Governance factors affecting internal auditors' ethical decision making: an exploratory study

Purpose This paper explores the ethical decision making of internal auditors and the impact of corporate governance mechanisms thereon. It also explores whether ethical decision making is influenced by years of experience in internal auditing. Design/methodology/approach Sixty-six internal auditors were presented with five ethical dilemmas. For each scenario, a key element of corporate governance was manipulated to assess its impact on ethical decision making. These were audit committee support; management integrity regarding accounting policies; management integrity regarding pressure on internal audit; external auditor characteristics; and organisational code of conduct. Findings Participants were generally sensitive to ethical dilemmas but were not always confident that their peers would act ethically. A higher quality external audit function was positively associated with internal auditors’ ethical decision making. However, the strength of other governance mechanisms did not appear to influence ethical decision making. Finally, more experienced internal auditors adopted a more ethical stance in some cases. Research limitations/implications Our sample was self-selected and may not be representative of internal auditors in general. Our lack of significant results may be due to insufficient variability in our manipulations and/or an oversimplification of reality in our scenarios. Practical implications The study has implications for the internal audit profession with respect to training and the provision of support mechanisms to strengthen the ability of internal auditors to withstand pressure when dealing with ethical dilemmas. Originality/value This paper is the first to study whether the strength of other governance mechanisms influence internal auditors’ ethical decision making

Review of Instruments to Measure Ethical Decisionmaking and Implications for Decision Support

This paper reviews various ethical belief measurements that dominate ethical decision-making research. It discusses these instruments within the context of Jones’ ethical decision-making model and explore possible gaps in research that need to be addressed. Possible implications are discussed for decision support systems research

An Examination of the Volitional Stages in Consumer Decisions to Avoid Sweatshop Clothing

While much research in ethical consumption has focused on contexts such as food, this research explores ethical consumer decision-making in the context of intention to avoid sweatshop clothing where consumer concern has increased but response from the market remains limited. This research seeks to deepen the theory of planned behaviour with respect to the volitional stages underlying behaviour. The findings of the research support a modified theory of planned behaviour model and also reveal volitional stages from intention to trying and plan which reveal the stages of consumer decision-making to avoid sweatshop clothing. Implications for consumer decision-making are discussed

The Impact of the Symphonological Approach to Ethical Decision Making on Advanced Level Nursing Students

Problem: The literature revealed two major gaps; the first gap is the lack of current knowledge about ethical decision-making abilities of the advanced level nurse. A second gap is the need to investigate specific models and theories to support the profession of nursing in making ethical decisions. Purpose: The purpose was to explore the following research questions: What is the effect of a Symphonology-based educational intervention on the ethical decision-making performance of advanced level nursing students, as measured by the JAND? What is the effect of a Symphonology-based educational intervention on the ethical decision-making performance of advanced level nursing students, as measured by the JAND with and without the scenarios? What do the advanced level nursing students express about the guidance given by the application of Symphonology in dealing with ethics and ethical decision-making in day to day practice? And, what do the advanced level nursing students express about the guidance given by the application of other theories in dealing with ethics and ethical decision-making in practice? Methods: The research design for this study was both a quantitative approach, in the form of a quasi-experimental one group pretest-posttest design, and a qualitative approach, in the form of an online focus group. Results: This study has generated new information on the ethical decision making performance of advanced practice nursing students that may provide insight for the profession. It has identified that while the impact of the theory of Symphonology did not produce statistically significant outcomes, it did identify that participants had varying perspectives on ethical decision making after learning about the theory of Symphonology. Finally, this study identified consistent qualitative feedback regarding the value of the theory of Symphonology during the data collection process. Implications: This study has identified that advanced practice nursing students are entering into their graduate studies with varying competencies in ethical decision making. It identified that participants had varying perspectives on ethical decision making after learning about the theory of Symphonology. Continued efforts must be made to explore the impact of the Symphonological approach on nursing practice and its implications on the nurse patient relationship

The Impact of Deliberation Time on Ethical Decision Quality: A Study of Early-Career Professional Accountants

ABSTRACT The Impact of Deliberation Time on Ethical Decision Quality: A Study of Early-Career Professional Accountants By Ricki Livingston April 2021 Committee Chair: Subhashish Samaddar, PhD Major Academic Unit: GSU Robinson College of Business Ethical decision-making is central to the study of the professional accounting practice. When professional accountants engage in decision-making without consideration to ethics, decision quality declines, and stakeholders suffer severe financial implications. Situational factors such as time variation may influence the accountant’s ability to make a sound ethical decision. The result is an increased potential for fraudulent behavior. The Fraud Triangle Theory postulates three factors that must be present for fraud to occur: Rationalization, Pressure, and Opportunity (Cressey, 1973). Recent disruptive trends in professional accounting such as workforce reduction and automation potentially impact ethical decision-making. Both trends result in a change in workload and a new variation in time for deliberation and rationalization. However, despite these substantial changes to the work situation, stakeholders continue to demand stability in ethical decision-making. This study adds evidence to the existing body of knowledge in behavioral accounting examining the impact of deliberation time on ethics in decision making in early-career professional accountants. It is hypothesized that deliberation time influences the quality of the ethical decision. Professional work experience and gender are examined as moderators in both situations. This dissertation collects data from a panel of 363 master of accounting students over four years in a North American university by presenting scenarios portraying ethical dilemmas in professional accounting. An analysis of student responses to ethical dilemmas using descriptive statistics and hierarchical regression analysis serves to classify the findings based on situational and individual factors. Six hypotheses are tested to find that deliberation time influences ethical decisions. These findings support the Fraud Triangle Theory which posits that rationalization may be a factor leading to unethical behavior. Additionally, these findings serve to inform CPAs and professional accounting firms about the importance of workload balancing and ethical awareness

