Chapter 5 Key Terms - Business Ethics

Nationality

The legal relationship between a person and the *country* in which he or she is born.

Internal Control

Believe you can control the events in your life by your *own effort and skill.* Viewing yourself as a *master of your destiny.* Trusting in your capacity to *influence your environment.*

Education

Generally, the more ______ or work experience people have, the *better they are at making ethical decisions.*

Locus of Control

Individual differences in relation to a generalized belief about *how you are affected by internal versus external events* or reinforcements. *How people view themselves in relation to power.*

Moral Intensity

Individuals' perceptions of social pressure and the harm they believe their decision will have on others. *People perceive ethical issues differently.*

Women

Which gender has been found to be *more ethical* (more *sensitive to ethical scenarios and less tolerant of unethical actions*)?

Six Spheres of Influence

1) Workplace 2) Family 3) Religion 4) Legal System 5) Community 6) Profession

Corporate Culture

A set of values, norms, and artifacts, including *ways of solving problems* that members of an organization *share.*

External Control

Seeing yourself as *going with the flow* because that is *all they can do.* Believe life is dominated by *uncontrollable forces.* Believe the probability of being able to control their lives is *low.*

Ethical Culture

The *integrity* of decisions made and a *function* of many factors, including corporate policies, top management's leadership on ethical issues, the influence of coworkers, the the opportunity for unethical behavior.

Ethical Issue Intensity

The *relevance or importance* of an *(ethical)* event or decision in the eyes of the individual, work group, and/or organization. Personal and temporal in character to accommodate values, beliefs, needs, perceptions, the special characteristics of the situation, and the personal pressures prevailing at a particular place and time.

Ethical Awareness

The ability to *perceive* whether a situation or decision has an ethical dimension.

Age

There is a complex relationship between ethics and ____. Older employees with more experience have *greater knowledge* to deal with *complex industry-specific ethical issues*. Younger employees are *far more influenced by organizational culture*.

More Ethical

Those with an *internal* locus of control *(internals)* are often _____ ______ than those with a *external* locus of control *(externals)*.