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An Insight into Romanian Business Consulting Organizations from an Ethical Standpoint

Author

Listed:
  • Elena-Madalina VATAMANESCU

    (College of Management, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration)

  • Florina – Magdalena PINZARU

    (College of Management, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration)

  • Andreia - Gabriela ANDREI

    (Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University)

  • Vlad – Andrei ALEXANDRU

    (S.C. SENAL-COM S.R.L.)

Abstract

Recent decades have strongly commanded in the public conscience the importance of considering the ethical dimension in organizations. Business ethics exceeds the ordinary compliance with the law or the choice between right and wrong. There are situations when actions are clearly right or wrong and the decision about what should be done is relatively simple, but often managers have to distinguish between shades of gray and the decision is enforced by different degrees of righteousness. Moreover, when fulfilling ethical responsibilities, businesses should consider simultaneously the economic and competitiveness pressures. Starting from these premise, the present study intends to investigate the standpoints of managers in the Romanian business consulting firms about the double rationality of their endeavors: profit versus ethics. Accordingly, twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted to assess the ethical dilemma. As most of the answers underline, there is a myriad of ethical issues posed by the business consultancy, especially when big contracts are scarce and the competition for clients is high.

Suggested Citation

  • Elena-Madalina VATAMANESCU & Florina – Magdalena PINZARU & Andreia - Gabriela ANDREI & Vlad – Andrei ALEXANDRU, 2014. "An Insight into Romanian Business Consulting Organizations from an Ethical Standpoint," Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, College of Management, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, vol. 2(3), pages 440-452, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nup:jrmdke:v:2:y:2014:i:6:p:440-452
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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