How Outcome Information Affects Ethical Attitudes and Intentions to Behave

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary M. Fleischman ◽  
Sean R. Valentine
Keyword(s):  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
Reasoned Action ◽  
Ethical Reasoning ◽  
Organizational Outcomes ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Ethical Attitudes ◽  
Outcome Information ◽  
Randomized Experimental Design ◽  
Behavior Shift ◽  
Channel Stuffing

ABSTRACT The purpose of this experiment is to examine how outcome information affects individual ethical attitudes and intentions to behave. In the present study, a scenario manager employs revenue manipulation by prematurely forcing a product through distribution channels. This investigation employs a 1 × 3 between-subjects and randomized experimental design where the scenario manager's unethical behavior is associated with three behavior-based organizational outcomes: favorable, moderately unfavorable, and unfavorable. We model individual ethical reasoning using the expanded Theory of Reasoned Action. Our findings suggest that the theory provides an appropriate and parsimonious fit for modeling individual ethical reasoning in the channel stuffing context. Specifically, we also find that as organizational outcomes of the scenario manager's coercive behavior shift from unfavorable to favorable, participants judge unethical behavior less harshly, a concerning finding for regulators and policymakers. These findings have significant implications for new revenue recognition standards, such as IFRS 15 and ASC 606. Data Availability: Data available upon request. Please contact the authors.

scholarly journals Compliance With Sarbanes-Oxley Requires Formal Ethics Training: Are You Doing It?

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Galla ◽  
Frank Cavico ◽  
Bahaudin Mujtaba
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
Ethical Reasoning ◽  
Training Model ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Development Theory ◽  
Ethical Business ◽  
Business Training ◽  
Sarbanes Oxley ◽  
Four Component Model

This paper focuses on the business environment post Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). The premise of this paper is that after decades of an eroding of regulations to prevent corporate and personal self-serving behavior, the legislation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) is not enough to prevent unethical behavior. Kohlberg’s moral development theory states that cognitive ethical reasoning becomes more complex as one matures and gains cognitive processes. This theory assumes anyone with lower-order ethical reasoning is not able to process higher-order ethical reasoning. The theory is another indication that high ethical standards exhibited today do not guarantee the same standards tomorrow. Ethics theories and Rest’s four-component model is briefly discussed. This paper concludes with an ethical business training model which can serve as a guideline for accessing and improving individual organizational ethics standards of ethical behavior.

Physicians and caregivers do differ in ethical attitudes to daily clinical practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 209-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrik Kjærsdam Telléus ◽  
Dorte Møller Holdgaard ◽  
Birthe Thørring
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Ethical Reasoning ◽  
Relational Ethics ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Factorial Survey ◽  
Ethical Attitudes ◽  
Deontological Ethics ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Significant Support

It is commonly assumed that there are differences in physicians’ and caregivers’ ethical attitudes towards clinical situations. The assumption is that the difference is driven by different values, views and judgements in specific situations. At Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark, we aimed to investigate these assumptions by conducting a large quantitative study. The study design, based on the Factorial Survey Method, was a carefully constructed survey with 50 questions designed to test which factors influenced the respondents’ ethical reasoning. The factors were clustered into three categories of ethical reasoning and values. The categories were formulated in terms of easily recognizable ethical positions: consequential ethics, deontological ethics and relational ethics. Based on 2129 respondents, we found significant support for the assumption of differences between physicians and caregivers. The group of caregivers favoured the relational ethics view in clinical ethical situations, and the group of physicians favoured the position of deontological ethics.

Analysis of the moral mechanism to purchase counterfeit luxury goods: evidence from China

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 647-669 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yushi Jiang ◽  
Miao Miao ◽  
Tariq Jalees ◽  
Syed Imran Zaman
Keyword(s):  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Reasoned Action ◽  
Ethical Reasoning ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Luxury Brands ◽  
Chinese Market ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Commitment ◽  
Luxury Products

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to extend the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behaviour to measure the effects of ethical and moral antecedents (e.g. integrity, moral judgement, extrinsic religiosity and intrinsic religiosity, and ethical concern) on attitudes towards counterfeit luxury products. Additionally, it also measured the effects on attitudes towards purchase intention. Design/methodology/approach The scope of the study is the Chinese market. The sample size for the study was 412 participants, and data were collected through established scales and measures. Structural equation modelling was used to test the developed model. Findings All the developed hypotheses were accepted. All the antecedents negatively affect attitudes towards counterfeit luxury products. At the same time, attitude has a positive effect on purchase intention. The results are consistent with those of earlier studies. Research limitations/implications Samples were gathered from just a single region in southwest China, which limits the generalisability of the discoveries. As past research in fake goods buying has done, future investigations relating to this situation in the domain of ethical reasoning should accumulate samples from other regions of China as well, as customer perception relating to profound morality and counterfeit Purchase Intention may change from region to region. Practical implications A few customers hold the opinion that luxury brands are lucrative because of the excessive costs of their products and therefore feel vindicated in buying counterfeits (Penz and Stottinger, 2005). Combatting this conviction requires luxury brand managers to endorse effective moral ideals and social commitment messages to prevail upon purchasers. Social implications A few customers trust that they are helping local people, such as the peddlers who offer the fakes or the producers who make these goods, suggesting in a way that a few individuals have positive attitudes towards these type of counterfeit goods sold locally. For such customers, there can be marketing messages that can show them the other side of the issue, such as the lost sales and loss caused to the organisations, which result in people becoming jobless because of their actions. Originality/value The primary goal of the study is to explore the relationship between the moral measurements of consumers and their attitudes and purchase intentions in the Chinese market.

