Ethical Decision- Making Model for Thai Context

Thamarat Jangsiriwattana, Sanober Salman, Boonthipa Jiantreeangkool

Abstract


The ethics issue has been receiving massive attention of today’s managers due to the publicized scandals and cases of fraud, bankruptcy and others. For managerial convenience numerous ethical decision making models were proposed by researchers, but six models are widely accepted by ethics based practitioners (Ferrell, Fraedrich & Ferrell, 2008). Each model has unique characteristics, which enhances understanding about ethical dilemma. This paper reviewed the relevant literature and utilized seven models: (Kelly & Elm, 2003; Jones, 1991; Ferrell, Gresham & Fraedrich, 1989; Hunt & Vitell, 1986; Trevino, 1986; Ferrell & Gresham, 1985; Kohlberg, 1969) and then cultivated ethical decision-making model for Thai context. In addition, the authors also reviewed the literature on Thai culture and focused on Buddhist philosophy, beliefs, values and norms of Thai people. Finally, the Seven ethical decision making models and Buddhist philosophy were integrated together to propose a model for ethical decision making for Thai organization.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Beauchamp, T. L., & Bowie, N. E. (1979). Ethical theory and business. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Blasi, A. (1980). Bridging moral cognitions and moral action: a critical review of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 88(1), 1-45. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.88.1.1

Buchholz, A. R., & Rosenthal, B. S. (2001). A philosophical framework for case studies. Journal of Business Ethics, 29(1-2), 5 – 31.

Buller, P. F., Kohls, J. J., & Anderson, K. S. (1997). A model for addressing cross-cultural ethical conflict. Business and Society, 36(2), 169-93. https://doi.org/10.1177/000765039703600204

Burnaz, S., Atakan, M. G. S., Topcu, Y. I., & Singhapakdi, A. (2009). An exploratory cross- cultural analysis of marketing ethics: the case of Turkish, Thai, and American Businesspeople. Journal of Business Ethics, 90, 371-382. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0422-4

Cameron, K. S., Dutton, J. E., & Quinn, R. E. (2003). Positive organizational scholarship: Foundations of a new discipline. San Francisco: Berret - Koehler.

Carolyn, W. (1995). The ABC’s of business ethics: definitions, philosophies and implementation. Industrial Management, 37(1), 22-26.

Carroll, B. A. (2007). Principles of business ethics: their role in decision-making and an initial consensus. Management Decision, 28(8), 20-24.

De George, R. T. (1986). Business Ethics. Macmillan, New York, NY.

DeNinno, N. (2014). Velveeta recall: kraft recalls cheese sold in Walmart Stores in 12 States. International Business Times. [Online] Available: http://www.ibtimes.com/velveeta-recall-kraft-recalls-cheese-sold-walmart-stores-12-states-1607872. (August, 2014).

Dictionary, O. (2014). Definition of Ethics in English: Oxford University Press. [Online] Available: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/ethics. (August, 2014).

Duangduen, P. (2007). The Synthesis of Ethical Research in Thailand and Other Countries. [Online] Available: www.library.cmu.ac.th/. (August, 2014).

Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2008). Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases (7th Edition). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Ferrell, O., & Gresham, L. G. (1985). A contingency framework for understanding ethical decision making in marketing. The Journal of Marketing, 87-96. https://doi.org/10.2307/1251618

Ferrell, O., Gresham, L. G., & Fraedrich, J. (1989). A synthesis of ethical decision models for marketing. Journal of Macro Marketing, 9(2), 55-64. https://doi.org/10.1177/027614678900900207

Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: An introduction to theory and research. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Fraedrich, J., Thorne, D. M., & Ferrell, O. C. (1994). Assessing the application of cognitive moral development theory to business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 13(10), 829-838. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00876263

Hill, J. S. (2007). Religion and the shaping of East Asian management styles: A conceptual examination. Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, 8, 59–88. https://doi.org/10.1300/J098v08n02_04

Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Hofstede, G. (1997). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. New York: McGraw Hill.