Intending to be ethical: An examination of consumer choice in sweatshop avoidance

While much research in ethical consumption has focused on contexts such as food, this research explores ethical consumer decision-making in the context of intention to avoid sweatshop apparel. This research seeks to deepen the Theory of Planned Behavior with respect to the motivation and volitional stages underlying behavior. The findings of the research, based on 794 consumers, are novel and support an enriched framework which reveals that the role of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control are mediated by desire, intention and plan. The findings have implications for research seeking to address the ‘intention-behavior’ gap

The Problem of Integrating Ethics into IS Practice

In this paper we discuss a number of implications which follow from the way that the information systems discipline has developed, largely separately, from computer ethics. These include the tendency of quantitative IS studies on ethics to focus on ethical decision making as the most significant activity in the business of behaving morally meaning that other aspects of moral behaviour are overlooked. A second, significant, implication is the difficulty of integrating ethical practice into IS development. This is manifest initially in terms of IS education but later in relation to the development, and use, of IS in the workplace. Focusing on information systems development, we discuss practice, focusing on ethics and IS practice especially rationalistic approach to decision making, the support that conventional development methodologies offer the moral agent followed by learning to practice or the business of integrating ethics into IS education and how to turn moral decision making into teachable ethical constructs. We conclude by offering some suggestions for future directions

Take a walk on the wild side: Exploring, identifying, and developing consultancy expertise with elite performance team leaders

Objectives: Stemming from sport psychology’s recent shift to examine the effective management of elite sports team organizations, the extensive, significant, and complex challenges faced by those with responsibility for team performance have been emphasized. Recognizing that most work in this budding area has been theoretical in nature, our contribution to this special issue consequently identifies and critically evaluates some implications for excellence in practitioners who support leaders of elite sport performance teams. Method: Narrative review and commentary. Results and Conclusions: To survive and succeed, leaders of elite teams must: (a) negotiate complex and contested socio-political dynamics both within and outside their performance department; (b) make impactful and consistent real-time decisions; and (c) continually reinforce and protect their programme. To provide an optimally impactful and valued service, sport psychologists must therefore be able to advise on a broad and politically-astute leadership style and, most critically for consultancy excellence: (a) work within a professional judgment and decision making model; (b) facilitate the leader’s adaptive expertise and nested decision making; and (c) operate a proactive, forthright, and straight approach to ethical considerations. Based on these implications, we conclude by providing suggestions for the training and development of applied consultants

Ethical challenges in nephrology : a call for action

The American Society of Nephrology, the European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association and the International Society of Nephrology Joint Working Group on Ethical Issues in Nephrology have identified ten broad areas of ethical concern as priority challenges that require collaborative action. Here, we describe these challenges - equity in access to kidney failure care, avoiding futile dialysis, reducing dialysis costs, shared decision-making in kidney failure care, living donor risk evaluation and decision-making, priority setting in kidney disease prevention and care, the ethical implications of genetic kidney diseases, responsible advocacy for kidney health and management of conflicts of interest - with the aim of highlighting the need for ethical analysis of specific issues, as well as for the development of tools and training to support clinicians who treat patients with kidney disease in practising ethically and contributing to ethical policy-making. Here, the ASN-ERA-EDTA-ISN Joint Working Group on Ethical Issues in Nephrology highlights ten areas of ethical concern as priority challenges that require collaborative action and discusses the need for development of ethical training and guidance tools to manage these issues

Encounters With Ethical Problems During the First 5 Years of Practice in Occupational Therapy: A Survey

Background: Health care professionals face ethical problems in practice, but there is little research on types of ethical problems encountered or ethical problem resolution. This study explored ethical problems encountered by occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) within the first 5 years of practice. Method: Investigators sent a survey in cooperation with NBCOT to a sample of 7,800 occupational therapists and OTAs in multiple practice settings who were NBCOT certified within the past five years. The survey covered questions regarding ethical problems encountered in practice, including productivity and related issues, clinical decision-making and professional reasoning, therapeutic relationships, and employer/employee and colleague relationships. Results: Occupational therapists and OTAs (n = 125) completed the survey. The most consistently encountered types of ethical problems included productivity and related issues and conflicts over clinical decision-making. Occupational therapists and OTAs working in adult and older adult settings reported more consistent encounters with ethical problems than practitioners in other settings. Occupational therapists and OTAs who have been NBCOT certified for longer experienced ethical problems more consistently. Conclusion: Implications included providing more support in specific ethics topics for practitioners within the first 5 years. Further research in which types of ethics education best prepare practitioners to manage ethical issues is warranted