RT Article
T1 Code and Conduct: Predictors of Irsih Managers' Ethical Reasoning
JF Journal of business ethics
VO 22
IS 4
SP 311
OP 326
A1 Stohs, Joanne Hoven
A1 Brannick, Teresa
LA English
PB Springer Science + Business Media B. V
YR 1999
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/178561312X
AB We analyse Irish managers' perceptions about the degree of wrongness of ten types of unethical conduct. In-person interviews with 348 managing directors of Irish-owned businesses who report their perceptions of the degree of wrongness of ten business ethics problems (the dependent variables) yield the data for our study. Predictors of managers' ratings include the existence of a business code of ethics, perceived frequency of occurrence of the given acts, company size and sector, union membership, Irish business ownership and independence (the independent variables). Results indicate that approximately 75% of those sampled are independent Irish owned businesses but few (only 22% of this sample) have a formal business code. Regression analyses reveal that small firms with a code of ethics predict higher wrongness ratings for managers in regard to the practices of unfair pricing and delayed payments (unethical behavior involving firms) but managers also consider such acts the least wrong overall. Wrongness ratings on the eight remaining unethical acts are explained by the manufacturing sector. However, manufacturing firms in Ireland also have a high percentage of unionised workers indicating that unions influence managerial thinking about social and employee ethics (e.g., discrimination, insider trading). The traditional adversarial Industrial Relations model is useful in noting that unions are important in setting ethical standards for indigenous Irish-owned businesses. Given this reality, management in small, manufacturing firms should work with unions to create a more formal ethics code in order to guard against corruption and to remain competitive in the international marketplace. Those without strong unions might articulate their own organisational values.
K1 Union Membership
K1 Business Ownership
K1 Industrial Relation
K1 Unethical Behavior
K1 Business Ethic
DO 10.1023/A:1006017724977