The Binary Oppositions in Joseph Conrad's Novel Heart of Darkness

The novel Heart of Darkness is regarded as one of Joseph Conrad's highly skilled works and seen as an important tale written between the years of 1898 - 1899, and also viewed as an assault on imperialism and unethical behaviors of the European colonizers in Africa in the nineteenth century. The novel displays the author's humanity towards the crimes of the colonists and imperialists throughout the world. In Heart of Darkness, Conrad shows the cruelty of colonialism in Africa through his major character, Charlie Marlow, who realizes the cruel manners of Belgian colonialism during his journey to the Congo looking for the European ivory agent, Kurtz. This novel is a combination of two opposite things. It exposes the author's viewpoint regarding the ethics of the Europeans and the Africans. This research concentrates on the binary oppositions in Heart of Darkness through Marlow's journey to Africa and exposes Marlow's struggle between his human nature and his beliefs and replies whether his conflict will be effective and bring good results or negative.

Perspectives on Unethical Behaviors among Accounting Students in Emerging Markets

Unethical activities have a diverse impact on society. Such activities, if not properly curbed, can destroy the values and culture of an organization. Thus, an understanding of the attitude of young people towards unethical behavior is necessary because they are the future leaders who will determine the direction and success of nations. This study investigates the factors that stimulate unethical behavior among university students in Malaysia and Indonesia. A survey questionnaire was distributed to accounting student respondents in selected universities. This study applies the Partial Least Squares technique to confirm the results. The findings show strong support for a direct relationship between attitude and unethical behavior in the Malaysian setting and a significant direct relationship between perceived behavioral control and subjective norm with unethical behavior in the Indonesian setting. In terms of contribution, this study has raised the awareness to the relevant regulatory bodies of the need to seriously educate society, especially the youth, on the impact of unethical behavior on a nation's development. Severe penalties and fines must be imposed on individuals committing unethical behavior. Educators need to revamp existing syllabi and embed ethical behavior content into them. Society needs to support anti-corruption activities carried out by regulatory bodies, the community, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), so the presence of unethical activities can be minimized, and the dignity of society can be elevated.

Salesperson grit: reducing unethical behavior and job stress

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between grit, unethical behavior and job stress among business-to-business salespeople. Design/methodology/approach The empirical analysis includes 240 business-to-business salespeople. Structural equation modeling is used to test the study’s hypotheses. Findings Results suggest grit is directly related to less frequent unethical behavior and customer-directed deviance. Neutralization techniques positively moderate the relationship between salesperson grit and both unethical behavior and customer-directed deviance. Grit is indirectly related to job stress through the positive relationship between unethical behavior and job stress. Research limitations/implications Given research on grit in sales is relatively new several opportunities to pursue additional research in this area are presented. Practical implications Sales leaders may benefit from administering the salesperson grit scale as part of the screening process and developing grit among salespeople through training and coaching. Sales leaders should emphasize the negative impact of adopting neutralization techniques (excuses) in condoning unethical behaviors. The indirect effect of grit in reducing job stress through ethical behaviors underscores potential ways to mitigate costly and detrimental sales outcome losses. Originality/value This study develops a novel framework to explore the relationships between grit and unethical behaviors as moderated by neutralization techniques (excuses); examines an additional component of grit not previously considered in some studies of salespeople; and investigates whether these relationships increase a previously unexplored outcome – job stress.

Through the Smokescreen of the Dieselgate Disclosure: Neutralizing the Impacts of a Major Sustainability Scandal

This article analyzes the main neutralization techniques used in car manufacturers’ sustainability reports to disclose on the Dieselgate scandal. We conduct a conventional qualitative content analysis of 72 sustainability reports, covering the period 2013-2017, from 15 car manufacturers that were accused of unethical behaviors related to the measurement of diesel vehicle pollutant emissions. We then present a framework based on four configurations of neutralization techniques, namely, “head in the sand,” “self-proclaimed green leadership,” “wait and see,” and “start of a new era.” We describe that the manufacturers used heterogeneous neutralization techniques. Furthermore, the sustainability reports analyzed are relatively opaque and disconnected from the accusations made against the companies, which are widely reported by external sources. This article contributes to the emerging literature on the defensive impression management practices used to rationalize corporate misconduct in this area.

