Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T06:32:50.809Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Idealism, Gender and Business Decisions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2015

Eva E. Tsahuridu  and
Elizabeth Walker
Eva E. Tsahuridu
Affiliation:
Edith Cowan University, Faculty of Business & Public Management, School of Management, Pearson Street, Churchlands WA 6018, Australia, Phone: +61 8 9442 1944, Fax: +61 8 9273 8754, Email: [email protected] and [email protected]
Elizabeth Walker
Affiliation:
Edith Cowan University, Faculty of Business & Public Management, School of Management, Pearson Street, Churchlands WA 6018, Australia, Phone: +61 8 9442 1944, Fax: +61 8 9273 8754, Email: [email protected] and [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The present study examined women and men's ethical ideologies, as measured by a shorter version of Forsyth's (1980) Ethics Position Questionnaire and individual beliefs about ethical behaviour in organisations using Froelich and Kottke's (1991) instrument. Froelich and Kottke's questions suggest actions that are inconsistent with societal moral values. The sample (N=662) consisted of tertiary students in two Western Australian universities. The data revealed that women are less likely to undertake ethically questionable activities to support and / or protect the organisation. Women are also found to have a more idealistic orientation than men, which partially explains the previous findings. In this study, women are less likely to emphasise organisational interests over societal ethical values.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , 2001 , pp. 53 - 62
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Arlow, P (1991) ‘Personal characteristics in college students' evaluations of business ethics and corporate social responsibility’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 10 No 1 pp 63–69CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnett, JH and Karson, MJ (1989) ‘Managers, values, and executive decisions: An exploration of the role of gender, career stage, organizational level, function, and the importance of ethics, relationships and results in managerial decision-making’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 8 No 10 pp 747–771CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berenbeim, RE (1988) Corporate ethics (900) New York: The Conference BoardGoogle Scholar
Borkowski, SC and Ugras, YJ (1998) ‘Business students and ethics: A meta-analysis’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 17 No 11 pp 1117–1127CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brady, FN and Wheeler, GE (1996) ‘An empirical study of ethical predispositions’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 15 No 9 pp 927–940CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calas, MB and Smircich, L (1999) ‘Past postmodernism? Reflections and tentative directions’ Academy of Management Review Vol 24 No 4 pp 649–671CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coakes, SJ and Steed, LG (1999) SPSS: Analysis without anguish: Versions 7.0, 7.5, 8.0 Brisbane: John Wiley & Sons Australia LtdGoogle Scholar
Colby, A and Kohlberg, L (1987) The measurement of moral judgement Vol 1 Cambridge: Cambridge University PressGoogle Scholar
Dahler-Larsen, P (1994) ‘Corporate culture and morality: Durkheim-inspired reflections on the limits of corporate culture’ Journal of Management Studies Vol 31 No 1 pp 1–18CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De George, RT (1990) Business ethics (3rd ed) New York: Macmillan Publishing CompanyGoogle Scholar
Donaldson, T and Dunfee, TW (1994) ‘Toward a unified conception of business ethics: Integrative social contract theory’ Academy of Management Review Vol 19 No 2 pp 252–284CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ely, RJ (1995) ‘The power of demography: Women's social construction of gender identity at work’ Academy of Management Journal Vol 38 No 3 pp 589–634Google Scholar
Etzioni, A (1996) ‘A moderate communitarian proposal’ Politicai Theory Vol 24 No 2 pp 155–171CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finegan, J (1994) ‘The impact of personal values on judgements of ethical behavior in the workplace’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 13 No 9 pp 747–755CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ford, RC and Richardson, WD (1994) ‘Ethical decision making: A review of the empirical literature’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 13 No 3 pp 205–221CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forsyth, DR (1980) ‘A taxonomy of ethical ideologies’ Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Vol 39 No 1 pp 175–184CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forsyth, DR, Nye, JL and Kelley, K (1988) Idealism, relativism, and the ethic of caring’ The Journal of Psychology Vol 122 No 3 pp 243–248CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forsyth, DR (1992) ‘Judging the morality of business practices: The influence of personal moral philosophies’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 11 No 5/6 pp 461–470CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Froelich, KS and Kottke, JL (1991) ‘Measuring individual beliefs about organizational ethics’ Educational and Psychological Measurement Vol 51 No 2 pp 377–383CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gemmill, G and Oakley, J (1997) ‘Leadership: An alienating social myth?’ in Grint, K (ed) Leadership: Classical, contemporary, and critical approaches New York, NY: Oxford University Press pp 272–288Google Scholar
