How Ethical Organizational Culture Impacts Organizational Climate
How Ethical Organizational Culture Impacts Organizational Climate
How Ethical Organizational Culture Impacts Organizational Climate
Abstract
climate with a group. Various studies on ethical culture and climate have established links to
different experiences and concerns. Concerning the subject of ethical organizational culture,
Schein’s study researched the impact of leadership on organizational culture. Treviño and
Weaver's study details the impacts of ethical leadership on ethical organizational culture.
Additionally, there are numerous studies in the field of ethical organizational. The paper intends
to give executives practical advice about the benefits of ethical culture and climate in a highly
regulated business environment today. In the United States, positive ethical organizational
culture and climate are paramount to organizations due to strong legislation, groups, and
standards.
Introduction
employees, is represented by two constructs: ethical climate and ethical culture (Treviño &
Weaver, 2003). Ethical culture is usually defined as those aspects that stimulate ethical conduct
(Treviño & Weaver, 2003). Ethical climate is typically defined as those aspects that determine
what constitutes ethical conduct (Victor & Cullen, 1988). In the past several years, the concept
of ethics in organizational culture and climate has evoked much interest among scholars (Vig &
Dumicic, 2016). Various studies on ethical culture and climate have established links to
different experiences and concerns. Concerning the subject of ethical organizational culture,
Schein’s (1992) study researched the impact of leadership on organizational culture. Treviño
and Weaver (2003), studies detail the impacts of ethical leadership on ethical organizational
culture. Additionally, there are numerous studies in the field of ethical organizational climate
(Wang & Hsieh, 2013; Vig & Dumicic, 2016; Lindbeck, 2004). This paper examines whether
organizational influences impact the organizational climate. The paper intends to give
executives practical advice about the benefits of ethical culture and climate in today’s business.
Organizational Culture
Ethical values relate to doing what is morally right. Stahl and Grigsby (1997) describe
ethics as doing the right thing right the first time. The ethical values that a firm establishes in its
goals, policies, and practices, is essential in any organizational culture (Olsen, 2013). However,
it wasn’t until 1962 when Blau and Scott, two of the first post-war management authors, made
the assertion that all organizations consist of both formal and informal conditions, and that it is
simply not possible to know or understand the workings of an organization without a sound
understanding of its informal character (Blau and Scott, 1962). In 1978, the first major analysis
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conventional literature of organizational theory (Peters, 1978). Peters’ work was closely
followed by the extensive and significant work of Pettigrew (1979), who suggested that
organizational cultures consist of cognitive systems explaining how people think, reason, and
make decisions. Pettigrew also noted different levels of culture, arguing that at the lowest level,
culture consists of a complex set of values, assumptions, and beliefs that define how a firm
conducts its business (Pettigrew, 1990). From the early work by Pettigrew, Peters, and others,
Ethical organizational culture, with its shared values, influences employee behavior, and
strong ethics are considered to be the core of a positive organizational culture. The
organization’s ethical culture is vital because decision making without ethical awareness will
lead to unanticipated and unwanted misconduct (Vig & Dumicic, 2016). According to Treviño
and Nelson (2014), ethical organizational culture should be thought of in terms of a multi-system
framework that includes formal and informal systems that must be aligned to support ethical
judgment and action. Formal and informal systems can be separated into two sets of
components: formal ones (rules, policies and codes, executive leader communications,
organizational structures, and formal decision-making process) and informal ones (norms of
daily behavior, stories heroes, rituals, myths and role models, and language) which refer to
whether the ethical culture represents reality, or it acts as mere "window dressing". As part of
his PhD-thesis (1998), Muel Kaptein (2007), performed a qualitative analysis of 150 cases of
unethical behavior by managers and employees that could be related to the organization in which
they worked and defined the Corporate Ethical Virtues Model (abbreviated as CEV Model) that
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contains complex dimensions which represent a company's level of business ethics. The CEV
discussability, sanctionability and transparency. The first two virtues, clarity and congruency,
refer to the self-regulating capacity of the organization. The next two virtues, feasibility and
supportability, refer to the self-providing capacity of the organization, and the last three virtues,
•The first virtue is clarity, which is the extent to which ethical expectations, such as
values, norms, and rules are concrete, comprehensive and understandable to managers
and employees. Therefore, the virtuous organization is clear about the ethical standards
•The second virtue is congruency of management and supervision, which defines the
extent to which the board and middle management perform per ethical expectations. This
second organizational virtue amounts to the moral requirement that managers and
•The third virtue is feasibility, defined as the extent to which the organization makes
the organization and the extent to which the organization provides motivation.
