scholarly journals Effect of ethical ideologies on ethical judgment of future accountants: Malaysian evidence

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suhaiza Ismail

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of ethical ideologies on ethical judgments of future Malaysian accountants in general situations and based on the legality of the situations. The examination covers the relationships of both the specific ethical dimension (i.e. idealism and relativism) and the specific categories of ideology (i.e. absolutist and subjectivist) on ethical judgments. Design/methodology/approach – Using a questionnaire survey that comprises Ethical Position Questionnaire and ethical dilemma vignettes, 396 usable responses were received. In achieving the objectives, multivariate analysis of variance, correlations and univariate analysis of variance were performed. Findings – The study discovered a significant impact of ethical ideology on judgments regardless of the legality of the cases. In addition, the study found a significant positive and negative impact of idealism and relativism, respectively, on ethical judgment. Moreover, the study reported that absolutists are stricter whilst situationists are more lenient in making ethical judgments compared to other ideologies. Originality/value – The present study investigated the effect of ethical ideologies on ethical judgment, in general, as well as the effect on ethical judgment based on the legality of the ethical dilemma. This study also considered the effect of the two dimensions of ethical ideology – idealism and relativism – on ethical judgment and captured the four categories of ideology based on the taxonomy of ethical ideologies.

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Carriger

Purpose Much has been written in both the management and finance literatures about the impact of downsizing on the financial health and market valuation of companies. However, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the frequency of downsizing and the impact of frequent downsizings. The purpose of this paper is to look at trends in downsizing, asking the question are companies that downsize once more likely to downsize again. The paper also looks at the impact of frequent downsizing, asking the question are frequent downsizers differentially impacted compared to less frequent downsizers. Design/methodology/approach Companies that appeared on the Fortune 500 in 2014 and were also on the list in 2008 were assessed for the impact of repeat downsizings on financial measures (profitability, efficiency, debt, and revenue) and market valuation. A trend analysis was conducted to assess the trend in downsizing and repeated downsizing from 2008 through 2014. A series of univariate analysis of variances were conducted to assess the impact of repeated downsizings on the financial and market valuation indicators. Findings Findings indicate that companies that downsize between 2008 and 2009 were more likely to downsize again in future years. And this repeat downsizing happened at a higher rate than would be expected by the percentage of companies that initially downsized. Findings also indicate that multiple downsizings had a significantly negative impact on the company’s financial performance as measured by two profitability ratios (return on assets and return on investment) and a borderline significant negative impact on the company’s market valuation as measured by stock equity, regardless of industry or initial financial health of the company. Originality/value Two competing theories were considered and the evidence found here support both. However, the “band-aid solution” theory, that downsizing may function as a band-aid addressing the symptoms that lead to the downsizing but not the underlying disorder or cause may be a more parsimonious explanation for the results here. It is hoped that these findings will inform both scholars and practitioners, giving both a clearer picture of the impact of multiple downsizings on corporate performance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-596
Author(s):  
Yongyong Yang ◽  
Wendian Shi ◽  
Beina Zhang ◽  
Youming Song ◽  
Dezhen Xu

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the structure, implicit attitude and consequences of followers' implicit followership theories in the Chinese cultural context through three studies. Study 1 explores the structure of followers' implicit followership theories. Study 2 examines the implicit attitude of followers towards followers' implicit followership theories. Study 3 verifies the impact of followers' implicit followership theories on the quality of collegial relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe data for study 1 (n = 321) and study 3 (n = 243) were collected through an online self-report questionnaire, and the data for study 2 (n = 30) were collected through the go/no-go association task.FindingsThe structure of followers' implicit followership theories includes two dimensions: positive followership prototypes and negative followership prototypes. Followers' implicit attitudes were more likely to match positive followership prototypes than negative followership prototypes. Positive followership prototypes had a significantly positive impact on the quality of collegial relationships, whereas negative followership prototypes had a significantly negative impact on the quality of collegial relationships.Research limitations/implicationsThe psychology and behaviour of employees can be better understood by exploring followers' implicit followership theories.Practical implicationsEmployees hold a relatively positive implicit attitude towards followers. Therefore, managers should provide positive feedback to improve employees' positive self-cognition so that employees can better serve the organization and better promote its development.Originality/valueThe paper is one of the few studies to explore followers' implicit followership theories in the Chinese cultural context.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Namkee Park ◽  
Naewon Kang ◽  
Hyun Sook Oh

