Abstract
Ethics training is commonly cited as a primary method for increasing employees’ ethical decision making and conduct. However, little is known about how the presence of ethics training can enhance other components of an organization's ethical environment such as employees’ perception of company ethical values. Using a national sample of 313 business professionals employed in the United States, the relationship between ethics training and perceived organizational ethics was explored. The results of the analysis provide significant statistical support for the notion that businesspersons employed in organizations that have formalized ethics training programs have more positive perceptions of their companies’ ethical context than do individuals employed in organizations that do not. The analysis also indicated that job satisfaction was related to employees’ attitudes about their ethical context. The managerial implications of the results are outlined, along with the limitations of the study and recommendations for future research.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Adams, J. S., A. Tashchian and T. Shore: 2001, ‘Codes of Ethics as Signals for Ethical Behavior’, Journal of Business Ethics 29, 199–211.
Armstrong, J. S. and T. S. Overton: 1977, ‘Estimating Nonresponse Bias in Mail Surveys’, Journal of Marketing Research 14, 396–402.
Berheim, J. B.: 1992, ‘Bad Judgment or Bad Experience’, Across the Board (October), 45–48.
Bohren, J.: 1992, ‘Reinforcing Ethics at Work’, The Human Resource Professional 4, 55–58.
Brass, D. J., K. D. Butterfield and B. C. Skaggs: 1998, ‘Relationship and Unethical Behavior: A Social Net-work Perspective’, Academy of Management Review 23, 14–31.
Cammann, C., M. Fishman, G. D. Jenkins and J. R. Klesh: 1983, ‘Assessing the Attitudes and Perceptions of Organizational Members’, In Assessing Organizational Change: A Guide to Methods, Measures, and Pratices. Eds. Stanley Seashore, Edward, E. Lawler, Philip H. Mirvis, and Cortlandt Cammann. New York: John Wiley, 71–138.
Chen, A. Y. S., R. B. Sawyers and P. F. Williams: 1997, ‘Reinforcing Ethical Decision Making Through Corporate Culture’, Journal of Business Ethics 16, 855–865.
Crowne, D. P. and D. Marlowe: 1960, ‘A New Scale of Social Desirability Independent of Psychopathology’, Journal of Consulting Psychology 24, 349–354.
Dean, P. J.: 1992, ‘Making Codes of Ethics Real’, Journal of Business Ethics 11, 285–290.
Delaney, J. T. and D. Sockell: 1992, ‘Do Company Ethics Training Programs Make a Difference? An Empirical Analysis’, Journal of Business Ethics 11, 719–727.
Farrell, H. and B. Farrell: 1998, ‘The Language of Business Codes of Ethics. Implications of Knowledge and Power’, Journal of Business Ethics 17, 587–601.
Ferrell, O. C. and L. G. Gresham: 1985, ‘A Contingency Framework for Understanding Ethical Decision Making in Marketing’, Journal of Marketing 49, 87–96.
Fischer, D. G. and C. Fick: 1993, ‘Measuring Social Desirability: Short Forms of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale’, Educational and Psychological Measurement 53, 417–424.
Fleischman, G. and S. Valentine: 2003, ‘Professionals’ Tax Liability Assessments and Ethical Evaluations in an Equitable Relief Innocent Spouse Case’, Journal of Business Ethics 42, 27–44.
Fritz, J. M. H., R. C. Arnett and M. Conkel: 1999, ‘Organizational Ethical Standards and Organizational Commitment’, Journal of Business Ethics 20, 289–299.
Hunt, S. D.: 1990, ‘Commentary on an Empirical Inves-tigation of a General Theory of Marketing Ethics’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 18, 173–177.
Hunt, S. D. and Vitell, S.: 1986, ‘A General Theory of Marketing Ethics’, Journal of Macromarketing 8, 5–16.
Hunt, S. D., V. Wood and L. Chonko: 1989, ‘Corporate Ethical Values and Organizational Commitment in Marketing’, Journal of Marketing 53, 79–90.
Hyman, H. R., R. Skipper and R. Tansey: 1990, ‘Ethical Codes are Not Enough’, Business Horizons 33, 15–22.
Izzo, G.: 2000, ‘Compulsory Ethics Education and the Cognitive Moral Development of Salespeople: A Quasi-Experimental Assessment’, Journal of Business Ethics 28, 223–241.
James, H. S. Jr.: 2000, ‘Reinforcing Ethical Decision Making Through Organizational Structure’, Journal of Business Ethics 28, 43–58.
LeClair, D. T. and L. Ferrell: 2000, ‘Innovation in Experiential Business Ethics Training’, Journal of Business Ethics 23, 313–322.
Loe, T. W. and W. A. Weeks: 2000, ‘An Experimental Investigation of Efforts to Improve Sales Students’ Moral Reasoning’, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management 20, 243–251.
