Understanding the Ethical Cost of Organizational Goal-Setting: A Review and Theory Development

Goal-setting has become a popular and effective motivational tool, utilized by practitioners and substantiated with decades of empirical research. However, the potential for goal-setting to enhance performance may come at the cost of ethical behavior. I propose a theoretical model linking attributes...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Barsky, Adam (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer 2008
In: Journal of business ethics
Year: 2008, Volume: 81, Issue: 1, Pages: 63-81
Further subjects:B Goal-setting
B Corruption
B Motivation
B Business Ethics
B Self-regulation
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Description
Summary:Goal-setting has become a popular and effective motivational tool, utilized by practitioners and substantiated with decades of empirical research. However, the potential for goal-setting to enhance performance may come at the cost of ethical behavior. I propose a theoretical model linking attributes of goals and goal-setting practices to unethical behavior through two psychological mechanisms – ethical recognition and moral disengagement; and addressing the moderating role of individual differences (e.g., goal-commitment and conscientiousness), as well as the broader organizational ethical context.
ISSN:1573-0697
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of business ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10551-007-9481-6