Abstract
D.Litt. et Phil.
The moral tone and ethical consciousness of an organisation are often reflected
in everyday spoken discourse. Discourse (both written and verbal) sends a
message about how an organisation does business. Ethical discourse, in turn,
sends a message about the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way of conducting business, which
helps people make better decisions. When business related ethical issues are
openly and honestly discussed it propels ethical awareness which in turn may
inspire responsible action. Ethical awareness increases responsiveness and
sensitivity to ethical issues, as well as enhanced ethical decision-making.
The notion of “moral” talk in organisations, i.e. talking about ethics, or
organisational “ethics talk” (OET), has however, been scantily addressed in
business ethics research and literature (the exception being the work of Waters
and Bird in the late 1980s). It can be postulated that OET may be a powerful
vehicle for the institutionalisation of ethics in the organisations. For it to be
utilised optimally, it has to be placed under theoretical scrutiny before it can be
applied in organisational ethics management initiatives. The primary objective of
this research was to design an appropriate conceptual framework from which to
develop a substantive model for (OET) in an attempt to clarify the concept and its
components. A qualitative methodology with grounded theory as a research
strategy was employed to develop the substantive model.
Eight ethics experts (N=8) were purposively selected to partake as research
participants, chosen because of their knowledge, education and experience in
the field of business ethics. The research participants’ perceptions, experience
and understanding of OET were explored to develop the substantive model. The
primary data collection method was semi-structured interviews, which generated
rich and descriptive data. The data was systematically analysed using grounded
x
theory. An in-depth literature review was undertaken following the fieldwork. This
was integrated with results of the data analysis once the theoretical directions
had become clear. Member checking was executed throughout the research
process and a focus group was conducted to verify interpretations and
substantiate the initial OET model. The outcomes of the focus group discussion
resulted in the drafting of the final model for OET.
Based on the findings, OET was defined as intra-organisational spoken or written
articulation that reflects the consideration of the ethical interests of (a) the ‘self’
(e.g. organisation, the well being of its members in particular context), and (b) the
‘other’ (e.g. other internal and external stakeholders, other organisations,
society). The central elements of the model consist of the following themes:
enabling contextual factors, potential catalysts, barriers to OET and effects
thereof, categorisation of OET, forms of OET, purposive and unintentional OET,
motivations for OET and resulting effects (i.e. outcome versus no outcome).