The social organization of managerial definitions of unethical behavior
Author
Snyderman, Ellen Ruth, 1961-Issue Date
1990Keywords
Business Administration, Management.Speech Communication.
Sociology, Industrial and Labor Relations.
Advisor
Morrill, Calvin
Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.Abstract
This investigation attempted to ascertain whether managerial perceptions of potentially unethical business conduct, and recommendations for social control, vary according to the social characteristics of the employee committing the behavior. Subjects consisted of management personnel from a variety of industries. Data was gathered via instruments developed for this research. Instruments consisted of (1) a description of an employee; (2) a description of a potentially unethical behavior committed by the employee; and (3) scales for subjects to (a) rate the seriousness of the employee's behavior and (b) recommend the social control they would use against the employee. Perceptions of seriousness did vary significantly with variations in the employee's social characteristics. However, recommendations for social control did not vary with changes in employee characteristics. Thus, whereas observers may judge the ethicality of socially decontextualized behaviors against universally held standards of morality, observers become less adamant about these standards as the behavior becomes more contextualized.Type
textThesis-Reproduction (electronic)
Degree Name
M.A.Degree Level
mastersDegree Program
Graduate CollegeCommunication