THE IMPACT OF THE WORK-ENVIRONMENT ON ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING - SOME AUSTRALIAN EVIDENCE

Business ethics has emerged in recent years as a field of significant scholarly endeavour. Particularly well documented is die existence of ethical conflict at work and the reported inseparability of business d ecisions and moral consequences. However, to date, the majority of stu dies have been conducted in the American business context. This paper examines the concept of ethical conflict as experienced by employees i n the Australian context According to a sample of Western Australian m anagers, ethical conflicts at work do occur - with relative frequency. Of considerable concern is the high incidence of cases where the dema nds of superiors are deemed to be the cause of this conflict. This fin ding is particularly disturbing as superiors are also the primary infl uence on employee ethical decision making. It would see that the ethic s role models are also the instigators of unethical behaviour. This re search has confirmed in the Western Australian context that the values of top management do have significant impact on the ethical choices m ade by employees. The management of organisational culture, therefore, is a key to raising ethical standards in business. The institutionali sation of ethics by such formal means as codes of ethics is a necessar y, but insufficient, condition of ensuring ethical behaviour in organi zations. Management of the informal climate is pivotal to the achievem ent of ethical organisational behaviour.