A Comparative Study of Ethical Perceptions of Managers and Non–Managers

This study provides a comparison of the ethical perceptions of managers and non-managers, including professionals, teachers, sales persons and clerks, as well as technical and plant workers. Data of working individuals were collected in Hong Kong in the form of questionnaires which contain vignettes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of business ethics 2009-04, Vol.88 (Suppl 1), p.167-183
Main Authors: Siu, Noel Y. M., Lam, Kit-Chun Joanna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business and Management
Business Ethics
Business management
Christian ethics
Cognitive dissonance
Comparative analysis
Deontological ethics
deontological views
Education
Employees
Ethical behavior
Ethical codes
ethical perceptions
Ethics
Financial management
Incentive plans
Income
Management
Manager behavior
Managers
nature of organizations
non-managers
Nonprofit organizations
Occupations
Ontology
Opinion
Organizations
Perception
Perceptions
Philosophy
Political power
Professional ethics
Professional identity
Professionals
Quality of Life Research
Social ethics
Studies
Values
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Summary:This study provides a comparison of the ethical perceptions of managers and non-managers, including professionals, teachers, sales persons and clerks, as well as technical and plant workers. Data of working individuals were collected in Hong Kong in the form of questionnaires which contain vignettes of questionable ethical issues. Factor analysis was used to identify the major ethical dimensions which were then used as the basis of comparison. Regression analyses were used to study the effect of various variables on ethical perceptions in terms of the identified dimensions. Our study reviews that managers tend to possess deontological views that are more ethical than that found in other occupations. The gap between managers and professionals in perceiving unethical behavior is narrower compared to that between the former and individuals in other occupations. The acceptability of unethical behavior tends to decline with income. Besides, there are indications that people working in non-profit organizations tend to have higher ethical standards. Based on our results, recommendations are made to improve the ethical culture of organizations.
ISSN:0167-4544
1573-0697
DOI:10.1007/s10551-008-9824-y