CSR and staff retention in New Zealand companies: A literature review

This working paper examines the notion that there is a relationship between CSR and staff retention in organisations. Studies have shown that people are becoming more aware of business activities in many countries. As such, companies with good CSR policies are being rewarded by consumers and this is manifested in companies’ financial position in the long term. On the other hand, consumers will punish companies with poor CSR reputation. This review is illustrated through an analysis of literature on corporate social responsibility intended to advance that there is a relationship between CSR and staff retention in organisations. By translating the general principles of CSR into business practices, by developing better measures of CSR, and by empowering and engaging employees, businesses are more likely to embrace CSR so that it penetrates all business activities

Public Integrity, Economic Freedom and Governance Performance. A Comparative Study for the EU Member States and Acceding Countries

The studies concerning the impact of corruption on the effectiveness of governance are numerous, valorising profound approaches, based on criteria and standards related to good governance, organizational behaviour. The concepts and mechanisms specific for econometrics and statistics provide the quantitative support for qualitative analyses, substantiating public policies, in view to assure effectiveness in performance measurement. For EU Member States and acceding countries, the level of development and social organization determines specific ethical behaviours. In this context, the current paper aims a comparative economic and social evaluation of the correlations between corruption, performance and economic freedom in the states mentioned, following the various significant stages of the EU enlargement. The working hypotheses turn into consideration the following issues: Corruption holds national specific character and the statistic, econometric or sociologic analyses reveal that it is stable during time. The climate of economic freedom and the intensity of corruption influence powerfully the economic performance. The EU membership, “seniority” in EU, regional context determine different attitudes and perceptions on the corruption phenomena. For the newer EU states or the acceding countries, the strategies of integrity have mimetic character and the National Integrity Systems have structured powerful connections aimed at determining an action focused on public integrity. In the analyses achieved, the EU is approached globally, at least from statistic point of view, and the conclusions aim situations specific to the groups of states that have been or will be the beneficiaries of the EU enlargement. The quantitative analyses use both own results of the researches carried out by the authors and public results of World Bank or Heritage Foundation, as well as results of authorities responsible for national statistics. The paper uses the theoretical framework described by authors in other papers with similar topic. For the current paper, the distinction consists in the correlation of the analyses with the stages of the Eu enlargement

The Impact of Authentic, Ethical, Transformational Leadership on Leader Effectiveness

Authentic, ethical and transformational leadership in 21st century business leaders is needed. This research posits that ethical, authentic and transformational leaders are more effective, that there are incremental improvements in a leader’s effectiveness for each of these leadership qualities, and that transformational leadership moderates the impact of the leader’s authentic and ethical leadership on the leader’s outcomes. Analysis shows that authentic, ethical and transformational leadership behaviors make incremental independent contributions to explain leader effectiveness. The study did not find support for transformational leadership as a moderator of the relationships between authentic and ethical leadership behaviors and a leader’s effectiveness

The Role of Individual Variables, Organizational Variables and Moral Intensity Dimensions in Libyan Management Accountants’ Ethical Decision Making

This study investigates the association of a broad set of variables with the ethical decision making of management accountants in Libya. Adopting a cross-sectional methodology, a questionnaire including four different ethical scenarios was used to gather data from 229 participants. For each scenario, ethical decision making was examined in terms of the recognition, judgment and intention stages of Rest’s model. A significant relationship was found between ethical recognition and ethical judgment and also between ethical judgment and ethical intention, but ethical recognition did not significantly predict ethical intention—thus providing support for Rest’s model. Organizational variables, age and educational level yielded few significant results. The lack of significance for codes of ethics might reflect their relative lack of development in Libya, in which case Libyan companies should pay attention to their content and how they are supported, especially in the light of the under-development of the accounting profession in Libya. Few significant results were also found for gender, but where they were found, males showed more ethical characteristics than females. This unusual result reinforces the dangers of gender stereotyping in business. Personal moral philosophy and moral intensity dimensions were generally found to be significant predictors of the three stages of ethical decision making studied. One implication of this is to give more attention to ethics in accounting education, making the connections between accounting practice and (in Libya) Islam. Overall, this study not only adds to the available empirical evidence on factors affecting ethical decision making, notably examining three stages of Rest’s model, but also offers rare insights into the ethical views of practising management accountants and provides a benchmark for future studies of ethical decision making in Muslim majority countries and other parts of the developing world

