An Investigation of the Factors That Encourage Unethical Practices by Organizational Administrators in Nigeria
Chapter One
Objectives of the Study
The objectives of this study are to:
- ascertain how managers in private and public organizations are encouraging unethical behaviour in the conduct of their businesses
- establish why managers resist corporate unethical standards to achieve organisations‘
- determine how top management officers in either public or private organizations are encouraging honesty and openness among workers in their
- ascertain if managers in either public or private organizations are encouraging managerial values in determining
- determine the source and depth of ethical and moral thinking views and attitudes of managers to enable them reach well-founded
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
The issue of business ethics has been a contentious one right from the days of Aristotle and Dana Plato. These great scholars posit that since the main objective of business is profit, what constitutes business ethics depends on who is looking at it, from what perspective and the cultural impact on ethical business practices. In explaining the fundamental relationship between corporate/business ethics and National culture, George, Oghojafor and Owoyemi (2012) further posit that corporate ethics is adapted from the words ‗sound moral values‘ which attempts at putting in place some sense of ‗sound moral values‘ within a company‘s employee population as regards how they could conduct business responsibly. The recent corporate global scandals (which have been taken to unprecedented levels) have compelled managers and researchers to focus their attentions on questions relating to ethics management (George et al 2012). Raths, Harmin and Simmon (2018) opined that ethical values clarification was developed both as a theory and an intervention. The theory contended that individuals are responsible for discovering their own ethical values through the process of honest self examination and open- minded search for truths about life. It further held that ethical value occurs when the head and the heart unite in the direction of action and that the experience of valuing involves the inter-dependent processes of reasoning, emotion and behaving. Thus, managers, if they are to complete their development and reach their potentials, must be prepared to re-evaluate their ethical values.
There are mixed opinions regarding the factors which determine ethical behaviour in organizations. Cronan and Jones (2018), in their (IT) study of ethics models found out that the indicators of ethical behaviour are:-
- Personal normative beliefs and organisation goal
- Organizational ethical climate and corporate culture
- Organizational scenario (situations).
- Group loyalty
- Leadership traits and effectiveness
They also opined that factors affecting ethical intentions are situational and depend upon the ethical dilemma–situations in which managers are required to differentiate between right and wrong and the good or bad actions. They therefore suggested that further research, with replications (models) with different samples be used.
Leonard and Cronan (2004) included environmental variables, individual characteristics, moral obligation, awareness of consequences and ethical scenario/issue as significant indicators of whether a persons behaviour was judged acceptable or not with emphasis on moral obligation or awareness of consequences.
Value systems and corporate culture that recognize the importance of ethical behaviour are good indicators of employees ethical behaviour (Sommers, 2001).
Leadership effectiveness in organizations is related to leadership traits or behaviours as considered by Yukl (2002) and are considered good indicators of ethical behaviour. Ethical leadership encourages ethical behaviour as well as initiating efforts to stop unethical practices.
Group loyalty as a good indicator of ethical behaviour is reflected on differences between ―what I do‖ and what my peers do for two(2) different reasons and items which are indicators of group loyalty. (Thoyre, 2003 and Jackson, 2017).
In other words, pressured employees may engage in unethical practices for corporate survival, and begin to rationalize their actions. The culture of the organization may encourage and reward unethical behaviour because of fear of bankruptcy, possible loss of one‘s job or the opportunity for promotion. While ethical decision making includes perception of how to act in terms of daily issues, success is determined by achievement of company goals.
Pressure
Pressure to perform and increase profits may be particularly intense in middle management. This internal organizational pressure is a major predictor of unethical behaviour. These organizational factors seem to have played a part in several recent scandals in both public and private organizations, for example Banks, financial institutions, corporations such as the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and National Assembly ( NAS) etc).
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This section discusses the methodology used for the study. Research methodology consists of the approaches to or combination of techniques for conducting a credible, valid, and reliable research (Asika, 2003). Research methodology is embedded in the assumptions about the nature of social reality and an appropriate way to enquire into it (Smith, Thorpe and Lowe 2002). This chapter will therefore be structured into the following components: Research design, Population of study, Sample size, Sampling method, Research instruments, Method of data collection, and Methods of data analysis.
