Stephen B. Knouse, Vanessa D. Hill and J. Brooke Hamilton
The purpose of this paper is to trace a history of American codes of business ethics as they evolved from religious bases to legalistic bases to an international emphasis.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to trace a history of American codes of business ethics as they evolved from religious bases to legalistic bases to an international emphasis.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes the evolution of business codes of ethics over the twentieth century in relation to the development of social issues.
Findings
It is found that ethical codes are influenced by the prevailing ideology of the time regarding the social responsibility of business. The earlier part of the twentieth century emphasized religious values governing the treatment of customers and competitors and the responsibility of businesses for the well‐being of their employees by directing their private as well as business conduct. The latter part of the twentieth century stressed legal compliance as government regulation sought to control business behaviors that were harmful to society and to the environment. Entering into the twenty‐first century, we are seeing an increase in international emphases in codes of ethics. We discuss these trends in terms of evolving approaches to corporate social responsibility.
Practical implications
Organizations writing (and rewriting) codes of ethics should move beyond reactive legal compliance and proactively examine values associated with their stakeholder relationships as well as relationships to corporate social responsibility issues.
Originality/value
While there have been histories of medical and legal codes of ethics, to the authors' knowledge, this is the first exploration of a history of American business codes of ethics. The paper examines the development of codes of ethics in the context of business needs and social values prominent during those times.
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Patricia Lanier Pence, Paula Phillips Carson, Kerry D. Carson, J. Brooke Hamilton and Betty Birkenmeier
Suggests that the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in New York City in 1911 was the veritable genesis of laws safeguarding workers. The events of the 18‐minute inferno which…
Abstract
Suggests that the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire in New York City in 1911 was the veritable genesis of laws safeguarding workers. The events of the 18‐minute inferno which killed 146 young, immigrant garment workers are summarized, as are the factory owners’ responses to the fire, along with the rationalizations they used to defend their lethal actions, which included moral justification, accusing the accuser, blaming the victim, advantageous comparison, responsibility displacement, responsibility diffusion, dehumanization, and blame attribution. Reviews workplace reforms initiated as a direct result of this fire and discusses why such historical disasters are unlikely to re‐occur if three simple lessons are heeded: first, it is unfortunate that it has required major trauma or carnage to awaken the public to the realities of existing dangers; second, mere compliance with existing statutes is often insufficient for protecting workers; and third, organizations which fail to self‐monitor will often be subjected to external control and regulation.
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Johannes Lohner and Norbert Konrad
This article reviews the international literature of the last two decades on self‐injurious behaviour in prisons and jails and introduces the risk factors associated with this…
Abstract
This article reviews the international literature of the last two decades on self‐injurious behaviour in prisons and jails and introduces the risk factors associated with this behaviour. Studies from a variety of countries investigated different samples (e.g. in jails or prisons; female or male inmates). We only chose those studies using a control group of inmates without self‐injurious behaviour. The findings on potential risk factors for self‐injurious behaviour are largely contradictory because of the differences in sample selection and dependent variables (deliberate self‐harm without suicidal intent vs. suicide attempts). We also discuss some methodological problems in predicting self‐injurious behaviour.
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Ana Campos-Holland, Brooke Dinsmore and Jasmine Kelekay
This paper introduces two methodological innovations for qualitative research. We apply these innovations to holistically understand youth peer cultures and improve…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper introduces two methodological innovations for qualitative research. We apply these innovations to holistically understand youth peer cultures and improve participant-driven qualitative methodology.
Methodology/approach
It moves the methodological frontier forward by blending technology with the “go-along” approach used by ethnographers to prioritize participants’ perspectives and experiences within their socio-cultural contexts.
Findings
We introduce the youth-centered and participant-driven virtual tours, including a neighborhood tour using Google Maps designed to explore how youth navigate their socio-spatial environments (n = 64; 10–17 year-olds; 2013) and a social media tour designed to explore how youth navigate their networked publics (n = 50; 10–17 year-olds; 2013), both in relation to their local peer cultures.
