David A.L. Coldwell, Mervywn Williamson and Danielle Talbot
A significant and increasing number of graduate recruits take up employment for specific companies by virtue of their ethical reputation and profiles. As such, ethical fit has…
Abstract
Purpose
A significant and increasing number of graduate recruits take up employment for specific companies by virtue of their ethical reputation and profiles. As such, ethical fit has become an important dimension of the attraction and retention of graduates. However, preconceived notions of a company’s ethical orientation obtained through the media and initial recruitment exercises may be challenged during the induction and socialization phases of organizational entry, such that people may find that the reputation is just an external façade leading to disappointment and a reassessment of the employer. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The study’s essential focus is on building a conceptual ethical fit model and to underline the need for further conceptual development in the area. The analysis of extant secondary data and the methodology of serendipity were used.
Findings
The model’s conceptual cogency and practical utility for human resource management are analyzed in the light of specific secondary data and specific propositions described.
Research limitations/implications
A major concern with conceptual models is empirical validity and practical utility which requires empirical testing. However, this limitation has been mitigated by the use of a serendipitous approach from a qualitative empirical study with a generalized person–organization (P–O) focus.
Practical implications
Various practical implications of the model described in the paper for HR management are evident from empirical studies in the area which have dealt with particular aspects of the model. For example, Bauer et al. (1998) found that socialization effects employee turnover. And, Cable and Parsons (2001) indicate that organizational socialization is critical in generating committed employees whose values are congruent with those of the organization. Since committed employees are critical for the success of the organization, they suggest training programs for hiring managers and criteria in performance appraisals that include the development of employee value congruence through specific formal socialization tactics.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the extant literature by building a dynamic conceptual model with attendant testable propositions that explore the implications of employee misalignment in pre-socialization anticipatory organizational ethical fit and post-socialization organizational ethical fit. More specifically, the study contributes to the extant literature by considering the socialization process in relation to ethical fit dynamics. It also considers from the point of view of specific moral development theory and changing perceptions of ethical climate that occur during organizational socialization. Serendipitous material obtained from a qualitative study of P–O fit puts flesh on the bones of the effects of the socialization process on ethical fit described by the paper’s conceptual model while providing circumstantial evidence for the propositions and their practical utility for HR management.
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David Alastair Coldwell, Robert Venter and Emmanuel Nkomo
While the problem of unethical leadership is undoubtedly a global one, the urgency of generating ethical leadership to advance the development of Africa has never been more…
Abstract
Purpose
While the problem of unethical leadership is undoubtedly a global one, the urgency of generating ethical leadership to advance the development of Africa has never been more evident than it is today. The challenge for higher education in developing ethical leaders is of core importance, as it is responsible for providing the main recruiting ground of business leaders. The current paper reports findings of a qualitative study of postgraduate students’ ethical development at the end of courses in business ethics aimed to enhance moral reasoning and ethical decision-making. The paper aims to ascertain whether stand-alone ethics courses are more effective than integrated ones in achieving academic ethical competency.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts an idiographic approach which aims at eliciting individual student subjective perceptions of the effects of the direct and indirect courses of ethical instruction on their moral reasoning and ethical practice. The research design broadly follows Mill’s (2017) method of difference.
Findings
Findings indicate perceived differences in the relative effectiveness of stand-alone and embedded ethics courses among students but also show that most students hold positive overall evaluations of the effectiveness of the both types of ethics instruction.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations to the study include that it is cross-sectional, involves a small sample of postgraduate students and is restricted to two management courses at one institution of higher learning. Furthermore, while Mill (2017) provides a useful research design in this context, it is not able to indicate causality, as there are other possible unidentified “third variables” that may be the actual cause of student differences between embedded and stand-alone ethics courses. The study is not able to show the durability and transfer of ethical competencies into students’ later working lives.
Practical implications
The study provides a useful practical educational contribution to the extant knowledge in the field in that it suggests that ethical courses aimed at giving students a moral reasoning “toolkit” for ethical decision-making are more effective when delivered in the stand-alone format, whereas practical decision-making skills are best honed by embedded business ethics courses.
Social implications
The problem of corruption in business and politics in South Africa is widely documented and has been regarded as responsible for creating a serious developmental drag on the alleviation of poverty and quality of lives of the majority of people in the country. The moral/ethical competency and behavior of future business leaders is partly the responsibility of institutions of higher learning. The study aims to find the most effective means of imparting moral awareness in postgraduate students who are likely to take up business leadership positions in their future careers.