Research Design
“Research design” refers to the overall research strategy used for a study. Thus, the study used the ex-post facto design, employing a survey instrument to generate primary data for the study. The research method used in this study involved generating information from a sub-set of a population of interest through a direct contact with the sample elements and yet detached enough to suggest objectivity and credibility in the research process.
Furthermore, this design had been used in similar previous studies (e.g. Andrews, 2019). It will therefore be a familiar design because it is normally used to guide the selection of a research design (Bouckernooghe et al, 2007).
In addition, the sample survey was chosen as the most appropriate method for this study because it is economical in terms of cost, time, and manageability. It is equally a powerful tool for generating current data on the shift or demographic and psychological variables (Remenyi et al, 2003).
Population of the Study
The population of this study consisted of all managers currently working in the public and private organizations in Nigeria. One epistemological implication of any study of organizational static and dynamics is that the organization is treated as an on-going concern (Kerlinger, 2013 and Barbie, 2016). This fact was crucial in determining the organizations to be included within the study sample space. The sampling size is therefore derived from a list of all ministries and parastatals established by Federal government of Nigeria, and Private organizations quoted on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. These are establishments engaged in the production and provision of essential products and services for the entire citizens living in Nigeria.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATIONS, ANALYSES AND INTERPRETATIONS
Introduction
This chapter is designed to give the results of the study by analyzing the data. According to Yomere and Agbonifoh (2019), “Data analysis involves converting a series of recorded observations (data) into descriptive statements and/or inferences about relationships”.
In this chapter data obtained from the research questions/hypotheses are given in tables and analyzed one after the other using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Chi-Square analytical tools. In order to establish the relationship between the dependent and independent variables, the data were subjected to Chi-Square statistical test at a 5% level of significance (95% level of confidence).
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter is discussed under the following sub-headings:
Summary and Discussion of the Research Findings
Summary of Findings
Managers encouraging unethical behaviour in the conduct of their businesses
The result of research question one indicated that both public and private organizations encourage unethical behaviours in organizations though few people have a contrary opinion arguing that both public and private organizations do not encourage unethical behaviours in organisations. It can therefore be concluded that the level of corruption in the country has a significant effect on the operations of managers in both private and public organizations.
Managers’ resistance to corporate unethical standards
The analysis of data found that managers in both public and private sectors resist corporate unethical standards in their operations and in an attempt to achieve organisations‘ objectives. However, less number of respondents do not support this statement. Based on this result it was concluded that managers in both public and private sectors make efforts to resist corporate unethical standards in their business activities and achievement of organisations‘ objectives.
Conclusions
Based on the findings summarized above, the following conclusions were made in this study:
- Public and private organizations in Nigeria are not doing their best to encourage their staff to desist from engaging in unethical behaviour. This is confirmed from the rejection of the first hypothesis which states that ‗there is no significant relationship between unethical behaviour and achievement of specified objectives in either the public or private organizations in Nigeria.‘ Facts emanating from the various correlation coefficients are not enough to prove that managers of these two types of organizations are doing their best to curb unethical
- The second conclusion for this study also confirms that public or private organizations in Nigeria are not doing their best in encouraging resistance to unethical behaviour towards curbing the incidences of unethical This is equally given credence to by the rejection of the second hypothesis which states that there is no correlation between resistance to unethical behaviours by officers and incidences of unethical behaviours in either public or private organizations in Nigeria.
- Thirdly, the study concludes that top management officers in either public or private organizations are not encouraging honesty and openness among workers in their organizations. This is confirmed by the rejection of the third hypothesis which states that encouraging openness and honesty by top management staff will not reduce unethical behaviour in either the public or private organizations in To some extent this hypothesis can be accepted for private organizations.
