Discussion of: National Culture and Ethical Judgment: A Social Contract Approach to the Contrast of Ethical Decision Making by Accounting Professionals and Students from the U.S. and Italy

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-126
Author(s):  
F. Greg Burton
2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary B. Curtis ◽  
Jeremy M. Vinson ◽  
Teresa L. Conover ◽  
Lorenzo Lucianetti ◽  
Valentina Battista

ABSTRACT Globalization defines the business world today, yet globalization also leads to many types of misunderstandings regarding ethics, motives, and trust. We apply the theory of social contracts for the purpose of aiding the understanding of moral diversity arising from globalization. Specifically, we seek to better understand how country of origin, and role within country, lead to community “microsocial” norms that inform social contract ethical judgments. A total of 695 managerial accounting professionals and accounting students from Italy and the U.S. completed the survey. Employing a moderated mediation model, we find that country of origin is significantly related to intended behaviors in two business situations, and this relationship is mediated by social contract ethical judgment. Further, the impact of national culture on social contract ethical judgment is moderated by role (professional versus student). Multiple mediation analysis supports our contention that contractual evaluations precede moral equity assessments and that both contractual and moral equity ethical judgments affect ethical intentions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Collins Sankay Oboh

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of personal and moral intensity variables on specific processes, namely, ethical recognition, ethical judgment and ethical intention, involved in the ethical decision making (EDM) of accounting professionals.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire containing four vignettes of ethical dilemmas is used in the paper to obtain data from 329 accounting professionals. The data are analyzed using Pearson correlation matrix, independent samplet-test, one-way analyses of variance and multiple regression estimation techniques.FindingsThe findings of the paper suggest that age, economic status, upbringing, moral idealism and relativism, magnitude of consequence and social consensus are significant determinants of the EDM process of accounting professionals.Practical implicationsThe paper provides evidence to guide accounting regulatory bodies on ways to strengthen extant measures that ensure strict compliance with ethics codes among accounting professionals in Nigeria.Originality/valueThe paper provides support for Kohlberg’s cognitive reasoning and moral development theory and Rest’s EDM theoretical model, which will aid the development of a structured curriculum for accounting ethics instruction in Nigeria, as hitherto, there is yet to be a provision for a stand-alone ethics course in the undergraduate accounting programs in Nigeria.


2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna D. Bobek ◽  
Amy M. Hageman ◽  
Robin R. Radtke

ABSTRACT This study investigates the degree to which professional role (auditor or tax professional), decision context (an audit or tax environment), and gender influence the ethical decision making of public accounting professionals. The primary analysis, including all 134 accounting professionals who participated in our experiment, indicates that these participants are both less likely to indicate they would concede to a client in a contentious situation and less likely to recommend conceding when they are in an audit as opposed to tax context. Furthermore, work experience in auditing (as opposed to tax) is associated with a decreased likelihood of conceding to the client in both contexts. However, when data for males and females are analyzed separately, professional role, context, and moral intensity are significantly related to males' decision making, but are not significant with respect to females' decisions. This suggests that males and females may use different decision-making processes. Possible theoretical explanations for these findings are discussed.


Author(s):  
Gizem Öksüzoğlu-Güven

This chapter looks into determinants and contexts that influence an entrepreneur's decision where ethical judgment is required. By looking into relevant theories and research in the field of ethical decision making, concepts of greed and power and their influence on ethical decision making, cognitive moral development, individual psychological characteristics, ethical ideologies, organizational, environmental, industrial, and moral intensity are discussed through relevant models. The aim is to provide a perspective on understanding ethical decision making in the entrepreneurial context by forming a bridge between our understanding of individual moral psychology and entrepreneurial decision making. This discussion further augments the existing research on entrepreneurship and SME literature within the ethical decision-making context. What is presented in this chapter provides an alternative understanding of reasoning when examining entrepreneurial behaviour.


Author(s):  
Joan Johnson-Freese ◽  
Kenneth Smith

This chapter considers the ethical implications of the United States trying to achieve “space dominance” as part of an increasingly muscular U.S. “space warfare is inevitable” outlook. The methodology used in the analysis is drawn from Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, using utilitarian, rights, fairness, common good, virtue, and technology considerations as ethical decision-making lenses. Additionally, the chapter examines space dominance as a function of time and contractarianism. It concludes that the U.S. pursuit of space dominance appears to stem mostly from fear and self-interest, and that a better approach would be to shift more closely to honor and self-interest by pursuing more balance between military readiness and assiduous diplomacy. There is, however, no evidence that the latter approach is being considered.


2007 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Westerman ◽  
Rafik I. Beekun ◽  
Yvonne Stedham ◽  
Jeanne Yamamura

2015 ◽  
pp. 1331-1347
Author(s):  
Gizem Öksüzoğlu-Güven

This chapter looks into determinants and contexts that influence an entrepreneur's decision where ethical judgment is required. By looking into relevant theories and research in the field of ethical decision making, concepts of greed and power and their influence on ethical decision making, cognitive moral development, individual psychological characteristics, ethical ideologies, organizational, environmental, industrial, and moral intensity are discussed through relevant models. The aim is to provide a perspective on understanding ethical decision making in the entrepreneurial context by forming a bridge between our understanding of individual moral psychology and entrepreneurial decision making. This discussion further augments the existing research on entrepreneurship and SME literature within the ethical decision-making context. What is presented in this chapter provides an alternative understanding of reasoning when examining entrepreneurial behaviour.


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