Purpose This study aims to investigate the applicability of ethical ideologies reflected by two dimensions of moral idealism and relativism, together with social norms, to the context of digital piracy. Design/methodology/approach This study used data from a survey of college students and conducted a series of hierarchical regression analyses. Findings This study found that digital piracy intention was dissimilar among four different ethical groups. Injunctive norm was a critical factor that affected internet users’ intention of digital piracy, yet it was valid only for situationists and absolutists. For subjectivists and exceptionists, individual differences represented by ego-involvement and past experience of digital piracy played a more critical role than social norms in explaining digital piracy intention. Originality/value This study is the first attempt to apply the dimensions of moral idealism and relativism to the context of digital piracy. Thus, it suggests that more tailored approaches are recommended to reduce digital piracy for internet users’ varied ethical ideologies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 503-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Hopkins ◽  
R. Deepa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the important relationships between emotional intelligence (EI) and ethical decision making (EDM). Design/methodology/approach Participants were 100 students from MBA programs in the USA and India who completed two surveys: one measuring their EI, and the second their use of four different ethical perspectives in three scenarios. Multiple regression analyses were performed to discover relationships between overall EI, certain dimensions of EI and their ethical judgments. Findings The authors’ results found that the composite EI score as well as the EI subscale of decision making were both significantly related to the relativism ethical perspective. Age was an additional significant factor for EI and EDM. Research limitations/implications Future research should attempt to replicate these findings among different managerial levels, industries and countries to further understand the distinctive relationships between EI and ethical judgments. Practical implications This study highlights the importance of integrating EI and ethical judgment within corporate training programs and business school curricula, as important is the emphasis on moving the subject of ethical judgment from one of awareness to sustained ethical behavior through accountability. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by identifying how EI and its decision-making subscale are significant to EDM.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-69
Author(s):  
Byoung-Chun Ha ◽  
Hyunjeong Nam

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to empirically analyze managers’ ethical judgments in supply chain management. It investigated the influence of those judgments on trust and collaboration in relationships with suppliers. Design/methodology/approach – A scenario-based method was applied to measure managers’ ethical judgments using a sample of 341 data sets collected via survey. Structural equation modeling was utilized to test the proposed hypotheses associating ethical judgments with trust and collaboration in supply chains. Findings – This study illustrates that managers’ ethical judgments in bidding/contracting, information management and inventory management significantly increase trust, which in turn increases supply chain collaboration. Originality/value – The study extends our understanding of ethical judgments in the supply chain management context. Its findings on the causality among ethical judgment, trust and supply chain collaboration provide an effective approach to the management of supplier relationships.


2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 218-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharlene Biswas ◽  
Winnie O’Grady

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationship between external environmental reporting (EER) and internal strategies, processes and activities (ISPA) to understand the role EER plays in embedding sustainability into organisational practices. Design/methodology/approach The case study considered how carbon measures associated with the carbon emissions management and reporting scheme (CEMARS) embedded sustainability into organisational practices in a family-owned wine company. Evidence collected during semi-structured interviews with informed employees was triangulated with observational data, field notes and documentary evidence. Findings A dynamic relationship was found between EER and ISPA, which embedded sustainability into organisational practices and promoted the developments of environmental reporting. CEMARS data were embedded into production management, capital expenditure and budget review processes, whereas more frequent EER was required by managers to support their operational activities. The company at times relied on an eco-validation approach to justify sustainability decisions despite their negative impact on short-term profit. EER contributed to the strategic planning, target setting and control functions of the management control systems. Research limitations/implications Sustainability research should simultaneously address EER and ISPA. The interplay between the two dimensions determines whether sustainability is embedded in organisations and whether organisations will act in a sustainable manner. Practical implications The practical implication of the research is that organisations need to integrate EER information into ISPA if they want managers to establish patterns of behaviour that simultaneously consider the financial and environmental impacts of decisions. An EER such as CEMARS can provide coherence and focus for sustainability initiatives. Originality/value This research reveals that sustainability is embedded into organisations through the interactions between EER and ISPA, thus contributing to the understanding of internal organisational change. It identifies an eco-validation approach to decision-making that complements the eco-efficiency approach and shows that EER need not operate independent of internal processes and can be integrated into management control systems.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn Waldron ◽  
Richard Fisher

