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Behavioral Model of Ethical and

Unethical Decision M aking

Michael ommer

Clarence Gratto

Jerry Gravander

Mark Tu ttle

ABSTRACT. A model is developed which identifies and

describes various factors which a ffect ethical and une thical

behavior in organizations, including a decision-maker s

social, government and leg al, work, professional and

personal environments. The effect of individual decision

maker attributes on the decision process is also discussed.

The model lin ks these influences with ethical and unethical

behavior via the mediating structure of the individual s

decision-making process.

ntroduction

Well-conceived schematic models are useful devices

in understanding behavior, especially in situations

where the individual is subjected to multiple forces.

The decision-making dynamics of an individual

faced with choices involving ethical issues are

complex. However, current models of ethical and

unethical behavior within organizations are gener-

ally not very helpful in understanding and explain-

ing that behavior.

Michael Bommer Clarence Gratto Jerry Gravander and Mark

Tuttle all come ore CIarkson University Potsdam N Y.

Michael Bommer is Professor and Chairm an of the De pt. o f

Management. He is co-author of two books. His articles have

been published in several ournals.

Clarence Gratto is Assistant Professorof Business Law.

Jerry Gravander is Associate Professorand Associate Dean of Liberal

Studies and he has w ritt en several articles published in

Technology Review . Journal of the Huma nities and

Technology and Journal of the International Society for

Technology Assessment.

Mark Tuttle is Assistant Professor at the School of Management

and he is the author of articles which appeared in

Journal

of Vocational Behavior and Journal of Educational

Psychology.

The absence of well-developed models o f ethical

and unethical behavior in organizations reflects a

dearth of research on t h e factors affecting this

behavior and on the ways in which these factors

enter into the underlying decision process. Not only

is there little relevant research, but w hat there is does

not lend itself to model building. For example,

business and professional ethics, a rapidly developing

sub-discipline w hich concerns i tself primarily with

the social and professional aspects of ethical and

unethical behavior in business and professional

contexts, has seen little research directed toward

uncovering the factors leading to ethical (and un-

ethical) behavior in various situations. Instead, there

is a considerable body of descriptive material o f two

ma in types: first, accou nts of particular cases of

actual decisions to act ethically or unethica lly (study

of unethical actions predominates) and, second,

surveys of managers about their attitudes toward

certain ethical dilemmas, their perceptions about the

circumstances within which these dilemmas cur-

rently must be resolved, and their beliefs about

changes in these circumstances which would make

resolution of the dilemmas easier. However, case

studies do not always indicate why particular deci-

sions were made, let alone indicate general causes

behind ethical and unethical behavior. For example,

Anderson et al (1980) conclu ded in their study of the

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) case that one could

not be sure about what happened, muc h less that one

could know who acted correctly and who incorrectly

and why. Moreover, survey studies, like the one

conducted by Flores (1982) about safety-related

decisions in design and product development, typi-

cally stop with an account of what people say they

would do in certain situations rather than determine

directly which actual unethical and ethical behaviors

would occur in those situations. Since this descrip-

Journal of Business Ethics

6 (1987) 265--280.

1987

by D. Reidel Publish ing Company.

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266 Mich ael Bom mer etaI

tire information does not identify the various

environmental and individual factors which influ-

ence decisions to act ethically or unethically, it

cannot indicate the relative importance of these

factors in determ ining the outc omes o f decisions.

The purpose of this paper is to propose and

describe a conceptual m odel of ethical and unethical

behavior in organizations. Although this model must

be viewed as a first attempt to identify and relate

the various factors whi ch influence managers deci-

sions to act ethically or un ethically, we b elieve that it

will increase the understanding of such behavior as

related to the many factors which affect the

manager s decision-making process. W e further

believe that this conceptual model of the decision

process underlying ethical and unethical actions

would be of considerable use to those who are

seeking to develop and implement programs which

would facilitate ethical behavior on the part of

decision makers, as well as to those who desire to

turn their research from the descriptive study of

ethical and unethical behavior to an investigation of

the underlying structure of such behavior and the

process leadin g to it.

A schematic diagram of the model appears as

Figure 1. This mo del groups un der several categories

a wide range of factors which the literature lists as

possible influences on managers decisions wh en

they are confronted by ethical dilemmas. These

categories include a de cision-mak er s social enviro n-

ment, government and legal environment, profes-

sional environment, work environment, personal

environment, and individual attr ibutes. The modd

links these influences with ethical and unethical

Government/legal

environment

W ork environment Legislation

t

Corporate goals t

Administrative agencies

Stated policy 1 Judicial s y s t e m

Corporate culture / ~ . . ~ ,~ \

.~ . . . . . . . ~ Information acquisition

Professional environment Information processing

Codes of conduct ] ~, Perception Cognitive process

Licensing requirements Degree of P erc ei ve dewards

Professional meetings ~ Perceived osses

Personal environment

Peer group

Family

influence

Social environment

Religious values

Humanistic values

Cultural values

Societal values

Individual attributes

M oral level

Personal goals

Motivation mechanism

Position/stares

Self concept

Life experiences

Personality

Demographics

Ethical behavior 1

Unethical behavior I

Fig. 1, A behavioral model Of ethical/unethical decision making.

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Behavioral Model 267

be ha v ior v ia t he m e dia t i ng s t r uc tu r e o f t he i nd iv id -

ua l' s de c is ion-m aking process . The dec is ion process

in the model func t ions as a cent ra l process ing uni t

w ith i ts ow n intern al characteristics such as the

individua l 's , cogni t ive s tyle , type of inform at ion

acquisi t ion and processing, and perceived levels of

loss and reward tha t inf luen ce the dec is ion. The

model a l so dis t inguishes be tween the degree of

inf luence whic h the dec is ion ma ker perce ives the

var ious fac tors to have and the inf luence they

actually have.

Given that the l i terature is scanty, i t is at best

suggestive about the inf luences on manag ers ' e thica l

(and unethical) behavior , an d i t mos t def initely does

not a f ford an exhaust ive ident i f ica t ion of the re le -

vant fac tors n or of pa t te rns o f poss ible inte rac t ion

among these . The ca tegor iza t ion adopted for the

model should thus be taken as tenta t ive . Moreover ,

as each of the yna jor ca tegories of the mo del , a long

wi th the d ec is ion process func t ion, a re descr ibed and

discussed in turn, the reader should rem em ber both

the pau c i ty of re levant research and i t s ineptness for

m o de l bu i ld ing .

oncepts and definitions

This pap er i s not prescr ipt ive wi th respec t to e thica l

and une thica l behavior , tha t i s , i t does not a t tem pt to

es tabl i sh which behaviors a re objec t ive ly-mora l ly

cor rec t and incor rec t in given s i tua tions. Ho wev er , i t

does mo re than me re ly describe dec is ion makers '

beliefs and att i tudes about their actions. I t is an

epidemiologica l invest iga t ion wh ich a ims to ident i fy

the fac tors which inf luence dec is ion makers to

behav e in cer tain si tuations, ei ther ethica lly or

une thica l ly . Some of these fac tors ente r into the

dec is ion makers ' mora l reasoning about the s i tua-

t ions , whereas others do not . The paper wi l l a t temp t

to iden t i fy w hich factors play a role in dec is ion

makers ' m ora l reason ing abou t th e e thica l s i tua tions

in which they a re involved, and i t wi l l suggest the

natu re o f the role these factors play.

Clear ly the key concepts involved in th e paper a re

e thica l and une thica l , and a cent ra l conceptua l

i ssue i s ho w e thical behavior i s ident i f ied and in

w ha t sense i t is ethical . Th ere is a long stand ing

t radi t ion in e thics wh ich holds tha t e thical behav -

ior i s behavior w hich i s show n to be objec tive ly

mo ra l ly cor rec t via appea l to a th eory o f mora l ly

correct (or permissible, obligatory, desirable, etc.)

action, and tha t it is ethical precisely because it

i s the behavior which i s r equi red by the theory.