The impact of corporate characteristics on social and environmental disclosure (CSED):the case of Jordan

The corporate business environment is surrounded by strong public scrutiny from diverse stakeholder groups that are calling on businesses to accept accountability for not only their financial actions, but also the non-financial implications of their activities. Many corporate businesses are today paying attention to the needs of their stakeholders of social and environmental information. As such, in this study we examined how corporate characteristics could influence the amount of Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosure (CSED) in the manufacturing sector in Jordan. Firm size, profitability, audit firm, ownership, type of industry and financial market level are the main factors examined in this study. Drawing from Ernst and Ernst methodology, the study developed a disclosure index to measure the amount of CSED for three years (2010, 2011 and 2012). Using panel data regression, we model the relationship between disclosure amount and the key drivers of CSED via random effect estimation. The results of our model indicated that the firm size, type of audit firm and financial performance in Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) are significantly associated with the amount of CSED. On the other hand, we also find that firm profitability, age, type of industry and ownership are not related to the practices of CSED

Multi-Factor Triage Algorithm (MUFTA): Quantitative and Qualitative Ethical Factors on Triage Decisions During COVID-19

Background: This study shows how multiple ethical criteria evaluations result in patient screening and ranking. Furthermore, as Omicron outbreaks increase, hospital emergency departments will become overburdened with critically ill patients. It is a one-of-a-kind global triage algorithm for infectious decreases of COVID-19 and Omicron. The algorithm is qualitative and quantitative, and adaptable to various bio-ethical and social factors. The measurement of the evaluation process eliminates any inconsistencies, which is an advantage of a decision-making algorithm. The proposed algorithm is unique because there are no similar algorithms in the literature that provide triage guidelines based on social ethics, bioethics, and human dignity. Objective: It's simple to evaluate a patient's potential benefits when ethical triage judgments are structured and transparent. Furthermore, decisions made primarily based on economic considerations in stressful situations overlook the socioeconomic realities of the underprivileged. This triage algorithm eliminates the need for ad hoc triage evaluations and facilitates criteria for inclusion, such as human dignity. It also takes into account patient comorbidities and social, ethical issues. Method: Healthcare professionals use predefined ethical criteria to assign relative rankings among patients based on treatment response and social circumstances. It is a Delphi method for evaluating patient illnesses with the help of medical professionals. For example, the admission to the intensive care unit and providing a ventilator depend entirely on hierarchical multidimensional triage scoring results. This algorithm can evaluate triage scores quickly. It is robust, accurate, and quick in assessment, evaluation, and reevaluation during an emergency. A team of three experts can implement this algorithm. Result: The Consistency Scores (CR) show how well clinical and non-clinical ethical criteria may be used to make triage judgments. As a result, all specialists have reported allogeneic reactions in the triage assessment. Furthermore, this system enables decision-makers to identify cognitive biases that may influence their decisions. A Group Consciousness Ratio (GCR) of over 85% indicates that the decision-making process is transparent. Patients with a high level of social dependency, a reasonable probability of recovery, a favorable weighted average comorbidity score, and those who are less fortunate are all considered in the overall triage decision. Conclusions: This algorithm differentiates patients who need ICU (Incentive Care Unit) care and do not immediately require critical resources. As a result, patients queue up on a waiting list when the ICU demand spikes due to the increased incidence of COVID-19 infection or its variants. This situation presents a dilemma for the triage policy. Therefore, a national emergency policy requires monetary and technical assistance to expand healthcare facilities. However, the clarity of this triage policymaking is at odds with decision-makers interested in manipulating results. It is challenging to deal with consistency issues in the Delphi process in group decision-making without professional moderators and valid evaluation metrics. Therefore, transparency, consistency, and strong judgment are essential elements of the presented algorithm. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2022-SPER-07 Full Text: PD

