Ethics and efficiency in organizations

Abstract

Lays out a framework for analysing ethics in organizations. Relying on methodological individualism, introduces five building blocks for the framework: self‐interest, individual rationality, sequential rationality, incentive compatibility, and reputation. Uncritical use of the self‐interest model may induce framing effects, blinding less cautious users to important ethical dimensions. Illustrates the richness and “ethical flavour” of an appropriately considered self‐interest model through focusing one of the individual agent’s real interests in a broad sense, through the use of the time factor in the building blocks, and through suggesting how the individual agent can interpret the value systems in her surroundings.

Citation

Hausken, K. (1996), "Ethics and efficiency in organizations", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 23 No. 9, pp. 15-40. https://doi.org/10.1108/03068299610124298