Impact of interactional context on relationship between ethical leadership and unethical behaviors: a serial mediation model

Purpose Behavioral effects of contextual factors that organizations subject to daily life and social dynamics of ongoing organizational life are conveyed to interactional context. It is considered as a form of coorientation blending organizational and individual ethics in relational form. This study aims to examine well-known effects of ethical leadership on unethical behaviors in interactional context. Sequentially related mediator effects of leader member exchange and symmetrical communication in this relationship are empirically explored. Design/methodology/approach Survey is applied to 494 personnel from 29 large companies. Obtained survey data is analyzed by confirmatory factory analysis, and hypotheses are tested for serial mediation by structural equation modelling with bootstrapping procedure. Findings Study proves the impact of interactional context on organizational constructs. It is demonstrated that individual behaviors are influenced by interactional, dynamical, contextual and social factors. Study finds that leadership effect can be empowered by socialization processes. Quality of social relationships and social interactions; socializing impact of symmetrical communication can foster ethical management. Interactional context can facilitate organizations’ adaptation to changing conditions. Originality/value A human is a relational being. They cannot act in vacuum, rather, act in ongoing context of relationships. Taking account of relational aspect of individual–organizational interaction, this study contributes to literature by proposing a definition of interactional context and by exploring the impact of interactional context on organizational behaviors. Also, the impact of ethical leadership on unethical behaviors is empirically explored in relational dimension which seems to be neglected by ethics literature.

The prevalence of burnout among interns in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and its relation to engaging in unethical behaviors

Background Burnout is a work-related physical and/or emotional exhaustion among individuals working in the human service sector. This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to estimate the prevalence of burnout among interns training in different hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and its relation to engaging in unethical behaviors. Results The study found a high burnout level in 135 (50%) of the interns with minimal overall engagement in unethical behaviors (5.9%). However, patient-related burnout was the only factor found with a highly significant association to engagement in unethical behaviors (P-value < 0.001). Conclusions This study demonstrated a high prevalence of burnout among interns with a significant association between patient-related burnout and the engagement in unethical behaviors. That was a worrying sign that needs further evaluation in future research, including the other risk factors, to prevent/improve burnout and to limit the unprofessional behaviors.

Assessment of the Target Model Implementation in the Wholesale Electricity Market of Greece

The European Union Target Model aims to integrate European energy market by removing barriers to trade and align markets. The most important goals of the Target Model are to provide consistent prices, enhance liquidity, support cross boarder trading, facilitate interconnections, and coordinate the use of transmission system capacity. In that context, the smooth operation of both forward and spot markets is a core development that directly affects the good operation of the wholesale market. This paper examines the application of the Target Model in the wholesale electricity market of Greece and its impact on electricity prices. The study explores the time period before the implementation of the Target Model, which took place on November 2020, and the first nine months of its execution. Based on the feedback received by the rest of the European countries, which are already part of the European Single Market, this crucial period of time is considered transitional, when many distortions and unethical behaviors take place. Empirical findings indicate a relatively successful implementation of the Target Model in Greece, with price disorders mostly met in the Balancing Market.

Analyzing the Predisposition of Sports High School Students to Ethical Values

Aim: This study aims to determine the predisposition of students studying at Malatya Sports High School to ethical values. Methods: This is an applied study in the form of a descriptive survey model. The population consists of 371 students who continue their education at Malatya Sports High School in the 2021-2022 academic year, and the sample group consists of randomly selected 188 students at Malatya Sports High School. “Predisposition to Ethical Values Scale” developed by Kaya was used in the study. The Cronbach's Alpha value of the scale was found as 0.89, and the Cronbach's alpha values of the sub-dimensions were determined as 0.80 for 'Love, Respect', 0.86 for 'Justice, honesty' and 0.74 for 'Cooperation'. Results: Following the study, there is no significant difference found in the predisposition of students at Malatya Sports High School to ethical values according to the variables of gender, age, class, educational background of father and mother. A significant difference was found according to the variable of family income. It was determined that this difference emerged between the sub-dimensions of love-respect and justice-honesty. Conclusion: We can say that sports high school students who receive sports training will stay away from unethical behaviors as a result of the positive behaviors they learn from educational activities at school, trainings and their teammates. Keywords: Sports, Student, Ethical, Value