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•The fifth virtue is transparency or visibility in the organization. The organizational virtue
of transparency is the degree to which employee conduct and its consequences are
perceptible to those who can act upon it, i.e. colleagues, supervisors, subordinates, and
the employee(s) concerned. In the CEV Model, transparency is broken down into
horizontal and vertical components. The vertical component refers to the extent to which
managers can observe unethical conduct and its consequences of employees (top-down)
and vice versa (bottom-up). The horizontal component refers to the extent to which
employees can observe unethical conduct and its consequences among themselves.
•The sixth virtue is discussability. Another factor that characterizes the virtuousness of
an organization concerns the opportunity employees have to raise and discuss ethical
environment should be a secure place where moral issues can be raised without fear of
reprisal.
•The seventh virtue is sanctionability. The seventh and final organizational virtue in the
likelihood of employees being disciplined for behaving unethically and rewarded for
behaving ethically.
The seven corporate ethical virtues are not just relevant because they influence the behavior of
managers and employees, but also because they can be altered by organizations (Kaptein, 2007).
Olson (2013) suggest that an ethical organizational culture have fair procedures, respects
employee rights and provide equal pay and promotion possibilities, and promotes loyalty,
honesty, compassion, and tolerance of stakeholders. “Businesses that have ethical workplace
cultures outperform their competitors and peers in all the categories that matter, but especially in
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stock price growth” (Olson, 2013). Modern explorations of organizational culture refer to
versus stationary cultures, and balanced versus dissonant cultures (Fletcher and Jones, 1992).
Organizational Climate
García-Morales, & Llorens-Montes, 2008). Victor and Cullen (1987) suggest that ethical climate
is "the shared perceptions of what is ethically correct behavior and how ethical issues should be
handled" (p. 51). Victor and Cullen (1988) suggest that ethical climate is "the prevailing
perceptions of typical organizational practices and procedures that have ethical content." James
Schmidt, Ford, & DeShon, 2003). Victor and Cullen (1987, 1988) created the concept of ethical
climate. Victor and Cullen studied organizational climate from an ethical standpoint (1988).
Using the Ethical Climate Questionnaire, exploratory factor analysis was conducted, followed by
a confirmatory factor analysis. They suggest that organizations have distinct types of ethical
climates and that there is variance in the ethical climate within organizations by position, tenure
and workgroup membership. Ethical theory, in Victor and Cullen's (1987, 1988) construct,
consists of three dimensions that parallel the pre-conventional, conventional, and post-
conventional orientations of Kohlberg's model (Goslin, 1969). They include egoism (hedonism),
behavior that is primarily self-interested in seeking pleasure and avoiding pain for the individual.
The focus of benevolence or utilitarianism is toward the greatest pleasure and least pain for the
collective or the greater number (e.g., the immediate workgroup, the firm, the community, and
the society-at-large). In contrast to these two, teleological-based orientations are the ethical
view, which places the greatest emphasis upon duty founded upon laws, rules, policies, and
procedures (e.g., the organization's code of ethics, the laws of a given society, the Judeo-
Christian Ten Commandments). These three broad categories are presented hierarchically from
egoism to a principle-based upon the Kohlberg’s developmental model and compared with locus
of analysis dimension.