- The fourth conclusion is based on the fact that managers in either public or private organizations are actually not encouraging managerial values in determining The rejection of hypothesis four which states that there is no positive relationship between managerial values and acceptable level of integrity in either public or private organizations in Nigeria gave credence to this fact.
- Finally the study concluded that organizational-based factors exemplified by top management actions are not capable of changing the attitudes and values of managers in the execution of their duties in Also the rejection of hypothesis five which states that organizational-based factors exemplified by top management actions have no relationship with the changing attitudes and values of a manager helped to confirm this case.
Recommendations
The study recommends as follows:
Efforts should be made to reduce or totally prevent any act of embezzlement in either the public or private organizations in Nigeria through the use of control
Embezzlement as an unethical practice in organizations which has taken different dimensions arising from such factors as greed and unsatisfactory working conditions. Control systems that need to be put in place should equally be able to provide some motivating programme capable of giving satisfaction to hard working employee.
The expression that it takes two to tango clearly points to the support some employees get from top management which encourages them to carry out unethical behaviour with impunity. Also at the top management level, it is believed that there is the tendency to create an environment that supports members at this level to carry out unethical behaviour. This practice is accentuated by the lack of visible punishment on this set of managers whenever they are caught in the act. The more lenient treatment for top management can persist even when there is a pattern of a prior ethical infraction, the more the existence of an explicit organizational policy proscribing the act in question.
It is therefore necessary to be stricter when an unethical act is committed for the second time.
- Closely related to this is the solution for curbing issues associated with the circumvention of organizationally accepted work procedure. Work procedure in this respect should be built into the generally accepted organization‘s Effort by any employee to circumvent the accepted work procedure should be conceived as a means of sabotaging the organization‘s good intention towards effective performance and productivity. Thus erring workers in this respect should be checked accordingly.
- Thirdly, whistleblowers should be encouraged to report any act that is capable of creating unethical It is obvious that whistleblowers in some organizations stand the risk of losing their jobs/lives. They therefore need to be protected and assured of their safety. In addition, they could be advised to only report or alert the authority of only relevant information and the ones for witch- hunting that are capable of creating disaffection among employees.
- Fourthly, the study viewed honesty as a facet of moral character that denotes positive, virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness along with the absence of lying, cheating, or theft. In discourse, a statement can be strictly true and still be dishonest if the intention of the statement is to deceive its audience. Similarly, a falsehood can be spoken honestly if the speaker actually believes it to be true, assuming the speaker does not unfairly reject or suppress Conversely, dishonesty can be defined simply as behaviour that is performed with intent to deceive or to manipulate the truth.
While there are great many moral systems, generally speaking, honesty is considered moral and dishonesty is considered immoral. There are several exceptions, such as hedonism, which values honesty only in so far as it improves one‘s own sense of pleasure, and moral nihilism, which denies the existence of objective morality outright. Honesty may also be challenged in various social systems with ideological stakes in self-preservation. In this respect honesty should frequently be encouraged publicly, although it may be retroactively forbidden and punished in an ex post facto manner if those invested in preserving the system perceive it as a threat. Depending on the social system, these breaches might be characterized as heresy, treason, or impoliteness. So ultimately, there are a great number of opinions about honesty. Even in moral systems which approve, in general of honesty over dishonesty, some people think there are situations in which dishonesty may be preferable. Others would not define preferable behaviours as dishonest by reasoning that they are not intended to deceive others for personal gain, but the intent is more noble in character, for example sparing people of opinions that will upset them. Rather than dishonesty, that behaviour is often viewed as self sacrifice – giving up one’s voice for the happiness of others.
But it can hardly be a universal approach to either determining honesty or morality. In many circumstances, withholding one’s opinions can legitimately be viewed as cowardly, dishonest and a betrayal to those who will be hurt, discriminated against and unfairly judged due to false beliefs that are left unchallenged. For this reason, many people insist that an objective approach to the truth is a necessary component of honesty as opposed to an ideological or idealistic approach.
- Finally, the study recommended the following with respect to the issues associated with managers influencing subordinates‘
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