However , many e thic is t s mainta in tha t the quest ion

of w hich e thica l theory i s cor rec t i s i t se lf answered

by appeal to cer tain ethical behaviors, that is , that

some behaviors in cer tain si tuations are so clear ly

mora l ly cor rec t tha t they provide a mora l intui t ion

wi th w hic h a ny t he or y m us t c o r r e spond i f it i s to be

cons idered corre ct (see, for example, Bo wie, 1982).

This paper unders tands e thica l behaviors to be

those behaviors th e correctness o f w hic h constitutes

the moral intuit ion in business and the professions.

The remaining quest ion i s which behaviors the

paper unders tands to be these l i tmus- tes t behaviors

in the business and professional contexts. They are

those which have been ident i f ied by exper ienced

managers and professionals as clear and exemplary

instances of ethical behavior. Such instances are

recorded and identif ied in, for example, the cases

pub l i she d by t he Boa r d o f E th ic a l Re v ie w of t he

Na tiona l Society of Professional Engineers, the

awards given for exem plary e thics in e ngineer ing by

the Insti tute for Electr ical and Electron ics Engineers,

and the ci tat ions for ethics in business given by the

Values in Business Management Program a t the C.

W . Post C enter of Long I s land U niversi ty .

A f inal issue is what exactly is meant by saying

envi ronmenta l and individua l fac tors inf luence a

dec is ion maker ' s se lec t ion of e thica l and une thica l

behavior . This paper does not presuppose str ict

behaviorism. First, on e of its objectives is to elu cida te

the pa t te rns of mora l reasoning used by dec is ion

makers and the way in which var ious fac tors ente r

into the i r dec is ions to choose e thica l and une thica l

behavior . Second, al though the model postulates that

a var ie ty of envi ronmenta l and individua l fac tors

inf luence decisions, i t does not assume that these

factors are suff icient condit ions for the selection of

par t icula r behaviors . On the cont ra ry, the model

assumes the factors are - indiv idua lly and in various

comb ina t ions - necessary condi t ions in the sense

tha t were the fac tors impinging on any given

individua l to change , tha t individua l ' s e thica l and

unethica l behavior wo uld be di f fe rent . Th e en vi ron-

mental and individual factors establish a context

wi thin which dec is ion makers must choose to ac t ,

a nd f r om thi s po in t o f v i e w the p r im a r y pur pose o f

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268

Michae l B om mer e t a l

t h e p a p e r s h o u l d b e i n t e r p r e t e d a s t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n

o f f ac t or s w h i c h a r e s u c h t h a t c h a n g i n g t h e m w o u l d

f a c i l i t a t e d e c i s i o n m a k e r s i n c h o o s i n g e t h i c a l o v e r

u n e t h i c a l b e h a v i o r s i n g i v e n s i t u a ti o n s .

o c ia l e n v i r o n m e n t

T h e s o ci al e n v i r o n m e n t o f a m a n a g e r i s t h e s e t o f

humani s t i c , re l ig ious , cu l tura l , and soc ie t a l va lues

g e n e r a ll y sh a r e d b y t h e m e m b e r s o f h i s o r h e r

s o c i e t y , a n d i n p a r t i c u l a r t h o s e v a l u e s o f t h a t

s o c ie t y 's s u b - g r o u p i n g s t o w h i c h t h e m a n a g e r b e l o n g s.

T w o a sp e ct s o f t h e i n f l u e n c e o f th e s o c i a l e n v i r o n -

m e n t o n m a n a g e r s ' d e c i s i o n s w i l l b e d i s c u ss e d i n t h is

sec t ion . F i r s t , a l though i t i s a t ru i sm tha t va lues

a f f e c t b e h a v i o r , e v i d e n c e s e e m s t o i n d i c a t e t h a t w i t h

r e s p e c t t o e t h i c a l a n d u n e t h i c a l b e h a v i o r o n t h e j o b ,

m a n y m a n a g e r s w i l l n o t a d h e r e t o g e n e r a l s o c i a l

v a l u e s u n le s s t h e s e a r e a ls o i n c o r p o r a t e d w i t h i n t h e i r

p r o fe s si o n al o r w o r k e n v i r o n m e n t . S e c o n d , s o m e

e t h i c i s t s h a v e r e c e n t l y a r g u e d t h a t s o m e g e n e r a l

soc ia l va lues a re no t neces sa r i ly app ropr i a t e gu ides to

b e h a v i o r i n c e r t a i n m a n a g e r i a l a n d b u s i n e s s s i t u a -

t io n s . B r a d y ( 1 9 85 ) h a s r e c e n t l y p r o p o s e d a m o d e l t o

a i d i n t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f h o w a s o c ie t y 's v a l u e s

a n d b u s i n e s s i n t e r p l a y . B r a d y a r g u e s t h a t o f t e n t h e

t y p e o f e t h i c a l d i l e m m a i n f l u e n c e s h o w s t r o n g l y

soc ie ty 's va lues e f fec t the dec i s ion . In som e s i tua t ions

( f o r e x a m p l e , e q u a l e m p l o y m e n t ) o f t e n a f o r m a l i s t

v i e w i s t a k e n w h e r e t h e d e c i s i o n m a k e r d o e s u s e

s o c i e t y ' s v a l u e s y s t e m i n t h e d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g p r o -

c e s s , w h i l e i n o t h e r s i t u a t i o n s ( f o r e x a m p l e , n u c l e a r

p o w e r o r g e n e t i c e n g i n e e r i n g ) i n d i v i d u a l s t e n d t o b e

m o r e p r a g m a t i c a n d c o n c r e t e o r d o n o t u s e s o c i e t y ' s

va lue sys tems as a gu ide .

C a s e u p o n c a s e r e p o r t o n m a n a g e r s w h o m a k e

o n - t h e - j o b d e c i s i o n s t h a t v i o l a t e g e n e r a l s o c i a l

v a l u e s . M a n y c r i f c s t a k e t h i s a s e v i d e n c e t h a t

b u s i n es s a n d e t h i c s d o n o t m i x , t h a t is , t h a t m a n a g e r s

d e l i b e r a t e l y c h o o s e t o a b a n d o n g e n e r a l s o c i a l v a l u e s

i n t h e c o n d u c t o f t h e ir m a n a g e r i al d u t ie s . H o w e v e r ,

a m a n a g e r ' s f a i l u r e to f o l l o w h i s o r h e r g e n e r a l s o c ia l

v a lu e s w h i l e o n t h e j o b i s p r o b a b l y m o r e c o m p l e x

t h a n t h i s . M a n a g e r s d o n o t a p p e a r t o m a k e o n - t h e -

j o b d e c is io n s t h a t t h e y b e l ie v e a r e u n e t h i c a l w i t h i n

t h e j o b - r e l a t e d c o n t e x t i n w h i c h t h e d e c i s io n s a r e

m a d e , a s c a n b e c o n c l u d e d f r o m t h e a n a l y s i s o f

n u m e r o u s c as es o f e t h ic a l a n d u n e t h i c a l b e h a v i o r i n

the bus ines s contex t ( s ee , for example , Fa i rwea the r ,

1 9 80 ; C o h a n a n d w h i t c o v e r , 1 9 8 0 ; V a n d i v i e r , 1 9 8 0 ).

I n t h e s e c a s e s , m a n a g e r s w h o h a v e b e e n a c c u s e d o f

u n e t h i c a l o n - t h e - j o b b e h a v i o r w i l l s a y s u c h t h i n g s

a s, I a m n o t t h a t t y p e o f p e rs o n . I a m a n e l d e r i n m y

c h u r c h , a c t i v e i n c o m m u n i t y a f f a i r s , a g o o d f a m i l y

m a n , a B o y S c o u t l ea d e r , a n d s o o n . I j u s t t h o u g h t

t h i s w a s t h e w a y y o u w e r e s u p p o s e d t o a c t i n t h i s

b u si ne ss . S u c h s t a te m e n t s i m p l y th a t m a n a g e r s a r e

e th ica l s egrega t ion i s t s, t ha t i s , t ha t t hey s eg rega te on -

t h e - j o b e t h i c a l b e h a v i o r f r o m o f f - t h e - j o b e t h i c a l

b e h a v i o r a n d a p p l y d i f f e r e n t s e ts o f v a l u e s t o e a c h .

