Integrating Islamic work ethics in work from home arrangement

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in changes in the way working is perceived. The concept of work from home which was previously only associated with specific types of work has had to be implemented for many sectors in Malaysia. This concept is novel in Malaysia, thus creating a lot of uncertainties in both law and practice, including the issue of work ethics. This mode of working may be the new norm in the future, which makes it important to examine the work ethics for work from home. The objectives of this study are firstly, to analyse the concept of Islamic work ethics, and secondly, to integrate Islamic work ethics in a work from home arrangement. It is believed that the application of Islamic work ethics by both the employers and the employees may avoid conflicts at work due to different expectations. In this context, the research is based on secondary sources and analyses of existing literature, and on reading of Islamic texts (the Quran and Hadith). Islamic work ethics consist of universal values where they underline the responsibilities of employer to live up to promises, consider an employee’s situation, negotiate with an employee to improve their contract, and equal treatment of employees. Apart from that, employees are also responsible for keeping their promises, being honest, working in a team and performing their jobs in good faith. This research found that Islamic work ethics can hinder conflicts between employer and employee. They are suitable for integration in working from home arrangements as the new normal in Malaysia and directly encourage the implementation of organisational justice

Strategies Certified Project Management Professionals Use to Prevent Counterproductive Behavior

Project managers who fail to apply strategies to prevent counterproductive work behavior in information technology projects could negatively affect users, budget costs, timelines, or projects. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that project managers used to prevent counterproductive work behavior that put project success at risk. Social learning theory was the conceptual framework for this study. Data were collected through document review of published Project Management Institute (PMI) material as well as semistructured interviews with 10 project managers who were members of a PMI chapter in the southeastern United States, and who held a project management professional certification or an agile certified practitioner certification. Data were analyzed using Yin\u27s methodology and consisted of transcribing, organizing, and coding the interview data, as well as triangulating the interview data in relation to the PMI literature. Five themes emerged from the data: (a) participant communication, (b) proactive planning, (c) personal impact, (d) participant engagement, and (e) issue management. The implications of the study for positive social change include the potential to increase the occurrence of conflict-free and healthy project environments, which could lead to satisfied and motivated project participants resulting in productive and engaged members of the community

Does bad company corrupt good morals? Social bonding and academic cheating among French and Chinese teens.

A well-known common wisdom asserts that strong social bonds undermine delinquency. However, there is little empirical evidence to substantiate this assertion regarding adolescence academic cheating across cultures. In this study, we adopt social bonding theory and develop a theoretical model involving four social bonds (parental attachment, academic commitment, peer involvement, and moral values) and adolescence self-reported academic cheating behavior and cheating perception. Based on 913 adolescents (average age = 15.88) in France (n = 429) and China (n = 484), we show that parental attachment, academic commitment, and moral values curb academic cheating; counter-intuitively, peer involvement contributes to cheating. We test our theoretical model across culture and gender, separately, using multi-group analyses. For French teens, peer involvement encourages and moral values undermine cheating; for Chinese adolescents, all four social bonds contribute to cheating, similar to the whole sample. For girls, parental attachment deters, but peer involvement enhances cheating. For boys, parental attachment is the only social bond that does not affect cheating. We treat social integration (popularity) as a mediator of the relationship between peer involvement and cheating and ask: Considering popularity, who are likely to cheat? Our answers provide an interesting paradox: Popularity matters, yet popular French girls and unpopular Chinese boys are likely to cheat. Social sharing is a positive pro-social behavior in consumer behavior. We shed new lights on both the bright and dark sides of social bonds on cheating, demonstrate bad company corrupts good morals, differently, across culture and gender, and provide practical implications to social bonding, business ethics, and cheating. Keywords: Social bond, Classroom cheating, Adolescent, Cross-cultural, France, China, Gender, Moderator, Mediator, Sharing, Social Integration, Dishonesty, Massacr

Women as social entrepreneurs in the hospitality and tourism industry: Does empowerment play a role?

