Managerial morality and behavior: The questionable payments issue

This research examined the effect of managers' value systems and personality traits on ethical decision behavior, in the context of questionable payments to foreign officials to assure business. Using a complex international management game to simulate the real-world competitive business enviro...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rosenberg, Richard D. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: 1987
In: Journal of business ethics
Year: 1987, Volume: 6, Issue: 1, Pages: 23-36
Further subjects:B Personality Trait
B Assure
B Business Environment
B Ethical Decision
B Economic Growth
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Summary:This research examined the effect of managers' value systems and personality traits on ethical decision behavior, in the context of questionable payments to foreign officials to assure business. Using a complex international management game to simulate the real-world competitive business environment, the study measured the instrumental and terminal value systems of the game participants as well as their tendencies towards Machiavellianism. It then observed their decision behavior in response to what was clearly a demand for an illegal payment., The findings indicate that ethical values, in most instances, were subordinated to the manager's duty to achieve company goals. They also revealed that the inner conflict between what was professed as right, and what had to be done in practice, was generally resolved on the basis of utility rather than on ethical or moral grounds.
ISSN:1573-0697
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/BF00382945