Encyclopedia of Business Ethics

Descriptive EthicsDefinitions and Concepts

Descriptive ethics can broadly be thought of asthe study of morality and moral issuesfrom a scientific point of view. It can be thought of as the branch of ethics that attempts todevelop conceptual models and test those models empirically in order to enhance our understanding of ethical or moral behavior, moral decision making, and more broadly moral phenomena. This area or branch of ethics might also be referred to as behavioral ethics.Descriptive or behavioral ethics, then,describes and explains moral behavior and phenomenafrom a social science perspective or framework.One might distinguish morality from ethics. Morality can be thought of as the set of norms, rules, standards, principles, or values that guide adherents in their behavior as to what isright and wrong, good and bad, or appropriate and inappropriate behavior. In this sense virtuallyevery human has some morality or moral code. Or morality might be considered the practice of such moral codes among members adopting such standards or codes. To the extent that the practice of business has such a code or set of norms, we might refer to that practice or practices as“business morality.” “Ethics”may be thought of, then, as simply the study of morality.Accordingly, ethics is critical reflection or critical analysis of moral issues and moral phenomena.Further, business ethics then can be defined as the study of moral issuesin a business context, i.e.anapplied area of ethics or ethical inquiry. Organizational ethics can be thought of as studyingmoral issues in a broader organizational context.To position descriptive ethics, we may distinguish different approaches to studying moralissues and phenomena. One distinction is between normativeand descriptive or behavioralethics. Critical reflection that attempts to answer questions as to what is right or wrong, good or bad, would constitute normative ethics. Such approaches are “normative” or provide guidanceand direction in terms of making moral or ethical choices or living in morally acceptable ways.Such approaches tend to be philosophical or religious, providing frameworks and theories that are

prescriptive

. These analyses prescribe general principles or even specific guidance. These

normative or prescriptive

theories include typical philosophical approaches, such as utilitarianismand duty-based approaches such as Kant. Some have said that there are only two normative ethicsquestions: (1) What is good? (2) What is right? Aristotle’s virtue-based ethics represents anormative theory that answers the first question. Utilitarian and Kantian theories providecompeting theories that provide decision rules or answers to the second question. What they allhave in common is to approach ethical inquiry from a normative or prescriptive point of view.

Descriptive

ethics, on the other hand, approaches the study of morality or moral phenomena by asking different questions. In general, this approach attempts to describe andexplain moral action, moral decision making, and moral phenomena. For example, how doindividualsprocess and resolve perceived moral conflicts? Whatarethe most importantinfluences or causes forindividuals behaving ethically or unethically? What is the system of beliefs that guide individualsor groupsin making the moral choices that are observed? Answers

to these kinds of questions are descriptive or explanatory in nature. As suchthey use socialscience frameworks that often include theory building and hypothesis testing in terms of discerning answers. Engaging these kinds of questions in a business context, then, can be thoughtof as

descriptive business ethics

, or the application to the broader organizational context can bereferred to as

descriptive organizational ethics

Moral Psychology and Social Psychology

One important body of research of descriptive ethics is cognitive moral developmenttheory. This research grew out of the seminal work of Lawrence Kohlbergin the late 1950s in hisstudy of modes of moral thinking and choice among adolescent boys. Kohlberg’s theorydescribes the developmental processes used by individuals as they grow and develop in terms of how they resolve moral issues and make moral choices. It is thus a descriptor of individuals, whovary in terms of their level of cognitive moral development. Kohlberg’s theoryis the most widelydisseminated and tested theory in moral psychology. It has been cross-culturally tested in over ahundred cultures, and it has been used as an important variable in many descriptive studies of business and organizational ethics. One of the most important implications of cognitive moraldevelopment is its relationship to behavior or action. Numerous studies have been conducted, andthe general result is a positive but modest relationship to decision making and action. Thus thoseindividuals having higher levels of moral development are more likely to make ethical choicesand behave ethically. Of note in extending Kohlberg’s research was James Rest, who developed amore general four stage model of ethical decision making.Other social psychology research from the 1960s and 1970s hasbeen used in businessethicsto show the influence of factors other than individual, rationalprocesses. Of note here arethe Milgram experimentsfrom the early 1960s, in which Stanley Milgram and his colleaguesdesigned experiments that demonstrated how ordinary subjects would comply with authority incarrying out orders that were patently contrary to standards of morality. Here social scientistsadvanced theories to explain the atrocities of Nazi Germany. Other social psychologyexperiments followed, including the Zimbardo experiments of the early 1970s, in which normalcollegestudents (absent direction from a perceived authority) allowed themselves to engage inabusive behavior in a prison simulation experiment. The Zimbardo experiments were relateddirectly to the kind of behavior exhibited by guards in the Abu Ghraib prisonoutside Baghdad.These kinds of social psychology experiments and studies have been related to organizational behavior, in particular in business contexts.