This paper which is a work in progress presents a qualitative study exploring the nature, motivations and extent to which female entrepreneurs use their H&T businesses as platforms for engagement in various forms of social entrepreneurship (SE) leading to value creation, economic and community development. Although SE is seen as a key contributor to the creation and diversification of entrepreneurial activity, women empowerment and local economic development, there is limited research on the role of female H&T entrepreneurs in emerging non -western destinations. We focus on the following research questions: a) Can female entrepreneurs in H&T be considered as social entrepreneurs? b) How does the structure and organization of society shape the nature of female participation in SE? c) What are the challenges involved in mobilizing female entrepreneurs to effectively engage in SE? d) How does SE maximise value creation and higher levels of satisfaction for all participants? Concepts from women-owned H&T enterprises, SE and women empowerment are drawn upon. We argue that women are embedded in male dominated traditions/customs, community associations and government bureaucracies that may either empowered or dis-empower them. Using the case of Cameroon, we examine how embeddedness enhances the capacity of women to engage in SE in the H&T industry, thereby contributing to local economic development. Empirically we adopt a mixed methods approach using multiple case studies: a survey questionnaire, five focus groups meetings (two women -only, one male-only, and two mix of male and female entrepreneurs) and twenty-five in-depth interviews with selected female entrepreneurs (18), (non)governmental organisations (03) and beneficiaries (04) of social enterprise ventures between May 2014 and February 2015. The findings clarify the role of women in SE in H&T and policy implications for maximising social value creation through the participation of women in SE

MOTIVATIONS OF UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR

This three-essay dissertation serves to better understand what motivates employee unethical behavior and what organizations can do to limit unethical behavior. Essay one explores how external factors such as long-term orientation and ethical work climate may influence the behavior of narcissistic employees. It tests whether these factors mitigate the tendency of narcissistic individuals towards unethical behavior through moral disengagement. The findings suggest that when narcissistic employees have a long-term orientation and are in an ethical work climate, their unethical behavior decreases. This challenges the notion that narcissists are solely driven by short-term motives and identifies some conditions under which the negative effects of narcissists may be attenuated. This essay contributes to both the unethical behavior and individual differences literatures. Essay two investigates the factors influencing individuals to engage in unethical behaviors that benefit their organization. It adapts a model of moral decision-making and extends it to other decision-making contexts. The study examines parallel models involving moral, prosocial, and selfish schemas. Through an online scenario-based experiment with 355 participants, it identifies that moral awareness reduces while selfish awareness increases the likelihood of engaging in unethical pro-organizational behaviors (UPBs). Surprisingly, selfish awareness drives UPB engagement more than prosocial awareness does. This research enriches the UPB literature by considering schema-type awareness and contributes to the moral decision-making literature by exploring various decision-making schemas. Essay three investigates how perceptions of workplace ethics relate to ethical behavior when considering the influence of contextual factors. It applies contingency theory to examine how perceptions of ethical priorities, known as ethical work climate (EWC), interact with cultural values and job context variables. Through meta-analysis, the study finds that in societies with higher power distance, EWC perceptions have a stronger positive association with ethical behavior, while in contexts with greater job autonomy, this positive association weakens. The role of collectivism as a contextual moderator shows mixed results. Surprisingly, the consequences of errors in work contexts do not influence the association between EWC perceptions and ethical behavior. Overall, this study underscores the importance of organizational context in shaping the impact of EWC perceptions on ethical behavior

An Action Research Proposal for Enhanced Integration of Filipino Employees into an Aging Japanese Workforce

