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Reading 1: Monahan, S. C., & Quinn, B. A. (2006) 'Beyond ‘bad apples’ and ‘weak leaders’
Toward a neo-institutional explanation of organizational deviance', Theoretical Criminology,
10(3), 361-385. [Accessed 19 July 2022]
Critical Analysis Column
This paragraph of the reading, in my opinion and
knowledge, underlines the necessity of
recognizing organisational qualities rather than
individual attributes, which should be suitably
established throughout the complete cultural
system. In the context of reducing or increasing
corporate ethics, formalisation and informality
are used.
According to the analysis, the jail military
commander Abu Ghraib's management is
unethical since it violates the Deontology of
normative ethical theories. According to sources,
the organizational structure of the IDP program
and the army commander at Abu Ghraib have a
history of being cut off from ethical principles like
honesty, fairness, and integrity, which is harmful
to ethical behaviour. Because decoupling cannot
be a universal maxim, all organizational ethics
norms would be worthless, and this is a violation
of deontology. As stated previously, segregation
within organizations indicates that activity is
undertaken to confuse corporate investors about
the ethics of the company and is generally
considered "deviant conduct". (Husick 2017).
It is suggested by psychological theories that
judgement calls involve a multi-stage process
which moves from moral awareness to moral
Ethics and Governance
Hung Thanh Nguyen
s3697100
Nguyen Duy Anh
860
Direct Illustrative Quotations
“Decoupling occurs most commonly in
organizations that face complex and conflicted
institutional environments (Meyer and Rowan,
1977), and it allows the organization and its leaders
to manage conflicting expectations by signaling its
adherence to societal norms while simultaneously
retaining the ability to effectively accomplish work
(Meyer and Rowan, 1977; Scott, 2003). In
decoupled organizations, ‘institutionalized’
organizational structures are adopted, where
bureaucracy is deeply permeated by cognitive,
normative and legal expectations from the
environment. Highly institutionalized structures may,
however, interfere with the organisation’s on-
theground effectiveness. Under those conditions,
Meyer and Rowan (1977) argue, the organization
and its leaders face a dilemma: adhere to
environmental expectations at the expense of
performance or reject the environmental demands
at the expense of legitimacy. The strategy of
decoupling allows organizations to have it both
ways: the institutionalized structure is a symbolic
display, while action within the organization
proceeds largely independently from the structure.
That independent action the ‘domains of discretion,
flexibility and individual initiative’ (Scott, 2003: 284)
is one locus of deviance that occurs within
organizations. Although not all ‘discretionary’
activity is necessarily deviance, deviance is a
principle to meaningful justification to ethical predictable and even productive response to such
behaviour. Determining organisational traits is institutionalized structures. Consequently, the
crucial to spotting issues in formal and informal dismay of organizational executives and managers,
cultural systems and eradicating the IDP when they profess surprise at such deviance,
program and Abu Ghraib prison's deviant should be read with caution and perhaps cynicism.
behaviours. set. The connection between formal Meyer and Rowan put it clearly: 374 Theoretical
and informal systems preserves ethical culture Criminology 10 [In institutionalized organizations]
(Cabana and Kaptein 2019). In comparison to human relations are made very important. The
the past, the development of an ethical culture isorganization cannot formally coordinate activities
influenced by leadership, structure, reward because its formal rules, if applied, would generate
system, training program, and code of ethics. inconsistencies. Therefore, individuals are left to
Informally, an ethical environment can be work out technical interdependencies informally.
created via superheroes, mentors, societal The ability to coordinate things in violation of the
standards, and moral discourse. rules—that is, to get along with other people is
highly valued.
The Abu Ghraib prison and the IDP program (1977: 357)”
have both been exposed to problematic formal
and informal cultures, according to the writers'
analyses. Both organisations have ineffective
formal systems because they encourage
"flexibility" and "decision power," and if the
forgery is discovered, only managers can deflect
attention from structural issues. Workers believe
they performed differently in informal systems
because their peers did so, warning of immoral
standards in the two organisations. Systems that
are unethical, both formal and informal, promote
abnormal behaviour that permeates
organisational cultures.

Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) developed a theory
that places more emphasis on the obligations of
conduct than their outcomes (Johnson 2004).
The only unquestionably beneficial thing,
according to Kant, is benevolence (Lefevre
1900). Since a good will is justified by the fact
that it is "good via its will alone, that is, good in
itself and not in virtue of its relationship to other
things," one would never sacrifice their goodwill
in order to acquire other desirable virtues. Other
virtues could be given up to pursue immoral
ends and conflict with one another (Kant 1948).
“The "common cognition" from which Kant starts his
argument is that morally good actions have a
special kind of value. A person who does the right
thing for the right reason evinces what Kant calls a
good will, and Section I opens with the claim that a
good will is the only thing to which we attribute
"unconditional worth." The good will is good
"through its willing" (AK 4: 394), which means that it
is in actions expressive of a good will that we see
this special kind of value realized.” (Kant, 1991,
p.11)

Reading 2: Hiekkataipale, M. and Lämsä, A.-M. (2017), '(A)moral agents in organisations?