"shape the behaviors and attitudes of role incumbents" (Victor and Cullen, 1988, p. 106). The
existentialistic ethical orientation. The local referent is the immediate workgroup or the firm
generally as well as the individual's community of significant others. Norms, values, and
behaviors derived from this immediate work or social community are internalized or at least
generally operationalized by the individual. The cosmopolitan locus of analysis extends beyond
the group and the firm. At this level, the behavior is shaped by normative systems that have the
potential to operate within the organization but are generated and maintained externally (e.g.,
determine the type/level of the ethical climate of your organization/leaders? One approach is to
use the method of Victor and Cullen (1987) which creates a matrix of two dimensions. The first
9
dimension is the ethical criteria, which are the standard for moral reasoning of a person and are
The second dimension is to use the locus of analysis and is the perspective for judgment.
Local: Looking from the perspective of those who are directly involved/affected
By using the matrix, if an organization has ethical criteria of self-interest and loci of
analysis of local locus, and the company and management are driven by the bottom line of sales
and profit, the company's ethical climate is likely ‘Company Profit.’ Furthermore, it can be
construed organizational leadership is focused on doing whatever has to be done to make their
numbers and they were willing to blame and sacrifice others to do so. This climate could lead to
high annual employee turnover rate and other dysfunctional problems. The organization would
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not be an enjoyable one to work for, and the ethical climate would most likely result in
On the contrary, if one applies the characteristics to another organization, one could find
the ethical criteria which best fit the organization is benevolence, and the loci of analysis are
cosmopolitan because the company mission and values are to do good things for the benefit of
society. The organization’s ethical climate would be ‘Social Responsibility.’ Thus, the
environment that was fair and safe. The high degree of satisfaction and commitment by
employees would encourage a low employee turnover rate due to employee satisfaction.
While formally established guidelines as to the key components of climate are yet to find
universal acceptance, the influences of the concept exist in its potential to conceptually link
organizational and individual behavioral phenomena (Moran and Volkwein, 1992). Many
researchers, including Jones and James (1979), have argued in favor of a multidimensional
approach to the issue of measurement. Specifically, Jones and James derived six dimensions of
organizational climate:
considerable interest within the field of organizational behavior research, mainly as a result of its
Discussion
The concepts of organizational climate and culture are related directly to the concept of
the workplace as a community. Within any form of community, there exist formal and informal
beliefs, values, and norms of how the members should conduct themselves (Etzioni, 1993).
Cohen (1995) states that "with the workplace replacing the church and state as a primary source
of behavioral norms and even moral values, ideologies reinforced in the work setting have a
stronger impact on behavior outside the workplace than at any other time in history" (p. 338). In
contrast, the workplace, based upon the culture/climate metaphor, is regarded as a community of
individuals who bring with them the ability to believe, to value, and to seek meaning in
organizational missions, goals, and objectives. Organization and ethical climate are important
because these conditions will impact the behavior, motivation, and effectiveness of the
workforce. These forces, if positive and supportive, can strengthen and increase morale and
productivity, but when caustic and damaging, they can cause withdrawal, dysfunctional and
undesirable behaviors.
and climate, which is often ignored in the literature (Ryder and Southey, 1990). According to
Barker (1994), there is evidence the two terms, culture and climate, have frequently been used
synonymously. Despite a large number of studies into climate, attempts to define the construct
in a way that differentiates it from culture have proven problematic (Field and Ableson, 1982).