T h i s i m p l i e s, i n t u r n , t h a t m a n a g e r i a l d e c i s io n s w i l l

c o r r e s p o n d m o r e c l o s e ly t o t h e h u m a n i s t i c , r e li g i o u s ,

c u l t u r a l , a n d s o c ie t a l v a l u e s o f s o c i e t y - a t - l a r g e o n l y

w h e n t h e se v a lu e s ~ re m a d e p a r t o f t h e j o b e n v i r o n -

m e n t . T h i s w o u l d o c c u r e i t h e r b y i n c o r p o r a t i n g

t h e s e g e n e r a l s o c ia l v a l u e s in t o t h e c o d e s o f c o n d u c t

w h i c h a r e p a r t o f m a n a g e r s ' p r o f es s i o n a l e n v i r o n -

m e n t , i n c l u d i n g t h e m i n t h e c o r p o r a t e c u l t u r e a n d

p o l i cy o f t h e ir w o r k e n v i r o n m e n t , o r b o t h .

B e f o r e g e n e r a l s o ci a l v a l u e s c o u l d b e i n c o r p o r a t e d

i n t o m a n a g e r s ' p r o f e s s i o n a l a n d w o r k e n v i r o n m e n t ,

t h e q u e s t i o n o f w h i c h s o c ia l v a l u e s a r e a p p r o p r i a t e

t o t h e j o b c o n t e x t m u s t b e a n s w e r ed . T h e t r a d it i o n a l

a n s w e r f r o m e t h i ci s ts h a s b e e n , A l l o f t h e m . F o r

e x a m p l e , s o m e w r i t e r s o n p r o f e s s i o n a l e t h i c s h a v e

a r g u e d t h a t s e p a r a te c o d e s o f c o n d u c t f o r th e

profes s ions a re u nnece s sa ry ; a ll t ha t i s ne ede d i s . t he

s i m p l e s t a t e m e n t t h a t g e n e r a l l y h e l d s o c i a l v a l u e s

apply to profes s iona l dec i s ions (Pavlovic , 1980;

O l d e n q u i s t a n d S l o w t e r , 1 9 7 9 ). R e c e n t l y t h is t r a d i -

t i o n a l w i s d o m h a s b e e n c h a l l e n g e d . F o r e x a m p l e ,

w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e v a l u e o f tr u t h - t e l l i n g , s o m e

c r i t i c s h a v e a r g u e d t h a t a l t h o u g h t r u t h - t e l l i n g i s a

v a l u e t h a t s h o u l d h a v e b r o a d a p p l i c a t io n i n b u s i n e s s,

t h e r e a r e c e r t a i n b u s i n e s s a n d m a n a g e r i a l s i t u a t i o n s

t o w h i c h i t s h o u l d n o t b e a p p l i e d ( C a r r , 1 9 8 3 ;

G r a v a n d e r, 1 9 8 2 ) . T h e y a r g u e t h a t t h e r e m a y b e

a s p e c i e s o f b u s i n e s s b e h a v i o r w h i c h i s p r o p e r l y

l a b e l e d b u s in e s s b l u f f in g , w h i c h a l t h o u g h it i s n o t

t h e t r u t h , s h o u l d n o t b e c o n d e m n e d t h r o u g h a n

a p p l i c a t i o n o f a t r u t h - t e l l i n g v a l u e . T h e y b a s e th e i r

c a s e o n a n a n a l o g y t o p o k e r b l u f f i n g , w h i c h i s n o t

t h e t r u t h , b u t a l s o i s n e v e r c o n d e m n e d a s a l i e . T h i s

e n t i re a r e a o f i n q u i r y , h o w e v e r , n e e d s m o r e d e v e l o p -

m e n t b e f o r e o n e c o u l d d e c i d e, fir st, h o w m u c h o f an

e x e m p t i o n f r o m g e n e r a l s o c i a l v a l u e s t h e s e c r i t i c s

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269

want to give business and, second, whether their

po sition is valid.

o v e r n m e n t a n d le g a l e n v i r o n m e n t

Laws are values and mores of society that have the

force o f i ts form al authori ty. Legal and ethical

are not necessarily synonymous. Nevertheless, the

lega l dimension i s an important de te rminant in

many ethical decisions. Some individuals are not

dissuaded fr om a course o f act ion by i ts il legali ty o r

the threa t of punish men t , but they a re the exception.

M ost individuals feel comp elled to refrain from an

act ion which is specifical ly prohibi ted by law. This

effect of legal considerations on managers' ethical

decisions is du e n ot jus t to the legal consequences

wh ich fol low from breaking the law, but a l so to

the strong social st igma associated with the label

i llegal , as we ll as the desire to com ply with the

mo ra l force beh ind the law.

In o rder to b e effect ive, law s nee d to be act ively

enforced. However, because of the their complexi-

ties, business-related crimes by managers are often

not rigorously prosecuted. It is frequently difficul t

for investigating officers, prosecutors, judges, and

jurists to understand the intricacies of the offense.

Fur ther , s ince the harm i s of ten of an economic

nature rather than physical , and because the crime's

v i c t i m ma y be a n i nsura nc e c ompa ny or o t he r

corporat ion that does not el ici t sympathy, the cases

may be given low p r ior i ty by prosecutors (McGowan,

1983) , Thus , the ac tua l e nforce me nt policy may

resul t in low r i sk of de tec t ion, token enforcement

and prosecution, and relat ively l ight sentences with

on l y shor t i f a ny i mpr i sonme nt i n a mi n i mum

security inst i tut ion (G els and Stotland, 1980 ). In

contrast to the ir relative legal insignificances, crimes

by managers hold out the possibi l i ty of very large

personal or corporate financial rewards. Thus,

managers, who refrain from business-related crime

ma y be more mot i va t ed by t he mora l fo rc e be h i nd

the law and the soc ia l st igma o f breaking i t than by

the legal consequences.

Crimes by managers cannot be a t t r ibuted to

ignorance of the law. It i s true tha t f rom the

perspec tive of the individua l dec is ion maker w i thin a

large organization, m ost o f the law's inst i tut ions are

remote . Co nsequent ly, the individua l 's percept ion o f

w hat the law requires has l ikely bee n obtained

informally. For example, not ion s of w hat the law is

come from conversa t ions wi th other non-profes-

sionals, and many of the subt let ies and reasons for

the law are lost . Further, the ind ividual 's infor m ation

is of ten da ted. However , ignorance of what i s

required appears to be a factor in only a very few

wh ite col lar crimes (Meier and G els, 1982), and

thi s f inding can probably be extended to the ful l

range o f i llegal actions o pen to m anagers.

O f grea te r inf luence on a manag er contempla t ing

committ ing a crime is the probabil i ty of detect ion.

This influenc e stems f rom two dist inct factors. First,

expectat ions about the probabil i ty of an event 's

de tec t ion a re more important in de te rmining r i sk

taking than i s the magni tude of the expec ted

consequence (Dickson, 1978) . Thus , thou gh the

punishment for the c r ime might be smal l , the

certainty of detect ion is a powerful deterrent . This

may be due to the social st igma which is associated

with detect ion, since even when managers escape

severe pu nish m en t for the ir business-related crimes,

they of ten become par iahs among the i r former

friends an d associates. Second, wh ile the research

indicates th at the re is deterren t effect fro m rigorous

prosec ution o f crime (G els and Stotland, 1980), the

converse un do ub tedly is t rue, also. Lack o f vigorous

prosecution of certain violat ions indicates to the

decisio n-m aker that the particular con du ct is being

condoned . That is , low probabi li ty of d e tec t ion due

to lackadaisical enforcement robs the law of i ts

m oral force.

O f inte res t in co nnec t ion wi th thi s l a t te r po int i s

the relat ive effect of g ove rnm ental agencies. Because

of the i r broad powers , they can change the prob-

abi li ty of d etect ion for certain crimes. For example,

the FBI's enf orce me nt priori ties w ere shifted by the

Reagan adminis t ra t ion to re f lec t l ess concern w i th

wh ite col lar crimes such as em bez zlem ent and

fraud. There was concern a t the t im e in the Jus t ice

Depar tment tha t wrongdoers would ta i lor the i r

c r imes so as to fa ll shor t of the am ounts tha t wo uld

attract investigation by federal agents and, thus, that

wh ite col lar crim e wo uld increase (Taylor, 1984).

