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Advancing Ethics in Public Organizations: The Impact of an Ethics Program on Employees’ Perceptions and Behaviors in a Regional Council

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  • Itai Beeri
  • Rachel Dayan
  • Eran Vigoda-Gadot
  • Simcha Werner

Abstract

Ethics in public administration has been a subject of growing interest for both researchers and practitioners interested in the future of governance. This study examined the relationship between ethics and performance in local governance. We tested the effects over time of an ethics program on employees’ perceptions (awareness of the code of ethics, ethical leadership, inclusion of employees in ethical decision making [EDM], ethical climate [EC], organizational commitment, and quality of work life [QWL]) and behavior (organizational citizenship behavior) in one Israeli regional council. We conducted a longitudinal study of 108 employees, using data from a two-phase survey (before implementation of the ethics program and a year after) and objective assessments of employees’ behavior through managers’ evaluations. The main findings show that the ethics program was very effective, resulting in greater awareness of the code of ethics, increased inclusion of employees in EDM, and an improved EC. Furthermore, ethical leadership was positively related to employees’ awareness of the code of ethics, increased inclusion of employees in EDM, an improvement in the EC, greater organizational commitment, and higher QWL. Implications and suggestions for future studies are discussed. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Itai Beeri & Rachel Dayan & Eran Vigoda-Gadot & Simcha Werner, 2013. "Advancing Ethics in Public Organizations: The Impact of an Ethics Program on Employees’ Perceptions and Behaviors in a Regional Council," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(1), pages 59-78, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:112:y:2013:i:1:p:59-78
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-012-1232-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Onyango, Gedion, 2024. "How managers respond to fraud, waste and mismanagement: ethics management survey in Uganda and Kenya," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122254, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Federico Ceschel & Alessandro Hinna & Fabian Homberg, 2022. "Public Sector Strategies in Curbing Corruption: A Review of the Literature," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 571-591, September.
    4. Christopher Chan & Subramaniam Ananthram, 2020. "A neo-institutional perspective on ethical decision-making," Post-Print hal-03107344, HAL.
    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. Anna Remišová & Anna Lašáková & Zuzana Kirchmayer, 2019. "Influence of Formal Ethics Program Components on Managerial Ethical Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 151-166, November.
    7. Mohamed Laid Ouakouak & Noufou Ouedraogo, 2017. "Antecedents Of Employee Creativity And Organisational Innovation: An Empirical Study," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 21(07), pages 1-26, October.
    8. Ahmed Musbah & Christopher J. Cowton & David Tyfa, 2016. "The Role of Individual Variables, Organizational Variables and Moral Intensity Dimensions in Libyan Management Accountants’ Ethical Decision Making," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 335-358, March.
    9. N. A. Mozumder, 2018. "A Multilevel Trust-based Model of Ethical Public Leadership," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(1), pages 167-184, November.
    10. Lantican, Carl Anthony O., 2020. "The Influence of Ethical Leadership on Employees’ Work-Related Stress and Organizational Commitment: Evidence from a Developing Country," Journal of Economics, Management & Agricultural Development, Journal of Economics, Management & Agricultural Development (JEMAD), vol. 6(1), June.
    11. Donna Harris & Oana Borcan & Danila Serra & Henry Telli & Bruno Schettini & Stefan Dercon, 2022. "Proud to belong: The impact of ethics training on police officers," CSAE Working Paper Series 2022-05, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    12. Zia Ullah & Susana Álvarez-Otero & Mohammed Ali Bait Ali Sulaiman & Muhammad Safdar Sial & Naveed Ahmad & Miklas Scholz & Khaoula Omhand, 2021. "Achieving Organizational Social Sustainability through Electronic Performance Appraisal Systems: The Moderating Influence of Transformational Leadership," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-14, May.
    13. Yanina Rashkova & Ludovica Moi & Francesca Cabiddu, 2024. "Addressing the Societal Challenges in Organizations: The Conceptualization of Mindfulness Capability for Social Justice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 189(2), pages 249-268, January.
    14. Loreta Bebi & Brunilda Llaftiu, 2015. "Ethical Decision Making Process of Albanian Accountants: the Impact of Organizational Factors," European Journal of Economics and Business Studies Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 1, May - Aug.
    15. Christopher Chan & Subramaniam Ananthram, 2019. "Religion-Based Decision Making in Indian Multinationals: A Multi-faith Study of Ethical Virtues and Mindsets," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 651-677, May.

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