, ethical caring ideals, ethical problems, and sources for inner strength that give courage to practice good caring. In all, 24 Scandinavian student nurses participated voluntarily in an interview study. The interviews were analyzed within a phenomenological–hermeneutical approach and revealed three themes. The students found themselves in two different states of vulnerability: (...) one in which they were overwhelmed by their vulnerability and began to suffer themselves and the other where their vulnerability became a source of development with focus on the patient. The students’ ethical caring ideals served as fixed reference points in their ethical development, but their ideals were at risk of decline. The students reflected on the barriers for performing ethical care and nurtured their ethical ideals by providing ethical care in secret. Caring in secret occurred also when student nurses did not experience a shared ethos. (shrink)

In a sample of 522 police officers and staff in an English police force, we investigated the role of authoritarian leadership in reducing the levels of employee ethical voice. Drawing upon uncertainty management theory, we found that authoritarian leadership was negatively related to employee ethical voice through increased levels of felt uncertainty, when the effects of a motivational-based mechanism suggested by previous studies were controlled. In addition, we found that the negative relationship between authoritarian leadership and employee ethical voice via (...) felt uncertainty is mitigated by higher levels of benevolent leadership. That is, when authoritarian leaders simultaneously exhibit benevolence, they are less likely to cause feelings of uncertainty in their followers who are then more likely to speak up about unethical issues. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of the findings. (shrink)

In recent years there has been a substantial amount of research on emotional intelligence (EI) across a wide range of disciplines. Also, this term has been receiving increasing attention in the popular business press. This article extends previous research by seeking to determine whether there is a relationship between emotional intelligence and ethical judgment among practicing managers with respect to questions of ethical nature that can arise in their professional activity. It analyzes the results of a survey of 324 managers (...) enrolled in executive MBA programs from five universities in the southeastern and northeastern United States. This study is based on a model presented by Forsyth showing two dimensions that play an important role in ethical evaluation and behavior. Respondents were classified into one of four groups according to their idealism and relativism levels—situationists, subjectivists, absolutists, and exceptionists. The four ideological group’s scores were compared. The results indicate significant differences between the situationists and absolutists on the one hand, and subjectivists and exceptionists on the other. The former’s emotional intelligence scores were significantly higher thus demonstrating a strong relationship between emotional intelligence and ethical ideology. The results raise important implications for practitioners and educators. (shrink)