Descriptive and Behavioral Business Ethics

Describing and Summarizing Data

One approach todescriptive ethics is just that, to describe various aspects of businessethics. This might include surveys of ethical attitudes among employees and managers, e.g.whether individuals feel pressure to compromise moral principles to achieve organizational goals.One might describe the kinds of principles that individuals use in making decisions. On the other hand, researchers might turn their focus on the organization itself rather than individuals as theobject of study (“unit of analysis”in social scienceterminology), e.g. describing the adoption

rates among Fortune 500 firms of codes of ethics, appointment of ethics officers, and other suchorganizational characteristics. All of these questions describe or summarize data aboutindividuals or organizations. Even anthropological studies might be included in this kind of research. One might, e.g., engage in a systematic of the ethical aspects of Japanese businessculture.

Theory Building and Hypothesis Testing

However, since the late 1980s and for more than 15years there has been a growing body of research from which has emerged more complex and complete conceptual models of ethical decision making and ethical behavior. Of particular note is the seminal work of LindaTrevino in 1986. She proposeda "person-situation interactionist model" to explain ethical decisionmaking behavior in organizations. Citing the lack of a comprehensive theory to guide empiricalresearch in organizational ethics, Trevino proposed a model that positedcognitive moraldevelopment of an individual as the critical variable in explaining ethical/unethical decision making behavior. However, improving on previous models, Trevino proposedan interactionist model that positedindividual variables (e.g. locus of control, ego strength, field dependence) and situationalvariables (e.g. reinforcement contingencies, organizational culture) as moderating an individual'slevel of moral development in explaining ethical decision makingin organizational contexts. Other conceptual models followed proposing alternative frameworks and variables that describe andexplain ethical decision making and behavior in business and organizational contexts.These conceptual models posit various relationships that can be empirically tested, and this isanother critical aspect of this approach,hypothesis testing. Hypotheses are derived propositions thatcan be tested empirically, and the results of these empirical studies lead to further refinement andmodification of the conceptual models. There has been a significant amount of such hypothesistesting in the past 15 years. Such hypothesis testingrequires attention to measuring variables, designfor testingsuch relationships, and selection of the appropriate statistical methods for evaluatingresults. Thus, business ethics has developed as another branch of the social sciences.To summarize this descriptive body of research would be impossible here. However, we can provide some of the more salient factors that have been studied. For example, it is fair to say, andnot surprisingly, that the attitudes and behaviors of employees and managersare strongly influenced by organizational factors and context. Factors studied include the existence of formal ethics policies, the use of ethics training programs, and the commitment of top management in terms of implementing ethics policies and programs. Other organizational factors include the reward structureof the organization and whether and how sanctions are used for ethical/ unethical behavior. Beyondsuch formal features of organizations, attitudes and behaviors are likely influenced by the ethicalclimate as well as the ethical culture of organizations. The behavior of peers and more generally theimmediate job context in the organization are also likely important, as is the behavior andcommitment of leaders in organizations. Included here would be perceived role conflict of one’s position, what is rewarded in the unit, the behavior and attitudes of co-workers and management, and job pressure.Besides organizational factors, individual characteristics likely influence decision making,attitudes, and behavior. Following a stage model of decision making, moral awareness or ethical