P r o f e s s i o n a l e n v i r o n m e n t

Th e profess iona l env i ronm ent of a manager i s the

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270

Michael ommer et aL

inst i tut ional ized professional co ntext with in w hich a

manager pract ices. This is qui te different than the

vague and informal ident i f i ca t ion of a person as

professional , by wh ich is m ean t the person is

com petent and responsible . Wh i le persons w ho see

themselves as professional in this sense ma y strive to

bring h igh ethical standards to th eir decisions, such

efforts are best un derstoo d as at tempts b y individuals

to adhere to their personal values. Fields of act ivity

are properly designated professions only i f they

are characterized by (a) professional associations, (b)

established licensing procedures, or (c) both .

To say that a l icensing procedu re is establ ished is

to say that at least som e aspects of th e profession

are closed to individuals w ho are no t l icensed via

a form al l icensing pro cess. In a field with an

established licensing procedure, individuals cannot

ident ify themselves as members of that profession

unless they h old a l icense. Th ou gh the possibil ity of

loss of one 's l icense is a powerful deterrent to

unethical behavior, management is not a l icensed

profession.

Professional associat ions play an imp ortan t role in

bo th regulat ing the professions and co ntrol l ing entry

to them . For example, the Am erican Bar Association

and the ma jor en ginee ring professional associat ions

accredi t law and en ginee ring degree programs, a nd i t

is impossible (in the case of law ) or very difficul t (in

the case of eng ineering) to practice in these areas

wi thout graduat ing f rom an accredi ted program.

Not all fields have professional associations which

are thi s dominant , but even in those which do not

the relat ionship between the individual and the

professional organ izat ion is such th at th e individu al

has th e se lf-image and social status of professional by

virtue of m em bers hip in the association. Professional

associat ions typical ly have formal and published

standards of professional co nd uct ( Flor es, 1980;

Layton, 1981), and re cent cou rt rul ings h ave been

based on the principle that the public perceives

membership in a professional associat ion as a

guarantor o f mem bers ' adherence to these standards

(May, 1983).

Professional associations typically demand ethical

behavior 'via formal codes of ethics. Some cri t ics

argue that these codes should be taken as merely

suggest ive of what various professions take to be

moral ly important , since at tempts to fol low these

codes forces professionals into unacceptable moral

quand ries (Leugenbiehl , 1983). For example, eng i-

neerin g codes require th at eng ineers be loyal to the ir

cl ients and employers and a lso blow the w his t le on

them, and since i t seems impossible to do both

simultaneously, engineers are forced to choose

betw een differen t violat ions o f the cod e (Gravander,

1981). Moreover, i t is not always clear wh at course o f

act ion com plies with the codes in specific si tuat ions.

A recent survey of chemical engineers revealed

considerable differences of opinion about what was

ethical ly c orrect wh en th ey were asked to apply their

professional co de o f ethics to a set o f case studies

(Kohn and Hug hson, 1980).

In spi te o f these difficult ies w ith codes o f ethics,

professionals exhibi t considerable interest in com-

plying with the ethical standards establ ished by th eir

codes. For example, the Nation al Society of Profes-

sional Engineers regularly publishes hypothetical

cases in which i ts Board of Ethical Review applies

t he N SPE C ode t o t he t ype o f e t h ic a l p rob l e m

encou ntered in engineer ing, and there has recent ly

been considerable act ivi ty within the engineering

communi ty di rec ted toward formula t ing a c lear ,

unified code by whic h all enginee rs can easily

regulate their professional conduct (Oldenquist and

Slowter, 1979). M oreover, professional associations,

especial ly in engine ering, have increasingly taken to

enforcing their codes via expulsion of violators

(Mart in and Schinzinger, 198 3; Un ger, 1982), and

this sanction, eve n th ou gh i t real ly involves only loss

of status, has been p erceived as so extrem ely undesir-

able by som e mem bers tha t presumably i t has some

general effectiveness in forcing com pliance (see, for

examp le, Fairweather, 1980). In ad ditio n to sanctions

to force compliance with the codes, professional

assoc ia tions in engineer ing have be gun deve loping

support mechanisms for members who have fol -

lowed the codes and in so doing h ave c lashed wi th

their employer 's or cl ient 's wishes. Many advocates

argue tha t such support mechanisms wi l l be the

decisive factor in t ipp ing th e balance toward ethical

behav ior (Unger, 1982; Bro om e, 1983).

Managers hav e a professional en viro nm en t insofar

as they are members of a profession. Several of the

professional associations wh ich are op en to m anagers

have form al codes of ethics and discu ss ethics at

meet ings and in journa ls of the i r profess iona l

soc ie t ies . Al though i t does not have deve loped

enforcem ent procedures in the w ay tha t professiona l

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A Be hav ior a l M o de l 271

associat ions in other fields have, the American

Assembly o f Collegiate Schools of Business wil l only

accredi t programs that have significant course work

deal ing with ethical considerat ions and social and

political influen ces as the y affect business org aniza -

t ions (AA CSB, 1983). Moreover, som e managers are

mem bers o f a second profess ion by vi r tue o f be ing

lawyers, accountants, engineers, and so on. W h en

enforc ing codes of ethics, these professions h ave n ot

di s t inguished be tween manager ia l behavior on the

one hand and legal , accountancy, and engineering

behavior on the other. Therefore, for managers,

espec ia lly those wh o are a l so mem bers o f anothe r

profession, the factors discussed in this section will

be im portant de te rminan ts in the i r e thica l behavior.

Moreover, i t is l ikely that this causa l effect is not

dependent on the individua l ' s awareness of the

extent to which he or she is affected by the

professional en viro nm ent , since the standards o f the

profession are internal ized over t ime and fol lowed

impl ic i t ly wi thout an expl ic i t awareness of the

sanctions wh ich are a force be hin d compliance.

o r k e n v i r o n m e n t

Severa l fac tors in the w ork env i ronm ent st rongly

influen ce managers ' decisions on w he ther to act

ethically or unethically. These are corporate goals,

stated pol icy, and corporate cul ture. Unfortunately

for the individual managers, these three factors can

each support confl ict ing decisions in a given si tua-

t ion. For example , sh or t - te rm corpora te goa ls and

the corpora te cul ture may point in one di rec t ion,

and long-term goals and stated pol icies point in

another . Which di rec t ion managers turn of ten

depends on w hich factor i s mo re dom inan t in the i r

work e nv i ronme nt .

Short-term goals for profi t and similar measures

of perform ance a re o f ten em phasized in companies .

W he n an acceptable ra te of re turn on inves tm ent or

s imi la r monetary measure i s the dominant goa l ,

be ing e thica l wi l l be an important sub-goal only

insofar as i t does no t detract fro m th e prim ary goal .

Yet an emphasis on short-term profi tabi l i ty which

leads to u nethical actions can h ave substant ial lo ng -

te rm negat ive e ffect s, to the poin t o f threa tening the

corporat ion's very existence. Goo d examples of this

can be fou nd in the insuff ic ient s tandards concern -

ing the h andl ing o f asbes tos by Johns-M anvi l le and

the opera t ion of the Three Mi le Is land nuc lear

pow er plant (Whee len and H unger , 1984).

Many business ent i t ies have formal pol icies that

prohibi t une thica l conduct and prescr ibe punish-

ment for i t . Statements of these are typical ly found

in operat ing and pol icy manuals and in supervisor 's

wo rkplace statements, and they are dissem inated in

training programs and posters in the workplace.

W hat real e ffec t do these have? Wo uld those people

who profess that they are affected by these state-

ments have acted ethical ly anyway? Do the stated

policies simply reinforce or restate values that the

individuals have already internalized?

Th ere is considerable eviden ce to supp ort the

notion that a company's stated pol icies do in fact

foster and increase the frequ ency o f ethical behavior.

