Company–customer conflicts and ethical decision-making of life insurance agents: the role of ethics institutionalization

PurposeFor the financial service industry, company–customer conflict is a topic that deserves special attention. This study explores the impacts of ethics institutionalization on the life insurance agents' ethical decision-making under the company–customer conflicts.Design/methodology/approachTwo types of company–customer conflicts are studied. In one situation, selling the life insurance product is profitable to the life insurance company, but the product is unsuitable for the customer. In another situation, selling the life insurance product is unprofitable to the life insurance company, while the product will fully satisfy the customer's interests. The study selects Taiwan's full-time life insurance agents as a sample.FindingsThe main results show that implicit ethics institutionalization has a stronger influence on teleological evaluations and deontological evaluations. This study then finds that different types of company–customer conflicts would change the influences of teleological evaluations on ethical intentions and cause different influences of implicit ethics institutionalization on teleological evaluations and deontological evaluations.Originality/valueEthics institutionalization and company–customer conflicts are important issues in the literature. This is the first study to discuss the roles that ethics institutionalization and company–customer conflicts play in the ethical decision-making of life insurance agents.

The Effects of Ethics Institutionalization on Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Mediating Effects of Organizational Commitment and Moderating Effects of Psychological Empowerment

Many of organization implement code of conduct as an explicit guidance to help employees knowing the standard of ethics from management“s viewpoints, with the aim to gain productivity achieving organization“s goal. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of ethics institutionalization on organizational citizenship behavior and to analyze the role of organizational commitment in mediating the impact of ethics institutionalization on organizational citizenship behavior with psychological empowerment as a moderator in one of State Institution in Indonesia. This research will use a quantitative approach with online survey method to 250 respondents which were determined by purposive sampling method. Respondents come from employees of XYZ State Institution who already work at the institution for minimum 2 years. Based on analysis from preliminary literature, it can be concluded that all variables used in this research are valid, reliable and having correlation with each others. This research is still on progress and result will be discussed further. Keywords: Institutionalization of Ethics, Explicit Ethics Institutionalization, Implicit Ethics Institutionalization, Organizational Commitment, Psychological Empowerment, Organizational Citizenship Behavior

The role of explicit ethics institutionalization and management accountability in influencing newcomer trust

Purpose It was common for newcomers to organizations to feel anxiety and uncertainty. Yet, gaining the newcomers’ trust may contribute to solving these problems. The purpose of this paper is to explore the impacts of explicit ethics institutionalization and management accountability on newcomer trust in manager and company. Design/methodology/approach A sample of novice salespeople in the life insurance companies in Taiwan was used to investigate the relationships among the constructs. Findings It was found that newcomers’ recognition of explicit ethics institutionalization was positively associated with the newcomers’ perception of management accountability, and the perception was positively related to trust in manager and company. Practical implications Explicit ethics institutionalization and management accountability could play an important role in enhancing newcomer trust. Thus, it was suggested that researchers and managers should focus on these issues and considered how explicit ethics institutionalization and management accountability could be enhanced in the workplace. Originality/value Newcomer distrust may lead to newcomer job dissatisfaction and newcomer turnover behaviors. This research examines the mediating role of management accountability in the relationship between explicit ethics institutionalization and newcomer trust.

Ethics And Compliance Whistleblowing Systems In Hungarian Large Companies

In this research we were looking for the answer to the question whether ethics and compliance whistleblowing systems operating in developed countries can also work in large companies in a central European formerly socialist country where on the one hand ethics institutionalization dates back to a shorter period of time and on the other hand people associate whistleblowing systems with the network of informers and if so, how do they work. The aims of this study are: (1) to introduce the theoretical background the concepts of whistle blowing, (2) to describe the results of international and domestic researches regarding whistleblowing systems, and (3) to use quantitative research methods to investigate the characteristics of whistleblowing systems in large Hungarian companies. The empirical survey indicates that company whistleblowing systems work less efficiently in practice in the surveyed company range which might refer to the deficiency in the external and internal ethics communication as well as to the low level of trust.

Ethics in Management and Institutionalization of Ethics

Throughout world economies, place and role of government and public sector have weakened over time, and on the other hand, efficiency, function, and responsibility of the business world and private sector have increased on the global market system. In addition, changing and developing socio-cultural structure has increased social sensitivity stakeholders' consciousness and importance given to ethic values due to increasing social necessities. Ethics turned out to be one of the most important management subjects for entities and governors in the business world. Ethical performance and ethical quality of enterprises are also important for social responsibility towards all stakeholders, enterprises' ethical values, reputation of the enterprise, increasing brand value of goods produced or service provided, providing trust and support of investors, customers, and the public. In this context, ethics, managerial ethics, institutionalization of ethics, and importance of ethical principles in enterprises in terms of corporate managerial principles are evaluated in this chapter.