Factor identification in managerial ethics

Abstract

Business is expected to serve the common good of all stakeholders and have special legal interests with regard to upholding the values embedded in the constitution. Proper managerial ethics is becoming more of a concern within the context of business as the risks involved have grown in number, complexity, likelihood and significance. The extent of organisational pressure on management to perform accordingly on various indicators may also lead to compromises on organisational standards of ethical business conduct in order to achieve the bottom line and related objectives. The aim of this research is to measure the dimension of ethical attitudes amongst managers along a number of stated business scenarios which illustrate that managers may often be exposed to situations where they experience problems with role definition and other related interactions at their work place. The research used a questionnaire as measuring instrument to assess the attitudes pertaining to the ethical perceptions of managers. Data collection was implemented by administering the survey to a sample of managers with at least 2 years managerial experience. Six categories of factors were identified from the data analysis which are labelled as indirect ethical grey areas; devious behaviour; insider trading; leaking of competitive information; integrity and bribes.