An assessment of the ethical dimensions that impact on corruption

This paper addresses the ethical dimensions of corruption. Corruption in the form of bribery is widespread in the developing world and this includes Mauritius. Corruption assessed in absolute terms is unethical. However, if one were to use relativistic views, one would make allowances for ‘mild’ forms of corruption like seeking favours to obtain unwarranted advantages or paying bribes in the form of ‘speed-up gratuities’. Our study shows that in many contexts, acts of corruption are accepted and justified either on the basis of the gains they bring to the individual who offered the bribe or undertake to seek the particular favour. It depends on the values prevailing in particular societies, hence notions of relativism. Another determinant of unethical conduct is the risk involved. As some of the literature emphasises, often the decision-maker may choose not to embark onto unethical conduct not because it is wrong in absolute terms, but because s/he is afraid of getting caught. This paper presents the assessment of specific acts of corruption, as made by our participants who were all from the business sector. Respondents rated scenarios representing instances of bribery, using the multi-dimensional ethics scale developed by Reidenbach and Robin (1988) as measurement device

An assessment of power abuse under ethics philosophies

In this paper, power abuse is assessed under different philosophies of ethics, namely, principles of relativism, duty, and morality. According to the theory of relativism, the moral rightness or wrongness of specific acts or decisions varies between societies. In some contexts, it is not unusual for people in management positions to abuse of the discretion conferred on them, to secure particular benefits. Sometimes, culture condones such behaviour. Traditions, values and norms help establish ethical principles that specific societies follow. Principles of duty and morality, on the other hand, state that decision-makers owe a duty to their stakeholders. Absolute rules are used to rate the ethicality of particular decisions or actions. For the purpose of this paper, a survey was conducted and hypothetical situations representing ethical problems of varying nature were presented to the participants. A multi-dimensional ethics scale was used to assess the influence of different dimensions on ethical decision-making. The scale, originally developed by Reidenbach and Robin (1988), consisted of cultural, duty and moral dimensions. The Reidenbach and Robin scale had so far been used in the United States only. By applying it to Mauritian context, the possibility of obtaining different results from those of earlier studies, was envisaged