For example, in a s imula ted dec i s ion-mak ing exer-

cise, a let ter from the fict it ious com pany 's president

support ing e thica l behavior and warning of di smissa l

for unethical behavior resul ted in increased ethical

behav ior (Hegarty and Sim s, 197 9). Similarly, a

s igni f icant de te rminant as to whether purchas ing

officers accepted gratuities was the existence of a

wr i t ten com pan y policy (Staff, 1979).

Several factors affect th e efficacy of stated policies

in leading managers to make ethical decisions

(Mautz

et al.

1979). First , the m ore decentral ized the

dec is ion-mak ing func t ion, and consequen t ly the less

direct the supervision of managers, the greater the

l ike l ihood of inadver tent non-compl iance . Some

companies, for example those with outside sales

forces, are inhere nt ly decentral ized and run a greater

r isk o f non -com pl iance wi th s ta ted com pany pol icy.

Second, the stated pol icies can be unclear, with the

consequence tha t there a re conf l ic ting or in com -

pat ible messages. For example, th e pol icies m igh t set

levels of perfo rm ance and goals that are una t tainable

wi th ou t the individua l resor ting to behavior tha t i s

pro hibi ted by th e pol icy. Th ird, org anic changes in a

company such as mergers , rapid growth, and the

add it ion o f foreign operat ions can lead to si tuat ions

wh ich the formula tors of the pol icy did not have in

mind . In such cases , the policies can no longer

effectively gu ide action.

While stated pol icies on ethical behavior are

genera l ly voluntary, some are requ i red by law. For

example, the Securi t ies and Exchange Commission

R ul e 1 7 j -1 unde r t he Inve s t me nt C om pa ny Ac t o f

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272 M i c h a e l B o m m e r e t a l.

1 9 4 0 r e q u i r e s t h a t r e g i s t e r e d c o m p a n i e s a n d o t h e r

cer ta in c lose ly assoc ia ted en t i t i es mus t have wri t t en

c o d e s o f e t h i c s i n wh i c h t h e c o m p a n i e s a r t i c u l a t e

p r o h i b i t e d p r a c t i c e s a n d i m p l e m e n t d e t e c t i o n a n d

e n fo rc e m e n t p ro c e d u re s (G il li s, 1 9 8 1) .

C o rp o ra t i o n s h a v e t h e i r o w n ' c u l t u r e s' , j u s t a s

s o ci et ie s d o . T h e c u l t u r e is r e f l e c t e d i n t h e . . .

a t t i t u d e s a n d v a l u e s , m a n a g e m e n t s t y l e s a n d p ro b -

l e m -s o l v i n g b e h a v i o r o f i ts p e o p l e (S c h wa r t z a n d

Da v is , 1 9 8 1 ) . C o rp o ra t e n o rm s a r e t h e p ro d u c t s o f

t h i s c u l tu r e . I t i s o f t e n c o n t e n d e d t h a t i n a c a p i t a l is t

s y s t e m h u m a n i s t i c , c o m p a s s i o n a t e , a n d e g a l i t a r i a n

v a l u e s t e n d t o b e l e f t b e h i n d a s t h e b u s i n e s s

e n t e rp r i s e p u r s u e s it s p ro f i t m o t i v e . W i t h i n t h i s

c o n t e x t t h e f a c t t h a t b u s i n e s s e n t e rp r i s e s g e n e ra l l y

ac t on ly in the i r se l f - in te r es t i s no t su rp r i s ing . As

o n e c o m e s a c ro s s o c c a s io n a l c o rp o ra t e g o o d w o rk s , i t

s h o u l d n o t b e fo rg o t t e n t h a t c o rp o ra t i o n s a r e n o t

e l e e m o s y n a ry (c h a r it a b le ) i n s t i tu t i o n s a n d c a n n o t b e

e x p e c t e d t o a c t i n wa y s c o n t r a ry t o t h e i r d o m i n a n t

e thos , w h ic h i s p ro f i t (Hodge s , 1963).

T h e c o n d u c t o f t h e B o a r d o f D i re c t or s , C E O a n d

o t h e r s e n i o r m a n a g e m e n t c a n s i g n a l s u b o r d i n a t e

m a n a g e r s a s t o wh i c h b e h a v i o r s a r e a c c e p t a b l e . An

i n d i v i d u a l 's s u p e rv i s o r h a s s i g n i f i c a n t p o w e r o v e r h i s

o r h e r b e h a v i o r . T h e re i s a g r e a t d e a l o f r e s e a rc h

s h o wi n g t h a t a u t h o r i t y f i g u re s c a n i n f l u e n c e o t h e r s

t o b e h a v e u n e t h i c a l l y . An i n d i v i d u a l ' s s u p e rv i s o r

o f t e n h a s t h e c a p a c i t y fo r r e wa rd i n g a n d p u n i s h i n g

a n d , t h e re fo re , is a n a u t h o r i t y f i g u re fo r t h e i n d i v i d -

u a l i n t h e wo rk e n v i ro n m e n t . S o c i a l p s y c h o l o g i s t s

( F r e e d m a n et al . 1 9 8 1 ) h a v e f o u n d t h a t o n e w a y t o

m a x i m i z e c o m p l i a n c e to a s e t o f n o r m s i s t o p u t a n

i n d i v i d u a l i n a w e l l - c o n t r o l l e d s i t u a t i o n a n d m a k e

n o n c o m p l i a n c e d i f f i c u l t . T h e w e l l k n o w n M i l g r a m

s t u d ie s (1 96 3 , 1 9 6 5 ) a re e x a m p l e s o f h o w a u t h o r i t y

f i g u re s c a n e x e r t e x t r e m e p re s s u re t o c o m p l y t o

o r d e rs e v e n w h e n c o m p l i a n c e i s u n e t h ic a l .

P o l i c i e s t h a t h a v e b e e n s u g g e s t e d a s e n c o u ra g i n g

e t h i c a l b e h a v i o r i n c l u d e t h e p re s e n c e o f e f f e c t i v e

p r o c e d u r e s f o r m o n i t o r i n g c o m p l i a n c e t o c o m p a n y

p o l i c y a n d a s c e r t a i n i n g w h a t i s a c t u a l ly o c c u r r i n g i n

t h o s e a r e a s wh e re p o l i c i e s h a v e b e e n e s t a b l i s h e d .

T h e s e p ro c e d u re s n e e d t o b e s u f f i c i e n t fo r d e t e r -

m i n i n g o r d e t e c t i n g w h e n i m p r o p e r a c ts h a v e t a k e n

p lace , as wel l as fo r iden t i fy ing the t ransgresso r .

S i n c e e x i s t e n c e o f e a s y o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o a c t u n e t h i -

ca l ly fac il it a tes the occ urre nce o f une th ic a l ac t s,

s y s t e m s a n d c o n t r o l s n e e d t o b e i m p l e m e n t e d t h a t

w i l l b o t h d e c re a s e th e e a se a n d e l i m i n a t e th e o p p o r -

t u n i t i e s . S c re e n i n g p ro s p e c t i v e e m p l o y e e s fo r t r u s t

a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a n d i n s t i t u t i n g a p p ro p r i a t e l i m i t s

o n a c ce s s t o i n fo rm a t i o n a n d t a n g i b l e it e m s a r e a l s o

i m p o r t a n t ( M a u t z et al . 1979).

T h e re a r e o t h e r o rg a n i z a t i o n a l c h a ra c t e r i s t i c s

a ss o ci at ed w i t h a r e d u c e d f r e q u e n c y o f u n e t h i c a l

a c ti vi ty . T h e p re s e n c e o f s y s te m s t o f a c i li ta t e c o m -

m u n i c a t i o n s , b o t h v e r t i c a l l y a n d h o r i z o n t a l l y i n

t h e m a n a g e r i a l h i e r a r c h y , i s o n e . T o b e e f f e c t i v e ,

s u c h c o m m u n i c a t i o n n e e d s t o b e t i m e l y , c l e a r , a n d

a c c u ra t e , a s we l l a s o p e n a n d f r a n k . S u c h c h a n n e l s

o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n a p p a r e n t l y h e l p p r e v e n t s e n i o r

m a n a g e m e n t f r o m b e c o m i n g d i s t a n t o r i n s u l a t e d

f ro m wro n g d o e r s a t l o we r l e ve l s i n t h e o rg a n i z a t io n .

