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Individual ethical beliefs and perceived organizational interests

  • Business Ethics In Education 2
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Abstract

Two contrasting types of individuals were each predicted to agree, for different reasons, that conventional ethical standards of society need not be upheld if organizational interests appear to demand otherwise. The hypotheses were investigated using questionnaire responses from two samples (employed and student, total N=308). Clear support was obtained for the prediction that individuals inclined toward self-interest and behavior counter to conventional standards would agree with the preceding position. Partial support was obtained for the hypothesis that individuals who simply feel obligated to support an employing organization would also agree. While the latter's perspective may be somewhat narrow or perhaps even cynical, they do not seem to reflect the self-interest profile of the first group. This study also extends the groundbreaking work of Froelich and Kottke by exploring individual difference correlates of their promising ethics scale assessing the extent of agreement that organizational interests legitimately supersede more conventional ethical standards.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wayne State University, 48202, Detroit, Michigan, USA

    Peter E. Mudrack & E. Sharon Mason

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  1. Peter E. Mudrack
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  2. E. Sharon Mason
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Peter E. Mudrack is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management and Organization Sciences at Wayne State University's School of Business Administration, Detroit, Michigan, 48202, U.S.A.

E. Sharon Mason is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management, Marketing, and HRM at Broke University's Faculty of Business, St. Catharines, Ontario, L2S 3A1, Canada.

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Mudrack, P.E., Mason, E.S. Individual ethical beliefs and perceived organizational interests. J Bus Ethics 15, 851–861 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00381853

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