Originality/value
The study provides useful contribution to the extant knowledge in the field in the African context in that it suggests that ethical courses aimed at giving students a moral reasoning “toolkit” for ethical decision-making are more effective when delivered in the stand-alone format, whereas practical decision-making skills are best honed by embedded business ethics courses.
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Peter Khaola and David Coldwell
The mechanisms through which leaders influence innovative work behaviours (IWB) are important in innovation management. The purpose of this paper is to explain how leadership and…
Abstract
Purpose
The mechanisms through which leaders influence innovative work behaviours (IWB) are important in innovation management. The purpose of this paper is to explain how leadership and justice relate to IWB through the successive mediating roles of affective commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB).
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on survey of a random sample of 300 employees selected from 652 employees from a public university, and a convenience sample of 159 employees from predominantly service-based enterprises in Lesotho (n=263). The Statistical Package for Social Sciences and the analysis of moment structures version 24 are used to analyse data. Specifically, the study uses factor analysis; correlation; structural equation modelling and bootstrapping techniques to examine the hypothesised relationships.
Findings
The results suggest that the model that fits data well is the one which shows that the effects of both leadership and organisational justice on IWBs are successively mediated by affective commitment and OCB. Because of its social and affiliation-oriented nature, the study submits that OCB is an effective explanatory factor between predictors and IWBs.
Originality/value
The study makes a novel contribution to the extant literature by evaluating the serial mediating roles of affective commitment and OCB between leadership and IWB on one hand, and justice and IWB on the other hand.
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David Coldwell and Tasneem Joosub
To examine the business case for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the South African context.
Abstract
Purpose
To examine the business case for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the South African context.
Methodology
A cross-sectional correlation research design involving quantitative and qualitative data.
Findings
The findings lend general support for the utility of business case oriented CSR strategic applications in the South African business context.
Research limitations
The small samples using accountancy students and high CSR performing companies restricted the generalizability of the findings. Also, the links between respondents’ propensity to purchase and actual purchasing behavior remained undetermined.
Contribution
The chapter provides an empirically validated model measuring associations between individual perceptions of actual and expected CSP configurations with predilections to purchase products from a sample of high profile CSR multinational South African companies.
Practical implications
The results suggest the model’s cogency and lend general support to the utility of the business case strategy in the South African business context by showing associations between CSR company profiles and respondents’ intentions to purchase their goods and services.
Social implications
The importance of CSR in providing social benefits in South African communities is reinforced by its strategic importance in offering business benefits to companies that invest in its implementation.
Originality/value of chapter
Development and empirical verification of a novel conceptual model in the South African business context.
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David Alastair Lindsay Coldwell and Tasneem Joosub
Strategies and policies aimed at alleviating poverty in Sub-Saharan African countries usually depend on capitalistically driven economic growth. However, the view that capitalism…
Abstract
Purpose
Strategies and policies aimed at alleviating poverty in Sub-Saharan African countries usually depend on capitalistically driven economic growth. However, the view that capitalism needs to reinvent itself to survive the crisis of confidence brought about by the recent global financial collapse depends on the extent to which such a shared value oriented, sustainable capitalist reinvention is embraced by emergent business leaders. A sustainable system of capitalism driven by business and community shared value can only take root if the hearts and minds of future business leaders are convinced of their cogency and appropriateness. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports the findings of an empirical study utilizing a Likert-type scale designed to measure corporate shared value (CSV) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) among a sample of fourth year accountancy students at a leading South African university.
Findings
Preliminary findings suggest that perceptions of this group of emergent leaders generally regard CSR rather than CSV as the “correct” business model for companies to follow. Although the sample is limited to one South African university and is relatively small, it contributes to the literature by offering insight into emergent business leaders’ perceptions and their view of the direction of CSR in South Africa should take.
Research limitations/implications
Implications of the paper are that by offering insight into emergent business leaders’ perceptions of South African society and specifically their view of the direction South African CSR should take, the paper suggests prescriptive remedial steps in policy that educational and other learning institutions could take to engender appropriate social values in learners.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature by offering devised and tested measuring instruments for CSR and CSV in the South African context and gives insight into emergent business leaders’ perceptions and their view of the direction of CSR in South Africa should take.