M a n a g e r s a r e t h us m o r e l i k e l y t o k n o w w h o i s

d o i n g w h a t a n d b y w h i c h m e a n s . U n d e r s u c h

c i r c u m s t a n c e s i t i s m o re d i f f i c u l t f o r m a n a g e r s t o

i g n o re u n e t h i c a l b e h a v i o r w i t h i n t h e i r o rg a n i z a t i o n s

(DeGeorge , 1978) .

e r s o n a l e n v i r o n m e n t

T h e v a ri a bl e s i n t hi s s e g m e n t o f t h e m o d e l - t h e

fa m i l y a n d p e e r g ro u p s - r e l a t e t o t h e i n d iv i d u a l ' s

p e r s o n a l l i f e o u t s i d e o f t h e o rg a n i z a t i o n . A l t h o u g h

the research in th i s a rea i s very l imi ted , i t ra i ses a

n u m b e r o f c o n c e p t u a l i ss ue s .

R e s e a rc h o n t h e r e l a t i o n b e t we e n a n i n d i v i d u a l ' s

f a m i l y a n d o c c u p a t i o n a l s i t u a t i o n s h a s fo c u s e d

a l m o s t e x c l u si v e ly o n t h e i n f l u e n c e o f o c c u p a t i o n o n

t h e f a m i l y (M o r t i m e r , 1 9 8 0 ; Do n a l d a n d B ra d s h a w,

1981) . For example , Donald and Bradsh .aw (1981)

fo u n d t h a t wo rk a n d o c c u p a t i o n a l s t r e s s t e n d s t o

p ro d u c e f a m i l y p ro b l e m s wh e re a s t h e re i s l i t t l e o r

n o r e s e a rc h o n h o w t h e f a m i l y a f fe c ts o n - t h e - j o b

e t h i c a l a n d u n e t h i c a l b e h a v i o r . M c L e a n (1 9 78 ) h a s

t a k e n a d i f f e r e n t a p p ro a c h t o t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p

b e t w e e n t h e f a m i l y a n d e t h i c a l a n d u n e t h i c a l

b e h a v i o r . H i s t h e o ry o f r e f e r e n c e g ro u p s s tr es se s t h a t

e t h i c i s t s h a v e f a i l e d t o a c c o u n t fo r t h e p re s s u re

w h i c h m u l t i p le r o le s e x er t o n m e m b e r s o f m o d e r n

s o c i e t y wh e n t h e y u n d e r t a k e e t h i c a l a n a l y s e s . He

n o t e s t h a t o n e o f t h e m u l t i p le r o l es n o t o f t e n t a k e n

i n t o a c c o u n t i s t h a t o f f a m i l y m e m b e r .

P e e r g ro u p p re s s u re s e e m s t o b e a s i g n i f i c a n t

v a r i a b l e i n p r e d i c t i n g d e v i a n t b e h a v i o r (Gra s m i c k

a n d G r e e n , 1 98 0; B u r k e t t a n d J e n s e n , 1 9 7 5 ) a m o n g

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A Behavioral Model 273

adolescent youth. T here seems to be a s t rong re la -

t ionship be tween peer group a t t i tude and behavior

and the propensi ty of i l legal act ivi ty by youthful

offenders. Other research indicates that peer group

pressure may cause the group to make faul ty and

often im m ora l decisions (Janis, 1972; All ison, 1971;

Halberstam, 1972).

Th e individua l s ho me env i ronm ent a lso seems to

guide m ora l dev e lopmen t . Kagan (1984) has a rgued

for a n on-e nvi ro nm enta l approach. He advances a

gene t ic explana t ion for the d eve lop me nt of mo ra l

values, but at the present he seems to be in the

minori ty . The opposing view, supported by a l arge

body of l i te ra ture wi thin deve lop men ta l psychology,

postulates the theory tha t the individu al s family and

peers have a l a rge inf luence on mora l deve lopment

(Bandura, 1971 , 1977). Th e chi ld goes throug h a

com plex socializat ion process whic h is an im po rtant

de te rm inant of mora l thinking. Th e fam i ly and peer

groups are both important in this process (Cohen,

1976; Clausen, 1968). A ltho ug h the l i terature in the

area em phasizes the chi ld s m oral actions, the

individua l s fami ly and peer env i ronm ent sure ly a lso

has a con t inuing inf luence into adul thood. How ever ,

the lack o f re levant research on man y o f the topics

l imits the conclusions that can b e drawn.

n d i v i d u a l a t t r i b u t es

The individua l component of the model compri ses

mo ral level , personal goals, mo tivat ion m echanisms,

position/status, self con cept, life experiences, pe r-

sonali ty, and dem ogra phic variables. Th e research

con nect ing individua l at tributes with ethical and

unethical behavior is fairly l imited and tends to

concentrate on moral level , demographics, motiva-

tion mechani, sms,and self concept .

Koh lberg s inf luence is four~d throu gho ut m ost o f

the research on the individua l and mora l deve lop-

ment . Ko hlberg (1 969, 1971)Idef lnes s ix s tages of

mora l deve lop ment , wh ich he groups into three

general categories, two stages per category. The fi rst

general category is the prec onv ention al (or pre-

moral). Individuals in this category do not base

jud ge m en t of r ight and w rong on soc ie ty s standards ,

but on the i r own physica l needs . Fear of pun ishm ent

is the m ain reason rules are fol low ed by peo ple in

this category. K ohlberg s sec ond category is th e

conv entiona l level . Childr en ususal ly reach this

category aro und the age o f ten, and i t is also the

most prevalent moral category for adults. The basic

cri teria for right and wrong in this category are the

no rm s an d regulations o f society. Kohlberg s final

category is the postconventional . An individual in

this category does n ot reject the legi t imacy of rules

in society, bu t a t tim es fin d society s prescriptions

want ing. The pos tconvent iona l individua l has the

capacity for reflection, logical reasoning, responsi-

bi li ty, and an inne r source o f mo ral i ty and just ice.

Koh lberg has deve loped an ins t rum ent for assess-

ing an individual s level of m oral reasoning. Man y

of the studies relat ing to the in dividual att ributes in

thi s segment of the model use a Kohlberg- type

ins t rum ent to de te rm ine mora l l eve l and the n s tudy

moral level as a dependent variable influenced by

the oth er individu al at tributes as ind epe nd en t vari-

ables. Kohlberg-type instruments use a series of

ethical di lemmas as an ambiguous st imulus for

subjects who are then asked to describe how they

would behave in the si tuat ion. The level of moral

reasoning is dete rm ined from the rat ionale used in

explaining the hyp othet ical actions.

Maqsud (1980) for example, studies the effect of

the personal ity characterist ic of locus of con trol on

mo ral level . Locus o f control refers to th e deg ree one

relies on on ese lf (internal) vs. othe rs (external) for

reinfo rcem ent (Rotter, 196 6). Maqsud fou nd a sig-

ni f icant concent ra t ion of inte rna l locus of cont rol

individuals in the po stconv entional (higher order)

leve l of mora l reasoning. Others (Adams-Weber ,

1969; John son and Gormly, 1972 ) have repor ted

similar findings. Other studies have used a variety of

personali ty measures and related the m to level of

mo ral reasoning. Au thori tarianism, neurot icism, and

level of anxiety have al l been related to differing

indices of m ora l reasoning (Elliott, 1976).