The pace of workforce decline in Japan is accelerating while its population is shrinking. Such a rapidly aging population has a direct impact on economic competitiveness, which requires the need to address the ensuing labor shortage. Although Japan’s imbalanced population could be rectified through policy to increase immigration, Japanese companies resist hiring foreign workers because immigration has long been taboo as many Japanese prize Japanese identity, ethnic homogeneity and the notion of an island country (shimaguni) culture. Moreover, the Japanese manufacturers do not think that the population decline is a serious issue. Instead, many take a short-term approach by bringing in thousands of foreign workers to help cut labor costs and send them back after their contracts are over. Therefore, the Japanese state finds it difficult to balance its conservative views on immigration although there is a desperate need for younger and skilled workers to boost the Japanese economy. Once a cornerstone of the economy, the paternalistic relationship between Japan’s companies and their salaried employees is also crumbling although the lifetime employment system continues to play an important role in their managerial system. Japanese companies tend to use a patriarchal approach to management, which requires employees showing stronger commitment and loyalty to company goals. As the system is gradually shifting to a neoliberal system, the Japanese organizations face a number of challenges. As an example, my company does business in the Philippines, operates under a patriarchal management system, and, as a result, does not function well within the current global economy. This thesis addresses a research gap in the literature in how the traditional Japanese organization can adapt and compete on a global scale by integrating Filipino employees. In support of this thesis, an Action Research (AR) was conducted at the Manila office of our company. The AR resulted in developing methods to improve the company’s practice and find solutions for the current organizational problems in the Filipino context, in search of gradually shaping a different organizational culture. The AR was designed in four stages to explore a distinct ontology around four empirical questions; (a) What do the Filipinos want? (b) How does that compare with our current practice? (c) What improvements can be made and, (d) What happened? In terms of research methodology, the first AR Cycle invited 140 participants from the Pasig Institute of Science and Technology (PCIST) to understand the character and desires of the Filipino workforce. The second AR cycle analyzed these responses to compare with current practice and decide if there is room for improvement. Finally, the third and fourth cycles planned, acted, observed and evaluated different context-specific actions to enable the development of actionable knowledge to improve organizational practices. The AR results demonstrate that (a) there are serious communication problems between the Japanese and Filipino employees- and it is not from linguistic barriers- but from a traditional Japanese pessimism that cannot effectively communicate with the Filipino optimism, (b) there is an urgent need of orientation and nurturing among Filipino employees because of their numerous violations of the Japanese corporate spirit although perceived that the practice of increased individuality may have improved organizational practice, (c) there is an issue of commitment among Filipino employees, as they would have become quite disappointed about the patriarchal approach of the Japanese company, and (d) there is a serious concern for material success and rewards among Filipino employees. This thesis argues that the employment of Filipinos can strengthen the Japanese economy if there is increased awareness about Japanese organizational practices and implementation of a proper screening process to ensure the selected candidates can cope with the challenges of a foreign corporate environment. My narrative suggests that the employment of Filipinos without any understanding about the organizational context may result in high education costs, an imbalance in skills, and increases quality control risks. However, both the pros and cons of Filipino employees could help a Japanese organization to improve its practice and reconsider some of its basic assumptions, which are rooted in the Japanese corporate value system. Nevertheless, as the Japanese companies are driven by a pessimistic cultural thought, they should be mindful about the positive potential of optimistic thoughts and adopt a more individual-oriented approach to remain competitive in an increasingly global economy. What Japanese companies might have been doing wrong is the treatment of “culture” as a separate entity to create a unique Japanese image based on a myth of homogeneity as the key of their success. This thesis suggests that the positive potential of a “collective organizational system” shall be first understood and embraced by the Japanese workforce, because the lack of such awareness might be the main cause of the economic stagnation that has resulted in Japanese companies to battle a perpetual-catch up syndrome. Finally, the AR cycles also show that the co-existence of both individualistic and collectivist values injures relationships and wellbeing at Japanese organizations. Consequently, it requires a self-reflection on the theory and practice of Japanese cultural relativism and crumbling corporate paternalism. For this reason, this paper proposes a transformation from a hard work/unconditional devotion (ganbaru) to subjective easing with both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards offered to both Japanese and Filipino employees as a new firm-as-family concept. This could increase on- and off-screen skills of all. This thesis also argues that the problem is not cultural- but rather personal. The narrative suggests that some people may be resistant to change and reluctant to adopt a new managerial structure and we may not be able to control each individual and their actions. If Japan is to remain economically competitive, it must first transform the patriarchal-based managerial environment to one that allows every individual to search for and attain a self-concordant goal

