organizational chapter 2

multifoci approach to justice

a conceptualization of organizational justice recognizing that people take into account both individuals (specific managers) and larger units (organizations as a whole) when assessing fairness

code of ethics

a document describing what an organization stands for and the general rules of conduct expected of employees (especially effective when used in conjunction with training programs)

ethics committee

a group composed of senior-level managers from various areas of an organization who assist an organization's CEO in making ethical decisions by developing and evaluating company-wide ethics policies

ethics officer

a high-ranking organizational official who is expected to provide strategies for ensuring ethical conduct throughout an organization

SOX (sarbanes-oxley act)

a law enacted to guard against future accounting scandals by initiating reforms in the standards by which public companies report accounting data (tried to avoid fraudulent practices by holding senior company officials personally accountable for their companies accounting reports)

madison avenue mentality (unethical thinking)

a way of viewing the world according to which people are more concerned about how things appear to others than how they really are, that is the appearance of doing the right thing matters more than the actual behavior (anything is right if the public can be made to see it as right-helps companies hide unethical behavior or justify them as acceptable)

parts of the brain activated in response to distributive injustice (emotions)

anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula

corporate social responsibility

business practices that adhere to ethical values that comply with legal requirements that demonstrate respect for individuals and that promote the betterment of the community at large and the environment (focuses at top of pyramid, operating a business in a manner that meets or exceeds the ethical and legal expectations that society has of a business) EX: mcdonalds ronald mcdonald house

cognitive moral development

differences among people in the capacity to engage in the kind of reasoning that enables them to make moral judgements

corporate ethics programs

formal, systematic efforts designed to promote ethics by making people sensitive to potentially unethical behavior and discouraging them from engaging in unethical acts

federal sentencing guidelines for organizations

guidelines for federal judges to follow when imposing penalties on organizations found guilty of breaking federal laws (specify that judges should consider any efforts on the part of companies to prevent and detect violations of the law)

criteria of procedural justice

having a voice in the making of decisions, applying same rules for all workers, fair decisions must be based on info that is accurate, opportunity to correct errors that were made, safeguards against bias

examples of corporate social responsibility

helping community by making charitable contributions, preserving the environment, socially responsible investing, promoting welfare of employees

preconventional level of moral reasoning

in kohlberg's theory of cognitive moral development, the level at which people (young children and some adults) haven't yet developed the capacity to assume the perspective of others, leading them to interpret what is right solely with respect to themselves (cognitive skills are not sufficiently advanced so they can't comprehend any argument one may make about something being wrong because it violates their social obligations to others)

postconventional level of moral reasoning

in kohlberg's theory of cognitive moral development, the level at which people judge what is right and wrong not solely in terms of their interpersonal and societal obligations, but in terms of complex philosophical principles of duty, justice, and rights (very few people get to this level, but they follow their own moral compass and do what they think is truly right even if others don't agree)

conventional level of moral reasoning

in kohlberg's theory of cognitive moral development, the level attained by most people, in which they judge right and wrong in terms of what is good for others and society as a whole (2/3 of adults are in this category and what they do is governed by what is expected of them for others and they search for cues as to what is write)

what can be done to promote voice in organizations

meet regularly and invite input, conduct employee surveys, keep an "open door policy", use suggestion systems

moral values

people's fundamental beliefs regarding what is right or wrong, good or bad (reside within an individual) one of the most important sources is religious background, beliefs, and training we receive

informational justice

people's perceptions of the fairness of the information used as the basis for making a decision

interpersonal justice

people's perceptions of the fairness of the manner in which they are treated by others (typically authority figures)

procedural justice

people's perceptions of the fairness of the procedures used to determine the outcomes they receive

counternorms

practices that are accepted within an organization despite the fact that they are contrary to the prevailing ethical standards of society at large

guiding principles of global ethics (middle ground)

show respect for core human values, demonstrate sensitivity to local traditions, recognize that context matters when distinguishing between right and wrong

ethical hotlines

special telephone lines that employees can call to ask questions about ethical behavior and to report anonymously any ethical misdeeds they may have observed

ethics

standards of conduct that guide people's decisions and behavior (can be regulated by organizations)

virtuous circle

tendency for companies that are successful financially to invest in social causes because they can afford to do so and for socially responsible companies to perform well financially (socially responsible companies perform well financially because they are supported by companies and investors and as a result become wealthier making it easier for them to become more philanthropic)

bottom line-mentality (unethical thinking)

the belief that an organization's financial success is the only thing that matters (promotes short term decisions that are immediately financially beneficial even if they cause long-term problems)

ethical relativism

the belief that no culture's ethics are better than any other's and that there are no internationally acceptable standards of right and wrong (problem is that it may lead to condoning acts that violate one's own sense of morality-when in rome)

exploitative mentality (unethical thinking)

the belief that one's own immediate interests are more important than concern for others (encourages using people in a way that promotes stereotypes and undermines empathy and compassion, HIGHLY SELFISH PERSPECTIVE)

ethical imperialism

the belief that the ethical standards of one's own country should be imposed when doing business in other countries (says there is only a single set of rules regarding right and wrong, its own, and fails to recognize cultural and situational differences that might influence ethical behavior)

triple bottom-line

the contemporary notion that in addition to focusing on an organization's financial performance, officials also are interested in assuring that their companies are performing well with respect to promoting environmental quality and social justice (conducting regular ethics audits, obtain approval, plan and conduct a survey, investigate company records, benchmark results, develop an action plan, prepare a written report)

distributive justice

the form of organizational justice that focuses on people's beliefs that they have received fair amounts of valued work-related outcomes (ex. pay recognition)

group-value explanation (of organizational justice)

the idea that people believe that they are an important part of the organization when an organizational official takes the time to explain thoroughly to them the rationale behind a decision

ethics audit

the practice of assessing an organization's ethical practices by actively investigating and documenting incidents of dubious ethical value, discussing them in an open and honest fashion, and developing a concrete plan to avoid such actions in the future (companies should assess employees behavior to identify irregularities in ethical activity)

stonewalling

the practice of willingly hiding relevant information by being secretive and deceitful, which occurs when organizations punish individuals who are open and honest and reward those who go along with unethical behavior

organizational justice

the study of people's perceptions of fairness in organizations

fair process effect

the tendency for people to better accept outcomes into which they have had some input in determining than when they have no such involvement

pyramid of corporate social respnsibility

the term used to describe an organization's four most basic forms of responsibility in order from economic responsibility (bottom), legal responsibility, ethical responsibility, and philanthropic responsibility (top)

kohlberg's theory of cognitive moral development

the theory based on the idea that people develop over the years in their capacity to understand what is right and wrong

parts of the brain activated in response to procedural injustice (cognition)

ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and superior temporal sulcus