Giacalone, RA, Fricker, S and Beard, JW (1995) ‘The impact of ethical ideology on modifiers of ethical decisions and suggested punishment for ethical infractions’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 14 No 7 pp 497–510CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilligan, C (1982) In a different voice: Psychological theory and women s development Cambridge MA: Harvard University PressGoogle Scholar
Gioia, DA (1992) ‘Pinto fires and personal ethics: A script analysis of missed opportunities’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 11 No 5/6 pp 379–389CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hampshire, S (1978) ‘Public and private morality’ in Hampshire, S (ed) Public and private morality Cambridge: Cambridge University Press pp 23–54CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoffman, JJ (1998) ‘Are women really more ethical than men? Maybe it depends on the situation’ Journal of Managerial Issues Vol 10 No 1 pp 60–73Google Scholar
Hunt, SD and Vitell, S (1986) ‘A general theory of marketing ethics’ Journal of Macromarketing Vol 6 No 1 pp 5–16CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunt, TG and Jennings, DF (1997) ‘Ethics and performance: a simulation analysis of team decision making’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 16 No 2 pp 195–203CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, TM and Gautschi, FH (1988) ‘Will the ethics of business change? A survey of future executives’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 7 No 4 pp 231–248CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, TM and Verstegen Ryan, L (1997) ‘The link between ethical judgment and action in organizations: A moral approbation approach’ Organization Science Vol 8 No 6 pp 663–680CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kreie, J and Cronan, TP (1998) ‘How men and women view ethics’ Communications of the ACM Vol 41 No 9pp 70–76CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Longenecker, JG, McKinney, JA and Moore, CW (1989) ‘Ethics in small business’ Journal of Small Business Management Vol 27 No 1 pp 27–31Google Scholar
Mudrack, PE and Mason, ES (1996) ‘Individual ethical beliefs and perceived organizational interests’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 15 No 8 pp 851–861CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nesteruk, J (1991) ‘Legal persons and moral worlds: Ethical choices within the corporate environment’ American Business Law Journal Vol 29 No 1 pp 75–97CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Primeaux, P and Beckley, J (1999) ‘Double bookkeeping: hierarchical obedience and participative cooperation’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 19 No 1 pp 123–136CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schminke, M and Ambrose, ML (1997) ‘Asymmetric perceptions of ethical frameworks of men and women in business and nonbusiness settings’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 16 No 7 pp 719–729CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schminke, M, Ambrose, ML and Noel, TW (1997) ‘The effect of ethical frameworks on perceptions of organizational justice’ Academy of Management Journal Vol 40 No 5 pp 1190–1207Google Scholar
Schminke, M (1997) ‘Gender differences in ethical frameworks and evaluation of others' choices in ethical dilemmas’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 16 No 1 pp 55–65CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singer, M (1997) Ethics and Justice in Organisations Aldershot: AveburyGoogle Scholar
Small, MW (1992) ‘Attitudes towards business ethics held by Western Australian students: A comparative study’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 11 No 10 pp 745–752CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soutar, GN, McNeil, MM and Molster, C (1994) ‘The impact of the work environment on ethical decision making: Some Australian evidence’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 13 No 5 pp 327–339CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soutar, GN, McNeil, MM and Molster, C (1995) ‘A management perspective on business ethics’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 14 No 8 pp 603–611CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tabachnick, BG and Fidell, LS (1996) Using Multivariate Statistics New York: Harper CollinsGoogle Scholar
Tsahuridu, EE and McKenna, R (2000) ‘Moral autonomy in organisational decisions’ in Rahim, AM, Golembiewski, RT and MacKenzie, KD (eds) Current Topics in Management Vol 5 Stamford: JAI Press pp 167–185Google Scholar
Weeks, WA, Moore, CW, McKinney, JA and Longenecker, JG (1999) ‘The effects of gender and career stage on ethical judgment’ Journal of Business Ethics Vol 20 No 4 pp 301–313CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wheeler, GF and Brady, N (1998) ‘Do public-sector and private sector personnel have different ethical dispositions? A study of two sites’ Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory Vol 8 No 1 pp 93–115CrossRefGoogle Scholar