The ethics of silence: Does conflict of interest explain employee silence?

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Reliable Information ◽  
Employee Voice ◽  
Organizational Success ◽  
Privileged Position ◽  
Employee Silence ◽  
Personal Interests ◽  
Structural Conflict

Employee silence constitutes a significant threat to organizational success. This article argues that silence is a by-product of a structural Conflict of Interest (COI) between employees and their employers. This argument turns on the claim, also defended here, that employees are in a privileged position vis-à-vis knowledge of their work and that leaders—whether they recognize it or not—are dependent on their employees for reliable information about the work they are doing. Employee voice, therefore, is an organizational necessity. It is also a moral achievement as it involves risking one’s personal interests for the sake of the organization. Leaders must take steps to mitigate COI and encourage employee voice; this article provides several strategies for doing exactly that.

13. Specific conflicts—CA 2006, Part 10, Ch 4, and Ch 4A

2021 ◽  
pp. 253-269
Author(s):  
Brenda Hannigan
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Service Contracts ◽  
Remuneration Policy ◽  
Financial Transactions ◽  
Personal Interests

This chapter considers provisions of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006), Pt 10, Ch 4, and Ch 4A. These provisions regulate transactions with directors where there is an acute conflict of interest between the director’s personal interests and his duty to the company and so, typically, the statute requires prior shareholder approval of the transaction. The relevant provisions address: directors’ service contracts (CA 2006, ss 188–189); payments for loss of office (CA 2006, ss 215–221); for quoted companies (which must have a directors’ remuneration policy)—remuneration payments and payments for loss of office (Ch 4A); substantial property transactions (CA 2006, ss 190–196); and loans and similar financial transactions (CA 2006, ss 197–214).

scholarly journals Employee voice and silence in auditing firms

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 563-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Donovan ◽  
Michelle O'Sullivan ◽  
Elaine Doyle ◽  
John Garvey
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Employee Voice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Speaking Up ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Professional Employees ◽  
Employee Silence ◽  
Voice And Silence

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory study of employee voice and silence in international auditing firms. The authors examine two key questions: what is the propensity of employees in training to speak up on workplace problems and how would management react to employees in training speaking up on workplace problems? Design/methodology/approach – The authors compare and contrast the views of employees on training contracts with management including partners. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight managers/partners and 20 employees working in six large auditing firms in Ireland. Findings – The authors find that employees on training contracts have a high propensity to remain silent on workplace problems. Quiescent and acquiescent forms of silence were evident. Management expressed willingness to act on employee voice on workplace problems concerning business improvements and employee performance but were very resistant to voice in regard to a change in working conditions or a managers’ performance. Employees and management couched employee voice in terms of technical knowledge exchange rather than being associated with employee dissatisfaction or having a say in decision making. Originality/value – The authors highlight how new professional employees are socialised into understanding that employee voice is not a democratic right and the paper provides insight on the important role of partners as owner/managers in perpetuating employee silence. Previous research on owner/managers has tended to focus on small businesses while the auditing firms in this study have large numbers of employees.

Does Analyst Stock Ownership Affect Reporting Behavior?

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (02) ◽  
pp. 1350008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rick Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Potential Benefit ◽  
Detrimental Effect ◽  
Securities And Exchange Commission ◽  
Ordered Probit ◽  
Stock Ownership ◽  
Potential Conflict ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Personal Interests ◽  
Robust Evidence

An analyst who owns stock in the company she covers may be tempted to protect or enhance her personal interests. This paper examines how this potential conflict of interest affects the reporting of sell-side analysts by identifying and collecting two samples, the first from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Form 144 filings, and the second from voluntary ownership disclosures. Ordered probit analyses show that owning analyst recommendations are slightly more cautious than those of the control analysts. There is little robust evidence that stock ownership leads to optimistic analyst reporting, however findings indicate that analysts who are consistently optimistic are owners. The results are consistent with a conclusion that analyst stock ownership, unlike other potential incentives, may not be a significant concern since in many cases multiple nonowning analysts also provide reports. Being an outlier potentially reduces any benefit to the owning analyst and risks her personal reputation. In the absence of a detrimental effect, ownership offers a potential benefit as a credible signal of an analyst's conviction in a company's prospects.