Outcome Feedback, Incentives, and Performance: Evidence from a Relatively Complex Forecasting Task

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Buchheit ◽  
Derek Dalton ◽  
Tom Downen ◽  
Sonja Pippin
Keyword(s):  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Feedback Loop ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Improve Performance ◽  
Outcome Feedback ◽  
Outcome Information ◽  
Business Events ◽  
And Performance

ABSTRACT This study extends prior research by examining a fairly common sequence of business events: numeric outcome information is produced and reviewed, decisions are influenced by this information, and the process repeats (i.e., a feedback loop occurs). We find that incentivized decision makers exhibit substantial decision improvement after only one iteration of summary outcome feedback. In contrast, other between-subjects groups fail to improve performance across iterations of Luft and Shields' (2001) forecasting task. Our results suggest that financial incentives and outcome feedback are both critical to performance improvement in relatively complex iterative tasks. When either incentives or feedback is absent, performance suffers. While prior research has found outcome feedback relatively ineffective at improving complex task performance, our results indicate that outcome feedback and incentives complement each other to improve performance. We believe exploring the interaction of incentives and feedback offers interesting avenues for future accounting research. Data Availability: Study data are available from the authors upon request.

scholarly journals An Exploration of Factors Influencing Ethical and Unethical Behavior in Negotiations

2005 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory M. Perry ◽  
Patricia A. Duffy ◽  
Clair J. Nixon ◽  
Lindon J. Robison
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Agricultural Economics ◽  
Land Grant Universities ◽  
Ethical Attitudes ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Survey Technique ◽  
Regression Techniques ◽  
Economics Journals

The issue of ethics has received little notice in agricultural economics journals. This study utilized a survey technique to reveal the ethical attitudes among some 500 students at four Land Grant Universities. The data were analyzed using multiple regression techniques. Individuals negotiating with strangers were more willing to use questionable ethical tactics. Women, individuals who were cooperative rather than competitive in negotiation situations, and those who regularly attended religious services were consistently less willing to use questionable ethics in negotiation. The size of the individual's hometown and family income had no clear impact on ethical attitudes in negotiations.

scholarly journals The golden rule of morality – an ethical paradox

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 5-13
Author(s):  
Tibor Máhrik
Keyword(s):  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Ethical Reasoning ◽  
Golden Rule ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ethical Attitudes ◽  
Practical Guide ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Ethical Perspectives

Abstract This paper focuses on the dynamics of ethical perspectives that embody the Golden Rule of Morality. Based on critical analysis of this rule in various cultural and religious contexts, but also from the perspective of humanism, the author presents its paradoxical character, the essence of which is interpreted here in terms of a pointer to metaphysical reality. It turns out that social conditionality, as well as the self-referential concept as a starting point of any ethical reasoning, are serious epistemological challenges for the application of the Golden Rule in the position of universal normativity that this study addresses. On the other hand, Judeo-Christian cosmology and the related basis for ethical foundations is presented here as an inspirational space of ethical reasoning in which the paradoxical character of the Golden Rule becomes rather an indicator of a deeper metaethical interpretation of one's own particular ethical attitudes and outcomes than a practical guide to the discovery of ethical universals.

Undesirable Effects of Goal Setting on Perceived Fairness, Commitment, and Unethical Behavior

2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Keith
Keyword(s):  
Goal Setting ◽  
Unethical Behavior ◽  
The United States ◽  
Goal Commitment ◽  
Management Technique ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Perceived Fairness ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
And Performance

Abstract. The positive effects of goal setting on motivation and performance are among the most established findings of industrial–organizational psychology. Accordingly, goal setting is a common management technique. Lately, however, potential negative effects of goal-setting, for example, on unethical behavior, are increasingly being discussed. This research replicates and extends a laboratory experiment conducted in the United States. In one of three goal conditions (do-your-best goals, consistently high goals, increasingly high goals), 101 participants worked on a search task in five rounds. Half of them (transparency yes/no) were informed at the outset about goal development. We did not find the expected effects on unethical behavior but medium-to-large effects on subjective variables: Perceived fairness of goals and goal commitment were least favorable in the increasing-goal condition, particularly in later goal rounds. Results indicate that when designing goal-setting interventions, organizations may consider potential undesirable long-term effects.

Daily Fluctuations in Work Engagement

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 227-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold B. Bakker
Keyword(s):  
Job Performance ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Research Evidence ◽  
Organizational Outcomes ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Proactive Behavior ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
Work Pressure ◽  
Diary Research

This article presents an overview of the literature on daily fluctuations in work engagement. Daily work engagement is a state of vigor, dedication, and absorption that is predictive of important organizational outcomes, including job performance. After briefly discussing enduring work engagement, the advantages of diary research are discussed, as well as the concept and measurement of daily work engagement. The research evidence shows that fluctuations in work engagement are a function of the changes in daily job and personal resources. Particularly on the days that employees have access to many resources, they are able to cope well with their daily job demands (e.g., work pressure, negative events), and likely interpret these demands as challenges. Furthermore, the literature review shows that on the days employees have sufficient levels of job control, they proactively try to optimize their work environment in order to stay engaged. This proactive behavior is called job crafting and predicts momentary and daily work engagement. An important additional finding is that daily engagement has a reciprocal relationship with daily recovery. On the days employees recover well, they feel more engaged; and engagement during the day is predictive of subsequent recovery. Finding the daily balance between engagement while at work and detachment while at home seems the key to enduring work engagement.

Explaining Planned Behavior and Reasoned Action

PsycCRITIQUES ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 55 (31) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eddie M. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Planned Behavior ◽  
Reasoned Action
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