De mo grap hic variables, for example, sex, age, and

educat ion, have been used to predict moral reason-

ing in a number of s tudies . A number of authors

(Lyons, 1982; Braverman et a l . 1972) have s tudied

the effect of sex differences on moral level . They

found tha t females t end not to progress to pos t -

conventional moral i ty as often as males because of

differential societal pressures on females, even

thou gh a t youn ger ages females t end to be mo re

advanced in t e rms of m ora l reasoning (Freeman and

Giefink, 1979 ). Age and edu cat ion level als o are

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A Behavioral Mo del

275

c o n f l i ct s a r e i n e v i ta b l e , a n d t h e p a r t i c u l a r r e s o l u t i o n

o f t h e s e c o n f li c t s d e p e n d s o n t h e r e l a t i v e d e g r e e

o f i n f lu e n c e o f t h e v a r io u s e n v i r o n m e n t s o n t h e

d e c i s i o n m a k e r . F o r e x a m p l e , a t a n y p o i n t t h e v a l u e s

o f t h e d e c i s i o n m a k e r m a y c o n f l i c t w i t h t h e v a l u e s

o f t h e o r g a n i z a t io n . A s t u d y o f 2 3 8 m a n a g e r s

r e v e a l e d th a t t h e y e x p e r i e n c e p r e s s u r e , r e a l o r

p e r c e i v e d , t o c o m p r o m i s e t h e i r p e r s o n a l m o r a l

s t andards to s a t i s fy organiza t iona l expec ta t ions

( C a r r o l l, 1 9 7 5 ) . A s t u d y b y E n g l a n d ( 1 9 6 7) r e v e a l e d

t h a t m a n a g e r s p l a c e a g r e a t d e al o f im p o r t a n c e o n

o r g a n i z a t i o n a l g o a l s a n d h a v e a s t r o n g g r o u p

o r i e n t a t i o n . A f u r t h e r s t u d y b y S e n g e r ( 1 9 7 1 ) f o u n d

t h a t m a n a g e r s t e n d t o e v a l u a t e t h e i r s u b o r d i n a t e s

w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e i r d e g r e e o f a c c e p t a n c e o f

o r g a n i z a t i o n a l v a l u e s . T h e s e f i n d i n g s , w o u l d t e n d t o

s u p p o r t a h y p o t h e s i s t h a t i n e v e n t o f a c o n f l i c t o f

v a l u e s , o r g a n i z a t i o n a l a n d g r o u p v a l u e s m a y a s s u m e

g r e a t e r e m p h a s i s i n c o m p a r i s o n t o p e r s o n a l v a l u e s .

H o w e v e r , i n r e s o l v i n g t h i s c o n f l i c t b e t w e e n t h e

p e r s o n a l va l u es o f t h e m a n a g e r a n d t h e g o a ls o f t h e

o r g a n i z a t i o n , M o n s e n et al (1966) a rgue tha t the

m a n a g e r m o s t f r e q u e n t l y r e s o l v e s t h i s c o n f l i c t b y

e m p h a s i z i n g h i s / h e r o w n p e r s o n a l g o a l s . T h i s s e e m s

t o i m p l y t h a t i n t h e e v e n t o f a c o n f l i c t , m a n a g e r s

p u r s u e a p a t h t h a t t h e y p e r c e iv e w i l l e n h a n c e t h e i r

o w n s e l f i n t e re s t s e s p e c i a ll y w i t h r e s p e c t t o c a r e e r

a d v a n c e m e n t .

I n m a k i n g v a r i o u s d e c i s i o n s a t e a c h s t e p i n t h e

d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g p r o c e s s t h e m a n a g e r a c q u i r e s a n d

p r o c e s s e s a m y r i a d o f i n f o r m a t i o n . S o m e o f t h i s

i n f o r m a t i o n is p r o b l e m s p e ci fi c w h e r e a s o t h e r i n f o r -

m a t i o n r e l a t e s t o t h e p r e v i o u s l y d i s c u s s e d e n v i r o n -

m e n t a l f a c t o r s . T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n r a n g e s f r o m h a r d

da ta , such as l aws and s t a t ed corpora te po l i c i e s , t o

s o f t d at a , s u c h a s a n i n d i v i d u a l ' s s e l f c o n c e p t a n d

p e e r g r o u p w i t h a r a n g e o f i n f o r m a t i o n i n b e t w e e n

t h e s e s t a t e s . T h e m a n a g e r m u s t t h e n s y n t h e s i z e a n d

a n a l y z e t h i s i n f o r m a t i o n t o d e t e r m i n e a r a t i o n a l

d e c i s i o n t o t h e p r o b l e m s i t u a t i o n . A s i m p l i f i e d

m o d e l o f t h e m o r e i m p o r t a n t e l e m e n t s in t h is

p r o c e s s a r e d e p i c t e d a s F i g u r e 2 . T h e t w o i n f o r m a -

t i o n i n p u t s - t h e p a r a m e t e rs , o f t h e p r o b l e m s i tu a -

t i o n a n d t h e e n v i r o n m e n t a l f ac t or s im p i n g i n g o n t h e

d e c i s o n m a k e r - a r e f i l te r e d b y t h e m a n a g e r i n a

s e l e c t i v e p e r c e p t i o n p r o c e s s . T h e m a n a g e r t h e n

b u i l d s a c o n c e p t u a l m o d e l , w h i c h g o e s t h r o u g h a n

i t e ra t i v e p r o c e ss a f f e c t e d b y t h e i n d i v i d u a l a t t r i b u t e s

a n d m e d i a t e d b y t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s u n i q u e c o g n i t i v e

p r o c e s s . S i n c e e n v i r o n m e n t a l f a c t o r s a n d i n d i v i d u a l

a t t r ib u t e s h a v e b e e n d i s c u s s e d i n p r e v i o u s s e c t io n s o f

t h i s a r t i c l e , t h i s s e c t i o n w i l l f o c u s o n t h e r e m a i n i n g

aspec t s o f the dec i s ion 'proces s .

H o g a r t h ( 1 9 8 0 ) n o t e s t h a t p e o p l e h a v e l i m i t e d

i n f o r m a t i o n - p r o c e s s i n g c a p a c i t y . T h e c o n s e q u e n c e

o f t h i s l im i t a t i o n a f f e c ts t h e m a n a g e r ' s ( 1 ) p e r c e p t i o n

o f i n f o r m a t i o n , ( 2 ) st y le o f i n f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s in g ,

a n d ( 3) m e m o r y a s fo l lo w s :

( 1) P e r c e p t i o n o f i n f o r m a t i o n i s se l ec t iv e . T h e

d e c i si o n m a k e r , i n f l u e n c e d b y a n u m b e r o f d i f f e re n t

f o rc e s, m a y o r m a y n o t s e l ec t t h e i n f o r m a t i o n w h i c h

i s m o s t r e l e v a n t t o t h e p r o b l e m s i tu a t i o n .

( 2) S in c e p e o p l e c a n n o t s i m u l t a n e o u s l y i n t e g r a t e a

g r e a t d e a l o f i n f o r m a t i o n , p r o c e s s i n g is m a i n l y d o n e

i n a s e q u e n t i a l m a n n e r . T h e s e q u e n c e i n w h i c h

i n f o r m a t i o n i s p r o c e s s e d m a y b i as a p e r s o n 's j u d g e -

Problem

situation

o r

di lemma

Environmental

Factors

social

government/legal

w o r k

professional

pe rsona l

Selective

Perceptual

Filtering

Conceptual

model

Cog nitive process

Individual

t t r i b u t e s

Decision

Fig. 2. Th e decision process.

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276 Michael Bomm er et al

ment and limit the evaluation of interrelated

elements.

(3) Finally, people have lim ited m em ory capacity.

This limits the access to info rmation whic h m ight be

relevant to the problem.

Given this limited information-processing capaci-

ty, managers tend to select information and process

it in a sequential manner. What we select depends

on the information stimulus and on our internal

representation of the problem situation.

As a way of dealing with the complexity of the

situation, managers appear to form a conceptual

mo del of the problem. Simon (19 76) notes that

decision makers cannot comprehend all alternatives,

probabilities, consequences, values, and the evalua-

tion of these and so constructs an internal repre-

sentation or m ode l of the situation. Th e m odel may

be simplistic or complex, de pen din g on the cogrfitive

capabilities and capacity o f the manager. New info r-

mation modifies our internal representation model

which, in turn, directs our activities to further

sample information from the environment, which

further modifies our internal representation, which

directs exploration, etc., in a cyclical fashion. On ly

that information that fits is incorporated into the

model Features th at fit well into th e m ode l are m ore

readily selected and more likely to be incorporated

than those that do no t fit easily. In any ca se, the

mo del is never a co mplete representation of the real

world problem situation, wh ich limits the manager's

ability to make a truly rational decision (bounded

rationality). Conseq uently, ju dg m en ts or choices

made reflect not only the structure of the problem

situation but also the capabilities and limitations of

the d ecison maker.