Making Moral Judgments

This fascinating new book examines diversity in moral judgements, drawing on recent work in social, personality, and evolutionary psychology, reviewing the factors that influence the moral judgments people make. Why do reasonable people so often disagree when drawing distinctions between what is morally right and wrong? Even when individuals agree in their moral pronouncements, they may employ different standards, different comparative processes, or entirely disparate criteria in their judgments. Examining the sources of this variety, the author expertly explores morality using ethics position theory, alongside other theoretical perspectives in moral psychology, and shows how it can relate to contemporary social issues from abortion to premarital sex to human rights. Also featuring a chapter on applied contexts, using the theory of ethics positions to gain insights into the moral choices and actions of individuals, groups, and organizations in educational, research, political, medical, and business settings, the book offers answers that apply across individuals, communities, and cultures. Investigating the relationship between people’s personal moral philosophies and their ethical thoughts, emotions, and actions, this is fascinating reading for students and academics from psychology and philosophy and anyone interested in morality and ethics

Macrocriminology and Freedom

How can power over others be transformed to 'power with'? It is possible to transform many institutions to build societies with less predation and more freedom. These stretch from families and institutions of gender to the United Nations. Some societies, times and places have crime rates a hundred times higher than others. Some police forces kill at a hundred times the rate of others. Some criminal corporations kill thousands more than others. Micro variables fail to explain these patterns. Prevention principles for that challenge are macrocriminological. Freedom is conceived in a republican way as non-domination. Tempering domination prevents crime; crime prevention reduces domination. Many believe a high crime rate is a price of freedom. Not Braithwaite. His principles of crime control are to build freedom, temper power, lift people from poverty and reduce all forms of domination. Freedom requires a more just normative order. It requires cascading of peace by social movements for non-violence and non-domination. Periods of war, domination and anomie cascade with long lags to elevated crime, violence, inter-generational self-violence and ecocide. Cybercrime today poses risks of anomic nuclear wars. Braithwaite’s proposals refine some of criminology’s central theories and sharpen their relevance to all varieties of freedom. They can be reduced to one sentence. Strengthen freedom to prevent crime, prevent crime to strengthen freedom

The medicalization of deviance in China

亞洲犯罪學學會Conference Theme: Asian Innovations in Criminology and Criminal JusticePart 5: Juvenile Delinquency and JusticeConrad and Schneider’s now classical work on the historical transformation of definitions of deviance from “badness” to “sickness” is relevant for the situation in China today, although with some modifications. The weakly founded medical/psychiatric profession and the strong political/ideological discourse in China leads to a strange combination of medicalization and moralization, even criminalization of deviance. The “sick” is often combined with the “bad”, and “sickness” is often seen as a secondary sign of “badness”. The pan-moralist tradition of ancient China seems to be closely combined with the Communist era’s strong belief in political-ideological correctness, and its strong belief in social engineering. It is interesting to note that my research on crime and deviance in China in the 1980s and 1990s seems to be confirmed by today’s discourse, although there are new moral panics and new forms of medical-moralistic definitions of deviance in China today. Still, the categories of deviance are very much socially constructed entities closely related to the moral-political order of present day China. I will use three cases to underline my argument. First, the type of deviance I call “majority deviance”, related to the case of the prejudice and dangers associated with the only-child. My second example has to do with what I term the “wayward girl” and the moral panics concerning so-called zaolian – or “premature love” among young girls. The third example is the new panic surrounding “internet addiction disorder” or IAD. While the “disco” and the “dance hall” were the sites of disorder in the 1980s and 90s, the wangba – or “internet bar” is now seen as the most dangerous site of crime and deviance.postprin