Perceived ethicality of moral choice

Abstract

Purpose Motivated by the heated discussion with regard to the Chinese milk powder incident, this paper aims to explore the determinants of Chinese managers’ moral judgment. Are Chinese professional managers’ moral judgments on an ethical dilemma influenced by their commitment to the norms and values recognized by a prestigious professional association outside of China? Do Chinese managers’ moral development and level of relativism impact their ethical decisions? Design/methodology/approach A structured survey was conducted, generating 544 valid responses from Chinese managers. Findings The results showed that moral maturity and relativism, independently and together, were significantly related to Chinese managers’ moral judgment on a hypothetical business dilemma, though no significant effect was found for their commitment to ethics codes. Originality/value The findings confirm the important role of moral development and relativism in Chinese mangers’ moral judgment and suggest the need for further research on the impact of professional ethics codes.

Religious feeling, morality and ethical feelings: the case study on Indonesia

“…Chao et al, (2016) described moral judgment as a result of moral reasoning. It was defined as process of understanding the situation, recognizing ethical issues and dilemmas, and arriving at moral judgment (Chao et al, 2016;Shawver & Sennetti, 2009). It can be said that moral reasoning is a decision-making process.…”

“…Wotruba (1990) stressed three major purposes of establishing the code of ethics: to state organizations concerned of ethical issues, share and transfer of organizational value to its members, and influencing the behavior of organization members. Despite the various benefits of having the formal code of ethics, the scholars argued that the established rules of ethical guidelines are not sufficient in shaping the individual behavior (Chao, Li, & Chen, 2016;Somers, 2001). In order to strengthen the codes, each organization member should have commitment to the professional code of ethics (Chao et al, 2016) and blend it with other organizational system.…”

“…It is believed to be able to reduce turnover intention (Mohamed, Taylor, & Hassan, 2006;Vandenberghe & Tremblay, 2008), enhance work motivation (Kaur, 2017), and increase http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ppm. 16 (4).2018.37…”

“…Although literatures have sound consistency regarding the effect of moral development, the issues might be distinct when associated with moral maturity. Instead differing people with a certain level, moral maturity focused on ability to distinguish right from wrong and willingness to act morally (Chao et al, 2016;Mujtaba & Sims, 2006;Philibert, 1982). Mature people might have better judgment on moral issues and stronger commitment to formal code of ethics.…”

“…This study was partially inspired by the work of Chao et al (2016). Instead of considering commitment to codes of ethics, as a consequence, they used it as predictors of moral judgment.…”