Minkes, A. L., M. W. Small and S. R. Chatterjee: 1999, ‘Leadership and Business Ethics: Does It Matter? Implications for Management’, Journal of Business Ethics 20, 327–335.
Palmer, D. E. and A. Zakhem: 2001, ‘Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice: Using the 1991 Federal Sentencing Guidelines as a Paradigm for Ethics Training’, Journal of Business Ethics 29, 77–84.
Paolillo, J. G. and S. J. Vitell: 2002, ‘An Empirical Investigation of the Influence of Selected Personal, Organizational and Moral Intensity Factors on Ethical Decision Making’, Journal of Business Ethics 35, 65–74.
Ponemon, L.: 1996, ‘Key Features of an Effective Ethics Training Program’, Management Accounting 78, 66–67.
Randall, D. M. and M. Fernandes: 1991, ‘The Social Desirability Response Bias in Ethics Research’, Journal of Business Ethics 10, 805–817.
Reynolds, M. A.: 2000, ‘Professionalism, Ethical Codes and the Internal Auditor: A Moral Argument’, Journal of Business Ethics 24, 115–124.
Rich, G. A.: 1997, ‘The Sales Manager as a Role Model: Effects on Trust, Job Satisfaction, and Performance of Salespeople’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 25, 319–328.
Robin, D., M. Giallourakis, F. R. David and T. E. Mortiz: 1989, ‘A Different Look at Codes of Ethics’, Business Horizons 32, 66–73.
Schwartz, M.: 2001, ‘The Nature of the Relationship Between Corporate Codes of Ethics and Behavior’, Journal of Business Ethics 32, 247–262.
Sims, R. R.: 1991, ‘The Institutionalization of Organizational Ethics’, Journal of Business Ethics 10, 493–506.
Singhapakdi, A., S. J. Vitell and G. R. Franke: 1999, ‘Antecedents, Consequences, and Mediating Effects of Perceived Moral Intensity and Personal Moral Philosophies’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 27, 19–36.
Strahan, R. and K. C. Gerbasi: 1972, ‘Short, Homoge-neous Versions of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale’, Journal of Clinical Psychology 28, 191–193.
Trevino, K. T.: 1986, ‘Ethical Decision Making in Organizations: A Person-Situation Interaction Model’, Academy of Management Review 11(3), 601–617.
Trevino, L. K. and K. A. Nelson: 1999, Managing Business Ethics (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York).
Trevino, L. K., K. Butterfield and D. McCabe: 1998, ‘The Ethical Context in Organizations: Influences on Employee Attitudes and Behaviors’, Business Ethics Quarterly 8, 447–476.
Tucker, L. R., V. Stathakopolous and C. Patti: 1999, ‘A Multidimensional Assessment of Ethical Codes: The Professional Business Association Perspective’, Journal of Business Ethics 19, 287–300.
Valentine, S. and T. Barnett: 2002, ‘Ethics Codes and Sales Professionals’ Perceptions of Their Organiza-Ethics Training and Businesspersons’ Perceptions of Organizations’ Ethical Values’, Journal of Business Ethics 40, 191–200.
Valentine, S. and G. Fleischman: 2003, ‘Ethical Reasoning in an Equitable Relief Innocent Spouse Context’, Journal of Business Ethics 45, 325–339.
Valentine, S., L. Godkin and M. Lucero: 2002, ‘Ethical Context, Organizational Commitment, and Person-Organization Fit’, Journal of Business Ethics 41, 349–360.
Victor, B. and J. Cullen: 1988, ‘The Organizational Bases of Ethical Work Climates’, Administrative Science Quarterly 33, 101–125.
Viswesvaran, C., S. P. Deshpande and J. Joseph: 1998, ‘Job Satisfaction as a Function of Top Management Support for Ethical Behavior: A Study of Indian Managers’, Journal of Business Ethics 17, 365–371.
Vitell, S. and D. L. Davis: 1990, ‘The Relationship Between Ethics and Job Satisfaction: An Empirical Investigation’, Journal of Business Ethics 9, 489–494.
White, L. P. and L. W. Lam: 2000, ‘A Proposed Infra-structure Model for the Establishment of Organizational Ethical Systems’, Journal of Business Ethics 28, 35–42.
Wiley, C.: 2000, ‘Ethical Standards for Human Resource Management Professionals: A Comparative Analysis of Five Major Codes’, Journal of Business Ethics 25, 93–114.
Wotruba, T. R.: 1990, ‘A Comprehensive Framework for the Analysis of Ethical Behavior, with a Focus on Sales Organizations’, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management 10, 29–42.
Zerbe, W. J. and D. Paulhus: 1987, ‘Socially Desirable Responding in Organizational Behavior: A recon-ception’, Academy of Management Review 12, 250–264.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Valentine, S., Fleischman, G. Ethics Training and Businesspersons’ Perceptions of Organizational Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics 52, 391–400 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-004-5591-6
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-004-5591-6