Purpose A major impediment to the advancement of ethics research in the accounting domain is the availability of appropriate research participants. This study aims to investigate the validity of using student surrogates in accounting ethics research. Design/methodology/approach A survey instrument was administered to a sample of US accounting practitioners (Certified Public Accountants) and two student respondent groups: intermediate and advanced-level accounting students. Both personal values and ethical judgments were measured. Findings Significant differences were found in both the structure of personal values and ethical judgments between practitioners and accounting students. Life-stage effects play an important role in explaining these differences. Hedonistic values are seen to become less salient through the maturation process, whereas others, such as security, become increasingly important. Unexpectedly, values are found to have little direct impact on ethical judgments. Research limitations/implications The cross-sectional nature of the research design means the impacts of maturation and experience can only be inferred. Future corroborating longitudinal studies are encouraged. Practical implications Overall, the findings suggest caution in the use of student surrogates in this research context. In particular, adequate attention ought to be given to the close matching of ages, and to the extent possible, the education level between students and the target professional population. Insights provided by the study into factors underlying the ethical decision-making process of accountants provide a basis for evaluating the capabilities of employees and can be used in education and organizational training. Originality/value This study addresses a significant gap in the prior literature by concurrently considering the interrelationships between personal values, ethical judgment and subject type in studying the suitability of student surrogates in accounting ethics research.


2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suhaiza Ismail ◽  
Nazli A. Mohd Ghazali

The paper intends to explore the ethical ideology and ethical judgments of accounting practitioners in Malaysia. The objectives of this study are twofold. First, the paper intends to examine the factors that contribute to the different ethical ideology among Malaysian accounting practitioners. Second, it aims to investigate the influence of demographic factors and ethical ideology on ethical judgments of accounting practitioners. The study used Forsyth’s (1980) Ethics Position Questionnaire instrument to examine the ethical ideology of the accountants and adopted ethics vignettes used by Emerson et al. (2007) to assess the ethical judgments of the respondents. From the statistical analysis, this study found that age and gender have a significant impact on ethical judgment but not on ethical ideology. In addition, idealism and relativism have a significant influence on ethical judgment, especially in a legally unethical situation.     


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Deniz Dalman ◽  
Manoj K. Agarwal ◽  
Junhong Min

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether anthropomorphized (i.e. humanized) brands are judged less negatively for competence failures than for moral lapses and how these ethical judgments impact negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) intentions of less-lonely and more-lonely consumers. Design/methodology/approach Two scenario-based experiments were conducted, involving a total of 1,375 US mechanical turk (Amazon consumer panel) participants. Findings Findings show that brand humanization has an impact on ethical judgments only for less-lonely consumers. More specifically, for less-lonely consumers, a humanizing strategy backfires when the failure is moral but helps the brand when the failure is competence-related. On the other hand, more-lonely consumers judge the situation less negatively overall, and this effect is not impacted by the anthropomorphization strategy. Process tests indicate that these judgments indirectly affect consumers’ intention to spread NWOM following negative events. Research limitations/implications Future research could examine the specific process for lonely consumers (i.e. the role of empathy) and manipulate the size of the negative events (i.e. consumer perceptions of moderate vs extreme failures). Practical implications Brand managers need to consider their specific situations, as anthropomorphization can have both positive and negative effects depending on the consumers and the failure type (moral vs competence). Originality/value Extant research indicates that a humanizing strategy backfires when the market has negative information about the brand. This research introduces types of negative information, as well as consumers’ loneliness as moderators and contributes to the literature in branding, business ethics and word-of-mouth.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Febriyeni Febriyeni

<pre>Chronic Energy Deficiency is a situation where the nutritional status someone is on the Less Good Condition. Among the 22 health centers in the district of Lima Puluh Kota, CED highest coverage at the health center are Banja Laweh Namely Case 17 (16.50%) of 103 pregnant mothers. Preliminary Survey of 10 pregnant women at health centers Banja Laweh, note 4 people (40%) of them suffered CED. Based on the findings of interviews stating Not pregnant women know the importance of the size upper arm circumference on Against her pregnancy, in addition to pregnant women consume no food Diversified, because lust Eating Less and Economics not sufficient. Objectives for review determine factors related to the occurrence of Chronic energy deficiency on pregnant women. Methods descriptive analytic with cross sectional approach. Data collection is done on Date in January-February 2017. CASE is a whole population of pregnant women in the region are working Health Center Banja Laweh Year 2017, amounted to 55 people, with sampling total sampling. Operating data analysis using univariate and bivariate statistical test Chi Square. Results of univariate analysis 87,3% of respondents experienced Genesis not CED, (60,0%) High Knowledge, (56,4%) Economy High, and 61,8% of Eating Well. Bivariate analysis known Relationship of Knowledge (p = 0.013 and OR = 12,000, Economics (p = 0.035 and OR = 10,000), and Diet (p = 0.019 and OR = 13,200) with the Genesis CED pregnant women. Can be concluded that the factors related to the occurrence of CED pregnant women is Science, Economics and the Diet. Expected to conduct monitoring of the health center and Supervision of pregnant women at risk Against The Genesis CED, so the negative impact of the CED can be addressed early on.</pre>


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