An Application of the Corporate Virtue Scale to Assess Managers’ Perceptions of Ethical Behaviour in Public Organizations and Service Provision
Ethics in Progress (ISSN 2084-9257). Vol. 14 (2023). No. 1
PDF

Keywords

CEV model
culture
ethical
public servants
organisation

How to Cite

Selemani Shindika, E., & Cheteni, P. (2023). An Application of the Corporate Virtue Scale to Assess Managers’ Perceptions of Ethical Behaviour in Public Organizations and Service Provision. ETHICS IN PROGRESS, 14(1), 64–77. https://doi.org/10.14746/eip.2023.1.4

Abstract

A strong ethical culture is the key to any organization’s long-term success. The purpose of this research was to investigate the link between an organization’s ethical culture and its effect on workers’ well-being, as well as to test the construct validity of the Corporate Virtue Scale (CEV). In South Africa’s Buffalo Municipality, 277 managers from different government agencies made up the sample. The eight-factor CEV scale was validated through a confirmatory factor analysis. Employees’ stress and emotional exhaustion were linked to their views on the prevalence of an ethical culture in public agencies. The results of this study show that an organization’s ethical culture significantly affects its employees’ quality of life on the job. The CEV scale was found to have construct validity, proving its reliability and validity in practice. The government is urged to prioritize the streamlining of regulations and processes that foster an ethical culture in public institutions.

https://doi.org/10.14746/eip.2023.1.4
PDF

References

Bakker A. B., Le Blanc P. M., & Schaufeli W. B. 2005. “Burnout Contagion among Intensive Care Nurses,” Journal of Advanced Nursing 51(3):276–287. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2005.03494.x

Basheka B. & Mubangizi B. 2012. “Citizen-driven Approaches in Fighting Corruption: A Comparative Analysis of Uganda’s and South Africa’s Local Government Systems,” Journal of Public Administration 47(3):636–665.

Berger J. 2014. “Word of Mouth and Interpersonal Communication: A Review and Directions for Future Research,” Journal of Consumer Psychology 24:586–607. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2014.05.002

Boyce G. & Davids C. 2009. “Conflict of Interest in Policing and the Public Sector,” Ethics, Integrity and Social Accountability Public Management Review 11(5):601–640. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14719030902798255

Bryant L. 2012. “Functionalism and Education,” History Learning Site.

Ethics Resource Center. 2010. “The Importance of Ethical Culture: Increasing Trust and Driving Down Risks,” Supplemental Research Brief 2009 National Business Ethics Survey. URL: http://www.ethics.org/page/nbes-supplemental-research-br

Furr R. M. & Bacharach V. R. 2008. “Psychometrics: An Introduction.” URL: http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0808/2007016663-b.html

Huhtala M., Feldt T., Lämsä A.-M. M., Mauno S., & Kinnunen U. 2011. “Does the Ethical Culture of Organisations Promote Managers’ Occupational Well-Being? Investigating Indirect Links via Ethical Strain,” Journal of Business Ethics 101(2):231–247. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0719-3

Huhtala M., Tolvanen A., Mauno S., & Feldt T. 2015. “The Associations Between Ethical Organizational Culture, Burnout, and Engagement: A Multilevel Study,” Journal of Business and Psychology 30(2):399–414. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-014-9369-2

Kaptein M. 2008. “Developing and Testing a Measure for the Ethical Culture of Organizations: The Corporate Ethical Virtues Model,” Journal of Organizational Behavior 29:923–947. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/job.520

Kaptein M. 2010. “The Ethics of Organizations: A Longitudinal Study of the U.S. Working Population,” Journal of Business Ethics 92:601–618. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0175-0

Kaptein M. 2011. “From Inaction to External Whistleblowing: The Influence of the Ethical Culture of Organizations on Employee Responses to Observed Wrongdoing,” Journal of Business Ethics 98(3):513–530. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0591-1

Lamsa A. & Riivari E. 2014. “Does it Pay to Be Ethical? Examining the Relationship Between Organisations’ Ethical Culture and Innovativeness,” Journal of Business Ethics 124(1):1–17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1859-z

Lehnert K., Park Y. & Singh N. 2015. “Research Note and Review of the Empirical Ethical Decisionmaking Literature: Boundary Conditions and Extensions,” Journal of Business Ethics 129(1):195–219. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2147-2

Martínez C., Skeet A. G., & Sasia P. M. 2021. “Managing Organizational Ethics: How Ethics Becomes Pervasive within Organizations,” Business Horizons 64(1):83–92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2020.09.008

Men L. R. & Stacks D. 2014. “Effects of Authentic Leadership on Strategic Internal Communication and Employee–organization Relationships,” Journal of Public Relations Research 36(4):301–324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2014.908720

Mullins L. J. 2010. Management and Organisational Behaviour. 10th Ed. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.

Nombembe T. 2013. Consolidated General Report on the Audit Outcomes of Local Government 2011-2012. Pretoria: Auditor General.

Podsakoff P. M., MacKenzie S. B., & Podsakoff N. P. 2012. “Sources of Method Bias in Social Science Research and Recommendations on How to Control It,” Annual Review of Psychology 63(1):539–569. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-120710-100452

Ramutsheli M. P. & Janse van Rensburg J. O. 2015. “The Root Causes for Local Government’s Failure to Achieve Objectives,” Southern African Journal of Accountability and Auditing Research 17(2):107–118.

Rawlins B. 2009. “Give the Emperor a Mirror: Toward Developing a Stakeholder Measurement of Organizational Transparency,“ Journal of Public Relations Research 21:71–99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10627260802153421

Shava E. & Mazenda A. 2021. “Ethics in South African Public Administration: A Critical Review,” International Journal of Management Practice, Interscience Enterprises Ltd 14(3):306–324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMP.2021.115107

StatsSA 2021. Integrated Development Plan Review of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality 2020/21. URL: https://buffalocity.gov.za/CM/uploads/documents/202030060615935135021.1AnnexureA-BCMMIDPReview2020_2021FINAL20JUNE2020.pdf

Toro-Arias J., Ruiz-Palomino P., & María del Rodríguez C. 2021. “Measuring Ethical Organizational Culture: Validation of the Spanish Version of the Shortened Corporate Ethical Virtues Model,” Journal of Business Ethics 176(1):1–24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04687-y

Ulrich C. M., Taylor C., Soeken K., O’Donnell A. Farrar A., Danis M., & Grady C. 2010. “Everyday Ethics: Ethical Issues and Stress in Nursing Practice,” Journal of Advanced Nursing 66:2510–2519. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.2010.05425.x

Van Baalen S. M., Schutte C. S. L., & Von Leipzig K. 2015. “Capacity Self-Assessment as a Catalyst for Improved Municipal Service Delivery,” Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering 57(1):2–15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17159/2309-8775/2015/v57n1a1