Hofstede, G., & Bond, M. H. (1988). The Confucius connection: From cultural roots to economic growth. Organizational Dynamics, 16, 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(88)90009-5

Holian, R. (2002). Management decision making and ethics: practices, skills, and preferences. Management Decision, 40(9), 862-870. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740210441422

Hunt, S. D., & Vitell, S. (1986). A general theory of marketing ethics. Journal of Macro Marketing, 6(1), 5-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/027614678600600103

Husted, B. W., & Allen, D. B. (2008). Toward a model of cross-cultural business ethics: The impact of individualism and collectivism on the ethical decision making process. Journal of Business Ethics, 82, 293-305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9888-8

Ivory, D. (2014). New General Motors recall covers 800,000 more vehicles. New York Times. [Online] Available: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/business/a-new-gm-recall-covers-800000-more-cars.html?_r=0#. (August, 2014).

Jones, T. M. (1991). Ethical decision making by individuals in organizations: An issue-contingent model. Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 366-395. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1991.4278958

Karande, K., Rao, C. P., &, Singhapakdi, A. (2002). Moral philosophies of marketing managers: a comparison of American, Australian and Malaysian Cultures. European Journal of Marketing 36(7, 8), 768–779. https://doi.org/10.1108/03090560210430791

Kelley, P. C., & Elm, D. R. (2003). The effect of context on moral intensity of ethical issues: revising Jones's issue-contingent model. Journal of Business Ethics, 48(2), 139-154. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BUSI.0000004594.61954.73

Keown, D. (2005). Buddhist ethics: a very short introduction. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780192804570.001.0001

Kitiarisa, P. (2010). Missionary intent and monastic networks: Thai Buddhism as a transnational religion. Journal of Social Issue in Southeast Asia, 25(1) 109-132. https://doi.org/10.1355/SJ25-1E

Kohlberg, L. (1969). Stage and sequence: the cognitive-developmental approach to socialization, pp. 347-480). New York, NY: Rand McNally.

Marta, J. K. M., Singhapakdi, A. (2005). Comparing Thai and US businesspeople: Perceived intensity of unethical marketing practices, corporate ethical values, and perceived importance of ethics. International Marketing Revision, 22(5), 562-577. https://doi.org/10.1108/02651330510624390

Musser, S. J., & Orke, E. A. (1992). Ethical values systems: a typology. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 28 (3), 348-362. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886392283002

Oliveira, A. (2007). A discussion of Rational and psychological decision-making theories and models: The search for a cultural-ethical decision-making model. Electronic Journal of Business Ethics and Organization Studies, 12(2), 12-17.

Ralston, D. A., Egri, C. P., Furrer, O., Kuo, M. H., Li, Y., Wangenheim, F., & Weber, M. (2014). Societal-level versus individual-level predictions of ethical behavior: A 48-society study of collectivism and individualism. Journal of Business Ethics, 122, 283-306.

Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of justice. London, England: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press Cambridge.

Rokeach, M. (1968). Beliefs, attitudes and values: A theory of organization and change, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Singhapakdi, A., Gopinath, M., Marta, J. K., & Carter, L. L. (2008). Antecedents and consequences of perceived importance of ethics in marketing situations: A study of Thai businesspeople. Journal of Business Ethics, 81, 887-904. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-007-9555-5

Singhapakdi, A., Marta, J. K. M., Rao, C. P., & Cicic, M. (2001). Is cross-cultural similarity an indicator of similar marketing ethics? Journal of Business Ethics, 32, 55–68. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010699529874

Toor, S. R., & Ofori, G. (2009). Ethical leadership: Examining the relationships with full range leadership model, employee outcomes, and organizational culture. Journal of Business Ethics, 90(4), 533-547. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0059-3

Trevino, L. K. (1986). Ethical decision making in organizations: A person-situation integrationist model. Academy of Management Review, 11(3), 601-617. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1986.4306235

Trompenaars, F. (1994). Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business. Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin Professional Publishing.

Windsor, D. (2006). Corporate social responsibilities: Three key approaches. Journal of Management Studies, 43(1), 93−114. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00584.x




DOI: https://doi.org/10.5296/ijhrs.v8i2.13174

Copyright (c) 2018 Thamarat Jangsiriwattana, Sanober Salman, Boonthipa Jiantreeangkool

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

International Journal of Human Resource Studies  ISSN 2162-3058

Email: ijhrs@macrothink.org

Copyright © Macrothink Institute  

To make sure that you can receive messages from us, please add the 'macrothink.org' domain to your e-mail 'safe list'. If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox', check your 'bulk mail' or 'junk mail' folders.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------