Ethical Ethics Case Study

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Introduction The context of the study In modern day society, unethical and deviant workplace practices can be considered as a universal problem. As a result, unethical business practices have generated extensive interest in the world of work (Lloyd & May, 2010). In South Africa (SA), organizations are categorised by growing crime and unethical behaviour (Van Zyl, 2012). According to Wolmarans (2014), the South African business world is increasingly at risk of unethical practices, because there is a lack clearly established norms in their respective practices. For Van Zyl (2012), lack of moral awareness in businesses in developing countries, like SA, can be attributed to the current state of the economy. Specifically, businesses struggle for…show more content…
Firstly, a large body of research has focused on prosocial outcomes of ethical leadership (Mayer et al., 2010; Piccolo, Greenbaum, Hartog & Folger, 2010; Walumbwa & Schaubroeck, 2009). Secondly, there is a limited number of research with regards to the underlying mechanism linking ethical leadership to employee behaviour, especially within the South African context (Mayar et al., 2010). As a result, this research attempts to expand and refine existing knowledge by investigating deviant employee behaviour and its determinants. This study uses a South African sample and will therefore add to the literature in the South African context. Research purpose The purpose of this investigation was to explore possible relationships between ethical leadership, ethical climate and deviant employee behaviour. The audience that could most likely benefit from this investigation would be various organizations, because this study focuses on implications of ethical leadership within organizations. However, it could also benefit the global environment by promoting ethical practice within society. The research initiating research question would be: How does the behaviour of organizational leaders play a role in influencing ethical employee behaviour? Literature…show more content…
Consequently, there have been multiple studies that have focused on the role of leadership in dealing with unethical behaviour in organizations (Brown & Treviño, 2006; Mayer, et al., 2010; Piccolo, et al., 2010; Walumbwa, Mayer, Wang, P., Wang, H., Workman & Christensen, 2011; Walumbwa & Schaubroeck, 2009). In addition, ethical leadership is one of the important factors, which shape ethical employee behaviours by fostering an ethical organization climate (Elçi et al., 2013; Mayer et al., 2010). Hence, according to Schminke, Ambrose and Neubaum (2005 as cited in Elçi et al., 2013), a leader’s ethical approach can affect an organization’s climate through rewards, selection and communication, which can ultimately shape ethical organizational norms and
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