 The significance of ethical organisational culture for middle managers’ exercise of moral
agency in ethical problems'.Journal of Business Ethics Vol. 155, No. 1, 147–161 [Accessed
19 July 2022]
Critical Analysis Column
The value of ethics in business is made
abundantly obvious in this reading in a variety of
ways. The quotes I've chosen, especially the
middle managers, may be to blame for the
immoral and unethical behaviour of the
organisation's members. In this sense, it is clear
that moral concerns can have an impact on both
the organisation and the ability of middle
managers to perform their jobs. This is due to
the possibility of moral slackness, loss of
confidence, and other negative outcomes.
Nevertheless, working in a setting with a strong
ethical culture can offer a lot of potential for the
business, bring additional benefits to the
business, and increase employee productivity.
As a result, it is obvious that an organisation's
ethical culture will provide opportunities to work
morally rather than making judgments around
their personal self-interest and working in an
ethically flexible way.
Garrigan (2018) asserts that it is more accurate
to infer moral behaviour from the environment
around the decision-maker than it is from the
decision-maker themselves. This demonstrates
how employees and middle managers within an
organisation can be impacted by the
organisational culture's ethical values. A loss of
moral agency can also result from moral self-
regulation becoming disengaged due to the
social setting. Additionally, James R. Detert
(2008) has demonstrated that the process of
making ethical decisions may be impacted by
the usage of moral language. For instance, using
ambiguous language to explain immoral
behaviour makes it acceptable and relieves the
perpetrator of responsibility.
An organisation's ethical culture, on the other
hand, is built on leaders who design and
implement formalised policies and practices;
internal structuring; evaluating moral
considerations before choosing; how managers
respond to situations, etc.(Cecilia Martínez, Ann
Gregg Skeet, and Pedro M. Sasiaa, 2021). This
shows that leaders provide a positive illustration
Direct Illustrative Quotations
“The social cognitive theory (Bandura 1991;
Bandura et al. 1996, 2001) suggests that the
relationship between moral thought and conduct is
mediated through the exercise of self-regulation
and, more specifically, the mechanism of moral
agency. Self-regulation, which is a key concept with
regard to the theory of moral agency, includes self-
monitoring one’s own conduct, exercising moral
judgment of the rightness or wrongness of one’s
conduct in terms of one’s personal standards and
the relevant circumstances, and affective self-
reactions (Bandura 1991, 2001). External social
sanctions (such as isolation in the workplace,
dismissal, or reprimands) and internalised self-
sanctions (such as self-contempt, guilt, or self-
condemnation) play a major role in self-regulation
(Bandura 1991, 2001)”. (Hiekkataipale & Lämsä
2017, p.148)
“Operationalisation of the concept of ethical culture
has progressed from Trevin˜o's one-dimensional
construct to a more explicit definition of the different
sub-dimensions of ethical culture (e.g. Kaptein
1998, 2008). In this study, we draw upon the only
multidimensional model of ethical organizational
culture, developed by Kaptein (1998, 2008). This
ethical corporate virtues model (CEV) builds on
Solomon's (2004) virtue-based theory of business
ethics, which suggests that virtues are desirable
operational dispositions of both people and groups
as moral agents. According to Kaptein (2015), an
organization's ethical virtues are embedded in the
organization's strategies, structures and culture.
The key idea of the CEV model is that the ethical
culture of an organization can be assessed, since
organizations are moral entities (Kaptein 2008,
2015).” (Hiekkataipale & Lämsä 2017, p.149)
for other members of the organisation. In
addition to being a leader, the manager serves
as an ethical role model for the organisation's
members.

According to James R. Detert (2008), certain

managerial behaviours are required since they
are accountable for ethical behaviour in the
organisation. Furthermore, organisations can
exercise moral conduct by punishing immoral
conduct and rewarding excellent ethical
behaviour. However, the implementation of a
reward system might encourage unethical
behaviour, therefore managers should exercise
caution when putting one in place (James R.
Detert, 2008). This is due to the fact that some
people purposefully engage in immoral
behaviour in order to gain benefits. As a result, it
is clear that the topic of corporate ethics is
critical to a company.

Reference:

Kashani, PE 2020, ‘The effects of managers on organizational behaviours and functions’,

African Journal of Hospitality Tourism and Leisure, vol. 9, is. 1.

Detert, JR & Treviño, LK 2008, ‘Moral Disengagement in Ethical Decision Making: A Study of
Antecedents and Outcomes’, Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 93, no. 2, pp. 374 - 391.

Kant, I 1948, Moral Law: Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, Routledge, London, UK.

Husick, L 2017, ‘A Framework for Ethical Decision Making’, Foreign Policy Research
Institute, 6 April, viewed 23 July 2022, <https://www.fpri.org/article/2017/04/framework-
ethical-decision-making/>.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2004, Kant’s Moral Philosophy, Stanford Encyclopedia

of Philosophy, 23 February, viewed 23 July 2022, <https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-
moral/>.

Lefevre, A 1900, ‘Self-Love and Benevolence in Butler's Ethical System’, The Philosophical
Review, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 167 - 187.

Cabana, GC & Kaptein, M 2019, ‘Team Ethical Cultures Within an Organization: A

Differentiation Perspective on Their Existence and Relevance’, Journal of Business Ethics,
pp. 761 - 780.