In the past few years a num ber of conceptual and

empirical articles have appeared in the literature

regarding the effect of a manager's cognitive style

of p roblem solving and decision making (see, for

example, Benbasat and Taylor, 1978; Blaylock and

Rees, 1984; Hen derson and Nutt, 1980; Kilm an and

Mitroff, 1976; and J~aggart and Robey, 1981). Simo n

(1960, p. 72) defines cogn itive style as the charac-

teristic, self consistent mode of functioning which

individuals show in their perception and intellectual

activities.: The re are ma ny dimensions of cognitive

style (6old stein and Blackman, 1978) jus t as there

are many dimensions of an individual's personality.

The difference between the personality and cogni-

tive style of an individual is a distinction between

what an individual thinks (personality) and the way

the ind ividua l thinks (cognitive style) (Pratt, 1980, p.

502). Although there is general acknowledgement

that the construct of cognitive style is multidimen-

sional, the number and identity of such dimensions

and the relationship between these dimensions are

no t clear (Zmud , 1979).

In recent years there has been a surge o f interest

about the impact of cognitive style on managerial

problem solving and decision making. Some of the

most cited cognitive measures w hich w ould seem to

affect ethical and unethical decision making include:

Myers-Briggs Typ e Indicato r (Myers, 1962); w itk in 's

Em bedd ed Figures Test (Witkin, 1971); Cognitive

Complexity (Bieri , 1966) and Tolerance of A mbi-

guity (Budner, 1962). Th e Myers-Briggs Indicator,

which is based on Carl Jung's theory of type,

purpo rts to assess differences in beha vior as to

how an individual uses perception and judgemen t.

Witkin 's E mb edd ed Figures test assesses wh ether

one is more field dep end ent (relies more on external

referents for behavior) or field independent (relies

more on internal referents for behavior). Cognitive

complexity is a measure of one's ability to evaluate

multiple d imensions or aspects of a problem situa-

tion. B udner's S cale for Tolerance-Intolerance of

Ambiguity assesses one's degree of tolerance for

dealing with ambiguous, uncertain situations. Such

factors as personality traits, psychological needs, self

concept, dem ogra phic factors, value systems, as well

as one's memory of experiences shape the selection

process and internal representation of the problem

situation. Actions become consistent with the inter-

nal cognitive process of an individual which is

shaped by these many forces rather than by the

reality o f the pro blem situation.

In deciding whether or n ot to pursue a given

course of action, the rational decision maker is

further influenced by bo th the perceived conse-

quences and the perceived risks involved. Many

times an individual's perception o f a consequ ence or

risk differs significantly fro m the actual co nsequ ence

or risk as a result of a minimization or exaggeration

process. Few individuals have the luxury of perfect

information whe n m aking a decision or even know -

ing the degree of information to which they are

knowledgeable. T he decision is further influenced by

the subjective weights applied to the consequences

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A B e h a v i o r a l M o d e l 2 7 7

a c c o r d i n g t O th e i n d i v i d u a l ' s u n i q u e v a l u e s y s t e m o r

u t i l i t y f u n c t i o n .

F i n a l l y , i n m a k i n g a f i n a l c h o i c e o r d e c i s i o n f o r

t h e p r o b l e m s i tu a t io n , th e m a n a g e r m a y o r m a y n o t

r e s o r t t o u s i n g a d e c i s i o n t o o l o r a i d . I n r e c e n t y e a r s a

n u m b e r o f d e c i s io n t oo l s a n d a i d s h a v e b e e n d e v e l -

o p e d r a n g i n g i n c o m p l e x i t y f r o m h i g h l y s t ru c t u r e d

c o m p u t e r - b a s e d m o d e l s t o s i m p l e ru l es o f t h u m b .

T h e s e a i d s p ro v i d e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y o f e x t e n d i n g t h e

l i m i t e d i n f o r m a t i o n p r o c e s s i n g a n d c o g n i t i v e c a p a -

b i l i ti e s o f t h e m a n a g e r s .

T h e u l t i m a t e d e c i s i o n o f c h o i c e (e t h ic a l o r u n -

e t h i c a l ) t o a p r o b l e m s i t u a t i o n i s d e p e n d e n t o n a

n u m b e r o f f a c t or s a f f e c t in g t h e d e c i s i o n pr o c es s .

T h e s e f a c to r s i n c l u d e t h e a v a il a bl e i n f o r m a t i o n ( h a r d

a n d s o f t ) , t h e i n d i v i d u a l a t t r i b u t e s a n d c o g n i t i v e

c a p a b il it i es o f t h e m a n a g e r s , t h e p e r c e i v e d c o n s e -

q u e n c e s a n d r i s ks o f a d e c i s io n , t h e v a l u e o r u t i l i t y

a s s i g n e d t o t h e s e c o n s e q u e n c e s , a s w e l l a s t h e d e g r e e

o f re l i a n c e o n s t r u c t u r e d m o d e l s b y t h e m a n a g e r .

onc lu s ion s

T h e m o d e l d e v e l o p e d i n t h i s a r t i c l e m u s t b e r e c o g -

n i z e d a s a f ir s t a t t e m p t t o i d e n t i f y a n d r e l a t e t h e

e n v i r o n m e n t a l f a c t o r s a n d i n f l u e n c e s i n d e c i s i o n

m a k i n g , w h e r e a n i n d i v i d u a l i s f a c e d w i t h a c h o i c e

t h a t h a s e t h ic a l i m p l i c a t i o n s . W e e x p e c t t h is m o d e l

t o e v o l v e a s f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h e x p a n d s t h e b o d y o f

k n o w l e d g e r e l a t i n g t o t h i s f i e l d .

W h i l e s u b s t a n t i a l r e s e a r c h h a s b e e n d o n e c o n -

c e r n i n g e t h i c a l i ss u es , c l e a rl y m u c h m o r e n e e d s t o b e

d o n e . M o s t u r g e n t l y n e e d e d i s a s e ri es o f e m p i r i c a l

s t u d ie s o f s p e ci f ic d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g s i t u a ti o n s i n v o l v -

i n g e t h i c a l i s su e s . T h e b e h a v i o r s o f i n d i v i d u a l s a n d

t h e i r i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h t h e i r e n v i r o n m e n t s s h o u l d b e

s y s t e m a t i c a l l y o b s e r v e d s o a s t o d e t e r m i n e w h i c h

f a c t o r s l e a d t o a p a r t i c u l a r d e c i s i o n . C o m p o n e n t s

o f t h e m o d e l c o u l d b e m a n i p u l a t e d i n o r d e r t o

a s c er ta i n t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f ea c h c o m p o n e n t . U n -

d o u b t e d l y s u c h a c o m p l e x u n d e r t a k i n g w o u l d

r e q u i r e s u b s t a n t i a l t i m e a n d r e s o u r c e s . T h e r e s u l t s o f

s u c h a s e ri e s o f e x p e r i m e n t s w o u l d a l l o w f u r t h e r

r e f i n e m e n t a n d u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e m o d e l a n d i t s

c o m p o n e n t s .

W h i l e t h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n a n d d e s c r i p t i o n i s p r e -

l i m i n a r y , i t c a n s t i l l p r o v i d e v a l u a b l e a s s i s t a n c e i n

t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g , d e v e l o p m e n t a n d e v a l u a t i o n o f

i n t e r v e n t i o n a n d a w a r e n e s s p r o g r a m s i n i n d u s t r y .

L i k e w i s e i t c a n b e u s e f u l i n a c a d e m i c s e t t i n g s , i n

c o u r s e s t h a t d e a l w i t h e t h i c a l i s s u e s i n b u s i n e s s a n d

i n d u s t r y , b y p r o v i d i n g a m u l t i d i m e n s i o n a l f r a m e -

w o r k t o a ss is t i n t h e c o m p r e h e n s i o n o f t h e v a r ie t y

a n d m a g n i t u d e o f t h e f a c to r s t h a t n e e d t o be c o n -

s id e r ed .

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