Originality/value
Applicable to a wide range of research populations, the Google Maps tour and the social media tour give the qualitative researcher additional tools to conduct participant-driven research into youths’ socio-cultural worlds. These two innovations help to address challenges in youth research as well as qualitative research more broadly. We find, for example, that the “go-along” aspect of the virtual tour minimizes the perceived threat of the researcher’s adult status and brings youth participants’ perspectives and experiences to the center of inquiry in the study of local peer cultures.
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Pierre A. Balthazard and Robert W. Thatcher
Through a review of historically famous cases and a chronicle of neurotechnology development, this chapter discusses brain structure and brain function as two distinct yet…
Abstract
Through a review of historically famous cases and a chronicle of neurotechnology development, this chapter discusses brain structure and brain function as two distinct yet interrelated paths to understand the relative contributions of anatomical and physiological mechanisms to the human brain–behavior relationship. From an organizational neuroscience perspective, the chapter describes over a dozen neuroimaging technologies that are classified under four groupings: morphologic, invasive metabolic, noninvasive metabolic, and electromagnetic. We then discuss neuroimaging variables that may be useful in social science investigations, and we underscore electroencephalography as a particularly useful modality for the study of individuals and groups in organizational settings. The chapter concludes by considering emerging science and novel brain technologies for the organizational researcher as we look to the future.
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ANYBODY whoses daily work involves the planning and spending of money must at all times be concerned by efforts to ensure that value is being obtained for the money spent. Those…
Abstract
ANYBODY whoses daily work involves the planning and spending of money must at all times be concerned by efforts to ensure that value is being obtained for the money spent. Those of us who, as librarians, are spending the money of fellow tax‐payers, are naturally doubly concerned about this problem. In addition, the very phrase “value for money” to a Yorkshireman is a continual challenge, and a point on which he instinctively feels, rightly or wrongly, that he has some secret inborn knowledge.
Sophia Lin, Cathy Sherry, Tema Milstein, Seema Mihrshahi and Sara Grafenauer
The chapter highlights the growing phenomenon of hunger in affluent nations among vulnerable groups, such as university students. It draws on the results of two studies on food…
Abstract
The chapter highlights the growing phenomenon of hunger in affluent nations among vulnerable groups, such as university students. It draws on the results of two studies on food insecurity in the student body at an Australian university in Sydney. It highlights the need and desire of students for increased food literacy at a formative stage of their lives, noting the absence of food growing skills as a recognised part of current understanding of food literacy. The chapter discusses the way in which urbanisation and modern food systems have created such a profound disconnect between people and food production that it no longer occurs to governments and institutions in the Global North that people could grow their own food. The chapter explores historical and global examples of urban agriculture producing meaningful quantities of supplementary food, particularly in times of crisis. Urban agriculture can augment access to safe and nutritious foods (SDG2.1), increase productivity of small producers through knowledge dissemination (SDG2.3), create resilient agricultural practices, maintain ecosystems (SDG2.4), and genetic diversity of seeds through seed-saving practices (SDG2.5). The chapter concludes with a case study of a campus food garden used to increase student food literacy, providing an exemplar for higher education institutions that want to engage with the aims of SDG2 in the context of their own campus.
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In order to succeed in an action under the Equal Pay Act 1970, should the woman and the man be employed by the same employer on like work at the same time or would the woman still…
Abstract
In order to succeed in an action under the Equal Pay Act 1970, should the woman and the man be employed by the same employer on like work at the same time or would the woman still be covered by the Act if she were employed on like work in succession to the man? This is the question which had to be solved in Macarthys Ltd v. Smith. Unfortunately it was not. Their Lordships interpreted the relevant section in different ways and since Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome was also subject to different interpretations, the case has been referred to the European Court of Justice.