Employee voice and silence in temporary agency work

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 287-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irma Rybnikova
Keyword(s):  
Employee Voice ◽  
Temporary Employees ◽  
Temporary Agency Work ◽  
Employee Silence ◽  
Voice And Silence ◽  
Employment Mode ◽  
Work Arrangement ◽  
Empirical Material ◽  
And Task ◽  
Temporary Agency Workers

Despite the increasing relevance of temporary agency work, studies dealing with this type of work arrangement in reference to employees’ voice and silence have remained rare so far. Literature mainly deals with voice mechanisms and processes with reference to traditional (permanent) workplaces. The present study tackles peculiarities of employee voice in the context of temporary agency work. The empirical material, based on 19 interviews with German temporary agency workers and agency managers, reveals that temporary agency work abounds in mechanisms inducing employee silence, but also contains instances supporting voice. Several structural and social conditions surrounding this employment mode turn out to be decisively important for processes of silence and voice, like the duration of assignments, working and task arrangements, power status of temporary employees, fear and support of agency.

13. Specific conflicts—CA 2006, Part 10, Ch 4, and Ch 4A

Company Law ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Hannigan
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Service Contracts ◽  
Financial Transactions ◽  
Personal Interests

This chapter considers provisions of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006), Pt 10, Ch 4, and Ch 4A. These regulate transactions with directors where the conflict of interest between the director's personal interests and his duty to the company is thought to be particularly acute such that it is appropriate to seek shareholder approval for the following transactions: directors' service contracts (CA 2006, ss. 188–189); payments for loss of office (CA 2006, ss. 215–221); quoted companies—remuneration payment and payments for loss of office (Ch 4A); substantial property transactions (CA 2006, ss 190–196); and loans and similar financial transactions (CA 2006, ss 197–214).

scholarly journals Conflict of Interest in the Administrative Contracts in Albania

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (34) ◽  
pp. 182
Author(s):  
Adriatik Llalla ◽  
Fjorida Ballauri
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Public Official ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private Interests ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
Domestic Legislation ◽  
Personal Interests ◽  
Public Decision

In Albania the issue of conflict of interest is present at today’s public debate, as in many other countries. Due to this phenomenon, public funds, state property, public service, etc., are at risk at any time, and therefore there is obligation of the state to establish the appropriate legal instruments to prevent such situations. In principle, while exercising official duties and functions, the elected person or the public official should not be influenced by personal interests. In this sense, through actions, inactions or decisions, they cannot gain benefits or advantages for themselves, their family members, relatives or other persons, in case they share economic or political interests with them. In Albania, the domestic legislation provides restrictions and prohibitions for several private interests of the officials exercising public functions, depending on their functions, responsibilities and competencies in public decision-making. Also, the law provides specific prohibitions and restrictions in cases of entering into administrative contracts, considering a contract as a special public decision, which is vulnerable to be damaged by the action of officials’ private interests. This paper aims to make an analysis of the legislation in terms of restrictions of private interests of public officials to prevent specific cases of conflict of interest while concluding administrative contracts. Also, the paper leads to conclusions on how conflict of interest is related to other criminal offences like abuse of office, corruption or violation of equality of participants in public tenders or auctions etc.

scholarly journals EMPLOYEE RETICENCE: DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF ITS SCALE

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 453-463
Author(s):  
Ahmed Ali Qureshi ◽  
Sayyed M. Mehdi Raza Naqvi
Keyword(s):  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Theory Of Planned Behaviour ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Face Validity ◽  
Employee Voice ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Planned Behaviour ◽  
Employee Silence ◽  
New Construction ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences

Purpose of the study: The purpose of the study was twofold, first to find the antecedents and consequences of employee voice using the theory of planned behaviour, and second to develop, introduce and validate the construct of employee reticence (employee-silence attitude) and its scale. Methodology: Mixed-Method Research using interviews, and questionnaire was the methodology of the study. IBM SPSS 20.0 and SmartPLS 2.0 software were used for data analysis to test and confirm face validity, content validity, reliability, item reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, nomological validity. Main Findings: Employee reticence is a valid employee attitude. The employee silence behaviour is supported by the theory of planned behaviour. It was found that the Theory of planned behaviour applies to the situations of employee silence. The scale of employee reticence developed, as the result of this study, is valid and ready to be used by researchers, organizational behaviourists, psychologists, and HR experts. Applications of this study: The study is applicable for change intervention programs in organizations by organizational behaviourists. The researchers can use it to explore and develop organizational and team-level attitudes of silence. Its scale is a useful tool, largely for recruiters for ensuring PO fit. It is usable to researchers for further exploration and using it as in organizational research including but not limited to Employee silence, knowledge management, and stress. Psychologists can take the lead from the concept of ER to develop similar constructs for their field for analysing their patients of stress etc. from this perspective. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study is novel and original as the construct of employee reticence has been developed, introduced, and validated (employee-silence attitude). Further, the scale of the new construction has been constructed and validated, using standard methods.

Why Won’t People Speak Up? Unpacking Silence at Work

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Workman-Stark
Keyword(s):  
Academic Research ◽  
Working Environment ◽  
Employee Voice ◽  
Workplace Diversity ◽  
Organizational Leaders ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Working Environments ◽  
Employee Silence ◽  
Speak Up

Purpose This paper examines employee silence, namely, the causes of silence and how it might be overcome. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from academic research and work with organizations, the author explains that workplace diversity is insufficient to guarantee the contributions of diverse voices. The author then provides an overview of why individuals choose to remain silent and explores aspects of organizational culture and climate that contribute to silencing behaviors. Finally, the author offers suggestions on how organizational leaders can overcome silence. Findings The findings suggest that employee voice can be activated through a psychologically safe working environment in which leaders adopt a learning mindset, practice humility, create opportunities for all team members to contribute, treat people with fairness and respect, and hold others accountable to do the same. The findings also indicate that leaders can support safe and inclusive working environments by challenging basic assumptions and accepting vulnerability. Originality/value This paper makes an important contribution to the field of organization development and change by providing suggestions for how organizations can address workplace concerns and enhance performance by removing the inhibitors of “employee voice”.

scholarly journals Ethics and conflict of interest in psychiatric research

2006 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-202
Author(s):  
Fernando Portela Câmara
Keyword(s):  
Medical Research ◽  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Pharmaceutical Products ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Psychiatric Research ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Personal Interests ◽  
Research Professionals

This article discusses the relationship between personal interests and medical research. The presence of research professionals who conduct studies which will later be used for market investments through new pharmaceutical products or procedures has brought up a number of issues, especially regarding the neutrality of the use of such products. The fact that some researchers receive shares in stocks and profits of some companies, and the way the companies finance them and use their credibility in scientific marketing have been a source of concern to scientific journals, the academic community and the better-informed public as to the validity of the results presented and the reliability of the pharmaceutical products themselves. The question of how neutrality can be preserved without the inevitable involvement of these interests is an ethical issue that has yet to be carefully examined by agencies that regulate the medical profession.

Employee silence and burnout in India: the mediating role of emotional intelligence

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 1045-1060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shalini Srivastava ◽  
Ajay K. Jain ◽  
Sherry Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Western Country ◽  
Job Burnout ◽  
Work Outcomes ◽  
Employee Voice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Employee Silence ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Although considerable research has been completed on employee voice, relatively few studies have investigated employee silence. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between employee silence and job burnout as well as the possible mediating role of emotional intelligence (EI) on the silence-burnout relationship. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports the findings of an empirical study based upon the survey of 286 managers working in four different states in India. Correlational and mediated regression analyses were performed to test four hypotheses. Findings Contrary to findings from studies conducted in Western countries in which employee silence was positively related to undesirable work outcomes, in this study, employee silence was negatively related to job burnout. Additionally, results indicated that the relationship between employee silence and job burnout was mediated by EI. These findings suggest the importance of considering country context and potential mediating variables when investigating employee silence. Practical implications This study demonstrates how Indian employees may strategically choose employee silence in order to enhance job outcomes. Originality/value This study is one of the few efforts to investigate employee silence in a non-western country. This is first study that has examined the role of EI as a mediating variable of the relationship between employee silence and job burnout in India.

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