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Ethical Reasoning at Work: A Cross-Country Comparison of Gender and Age Differences

Author

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  • Karin Lasthuizen

    (Wellington School of Business and Government, Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6012, New Zealand)

  • Kamal Badar

    (Wellington School of Business and Government, Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6012, New Zealand)

Abstract

This paper uses the IBE Ethics at Work 2018 survey to explore employees’ ethical reasoning and examine gender and age differences across 12 countries. Debates about gender and ethics have been intense since Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, with feminist critiques from Gilligan and others advocating the different voice of women, while the recent arrival of Millennials in the workplace has raised new questions about age/generational differences and ethics. The findings in this study suggest that women and older workers have stronger ethical judgments in the workplace than men and younger workers. These gender and age differences, both among employees and managers, are consistent across countries. This study shows that individual characteristics are important for employees’ ethical reasoning, which affects their ability to make ethical decisions and act ethically. Business ethics research should therefore take greater account of differences between (groups of) employees and their learning needs when examining the effectiveness of ethics policies and instruments, while organizations can improve employee ethical reasoning by adopting diversity-based training programs and ethical leadership.

Suggested Citation

  • Karin Lasthuizen & Kamal Badar, 2023. "Ethical Reasoning at Work: A Cross-Country Comparison of Gender and Age Differences," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-16, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jadmsc:v:13:y:2023:i:5:p:136-:d:1150643
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Greg Loviscky & Linda Treviño & Rick Jacobs, 2007. "Assessing Managers’ Ethical Decision-making: An Objective Measure of Managerial Moral Judgment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 73(3), pages 263-285, July.
    2. Debbie Haski-Leventhal & Mehrdokht Pournader & Andrew McKinnon, 2017. "The Role of Gender and Age in Business Students’ Values, CSR Attitudes, and Responsible Management Education: Learnings from the PRME International Survey," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(1), pages 219-239, November.
    3. Silke Eisenbeiß & Felix Brodbeck, 2014. "Ethical and Unethical Leadership: A Cross-Cultural and Cross-Sectoral Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(2), pages 343-359, June.
    4. Kamal Badar & Karin Lasthuizen, 2023. "Twenty Years of Research on Millennials at Work : A Structural Review Using Bibliometric and Content Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-25, April.
    5. Muel Kaptein, 2015. "The Effectiveness of Ethics Programs: The Role of Scope, Composition, and Sequence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 415-431, December.
    6. James Weber, 2017. "Discovering the Millennials’ Personal Values Orientation: A Comparison to Two Managerial Populations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(3), pages 517-529, July.
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