Normative Ethics Principles for Responsible AI Systems: Taxonomy and Future Directions

The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) necessitates careful analysis of its ethical implications. In addressing ethics and fairness implications, it is important to examine the whole range of ethically relevant features rather than looking at individual agents alone. This can be accomplished by shifting perspective to the systems in which agents are embedded, which is encapsulated in the macro ethics of sociotechnical systems (STS). Through the lens of macro ethics, the governance of systems - which is where participants try to promote outcomes and norms which reflect their values - is key. However, multiple-user social dilemmas arise in an STS when stakeholders of the STS have different value preferences or when norms in the STS conflict. To develop equitable governance which meets the needs of different stakeholders, and resolve these dilemmas in satisfactory ways with a higher goal of fairness, we need to integrate a variety of normative ethical principles in reasoning. Normative ethical principles are understood as operationalizable rules inferred from philosophical theories. A taxonomy of ethical principles is thus beneficial to enable practitioners to utilise them in reasoning. This work develops a taxonomy of normative ethical principles which can be operationalized in the governance of STS. We identify an array of ethical principles, with 25 nodes on the taxonomy tree. We describe the ways in which each principle has previously been operationalized, and suggest how the operationalization of principles may be applied to the macro ethics of STS. We further explain potential difficulties that may arise with each principle. We envision this taxonomy will facilitate the development of methodologies to incorporate ethical principles in reasoning capacities for governing equitable STS

Balancing Internal Controls with Change Management in the Pacific Military Unit

Federal government managers were advised to strengthen internal controls; the law dictates attestation of effective management controls, and the internal control program is used to detect risks. However, managers lacked preparatory training, with training being overlooked given the increased responsibilities. Managers are assigned the programmatic role regardless of the lack of program standards in knowledge, skill, and ability. The research questions addressed change management components, concepts, and core qualifications relative to program readiness. The purpose of this single case study was to identify and explore change management components contributing to the effectiveness of internal controls. The conceptual framework was based on Lewin\u27s change concepts of unfreezing, moving or changing, and refreezing phases with the inverse principle in field theory. Thirteen professionals from the pacific military unit in Hawaii participated in semistructured interviews. Inductive coding was used to thematically analyze the data. The key results of the emerged themes illustrated how: organization skillset was used for linking change components to internal controls, assessment was a tool used for transforming a manager\u27s concept, and experience was essential in leading change core qualifications. Significance of the study was the promotion of stronger measures in preventing fraud, waste, and mismanagement of limited resources. The research results could inspire social change by increasing communication and collaboration to benefit senior leaders, and financial and program managers. The value-added training concepts and leadership innovation, and how managing change relates to internal control could lead to program success thus benefiting all primary stakeholders

Socially Responsible Investments: Methodology, Risk and Performance

This paper surveys the literature on socially responsible investments (SRI). Over the past decade, SRI has experienced an explosive growth around the world. Particular to the SRI funds is that both financial goals and social objectives are pursued. While corporate social responsibility (CSR) - defined as good corporate governance, sound environmental standards, and good management towards stakeholder relations - may create value for shareholders, participating in other social and ethical issues is likely to destroy shareholder value. Furthermore, the risk-adjusted returns of SRI funds in the US and UK are not significantly different from those of conventional funds, whereas SRI funds in Continental Europe and Asia-Pacific strongly underperform benchmark portfolios. Finally, the volatility of money-flows is lower in SRI funds than of conventional funds, and SRI investors’ decisions to invest in an SRI fund are less affected by management fees than the decisions by conventional fund investors.socially responsible investments;ethical investing;corporate social responsibility;mutual funds;performance evaluation;money-flows;investment screens;mutual funds