Moran and Volkwein (1992) argue that while culture and climate are distinctly identifiable
12
elements within organizations, there is some overlap between the two terms. Culture is widely
understood to be made up of a collection of fundamental values and belief systems that give
more implied concept than organizational climate, which consists of more empirically accessible
elements such as behavioral and attitudinal characteristics (Moran and Volkwein, 1992). A
further distinction between the two lies in the contention that the climate of an organization
shared assumptions (Ashforth, 1985). In a similar vein, Moran and Volkwein (1992) have
suggested that climate consists of attitudes and values alone, whereas culture exists as a
literature indicates that the concepts of culture and climate have been widely accepted as a means
to explain organizational behavior generally and ethical behavior specifically (Moran and
Some literature states that change within an organization calls for its leaders to recognize
and balance culture and climate dimensions. Their approach to defining the main climate change
factors based on organizational culture are Values, Beliefs, Myths, Traditions, and Norms. The
viewpoint of defining climate through these factors may give alternative view how
organizational climate could be defined in change process. Schneider et al. (2013), in their work
Organizational Climate and Culture, argues that there still exists a lack of integration between
both and climate and culture offer overlapping perspectives of integrative experiences people
have in any organizational setting. Deeper integration between both is needed to understand the
organizational change process better. This concept gives managers, who are not only project-
oriented but realize the importance of changing organizational culture an idea on how to deal
13
organizations may have some deviations between factors on proceeding with change.
organizational climate are influenced by organizational culture factors and which factors can
differences. Climate is held to be a summary perception of how an organization deals with its
members and environments, and thus develops specifically from internal factors primarily under
the managerial influence (Ostroff and Schmitt, 1993). Organizational culture, by contrast, is
created from a broad range of internal and external influences, some of which have been argued
to lie beyond managerial control (Alvesson, 1991). Where climate is measurable quantitatively,
culture seems to require, at different levels, both quantitative and qualitative methods (Olson,
Summary
employees, is represented by two constructs: ethical climate and ethical culture (Treviño &
Weaver, 2003). Ethical culture is generally defined as those aspects that stimulate ethical
conduct (Treviño & Weaver, 2003). The ethical climate is generally defined as those aspects
that determine what constitutes ethical conduct (Victor & Cullen, 1988).
14
Ethical values relate to doing what is morally right. Stahl and Grigsby (1997) describe
ethics as doing the right thing right the first time. Ethics, as in the values a firm establishes in its
goals, policies, and practices are essential in any organizational culture (Olsen, 2013). Ethical
organizational culture, with its shared values, influences employee behavior, and strong ethics
are considered to be the core of a positive organizational culture. The organization’s ethical
culture is vital because decision making without ethical awareness will lead to unanticipated and
The concept of ethical climates, in particular, is a powerful one. Despite the attempts by
the organization to formally create an ethical workplace, it is the perception of these policies,
procedures, myths, and reward and punishment systems and behaviors that are manifested in
actual ethical conduct of the members (Treviño, 1992). Organizational climate can be described
as the shared perceptions of organizational members who are exposed to the same organizational
structure (Ruiz-Moreno, García-Morales, & Llorens-Montes, 2008). Victor and Cullen (1987,
1988) created the concept of ethical climate. James and James (1989) define organizational
of the work environment. Organization climate is important because it can be a motivator and
and climate, which has often been overlooked in the literature (Ryder and Southey, 1990).
According to Barker (1994), there is evidence the two terms have frequently are used
synonymously. Despite a large number of studies into climate, attempts to define the construct
in a way that differentiates it from culture have proven problematic (Field and Ableson, 1982).
15
Climate is held to be a summary perception of how an organization deals with its members and
environments, and thus develops specifically from internal factors primarily under managerial
influence (Ostroff and Schmitt, 1993). Organizational culture, by contrast, is created from a
broad range of internal and external influences, some of which have been argued to lie beyond
managerial control (Alvesson, 1991). Where climate is measurable quantitatively, culture seems
to require, at different levels, both quantitative and qualitative methods (Olson, 2013). Finally,
Conclusion
culture factors influencing organizational climate have been assessed, and theoretical
information has been presented. The results of the research confirmed that stability, reward
system, job satisfaction, team orientation, empowerment, core values, and agreement are most
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