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Article: The effect of punishment on ethical behavior when personal gain is involved.
- Article from:
- Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues
- Article date:
- January 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 The DreamCatchers Group, LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ABSTRACT
With the recent onslaught of accounting frauds, the nature of unethical decision making in organizations has shifted from the lack of sensitivity for the ethical aspects of decisions to one where executives have used their positional power for personal gain. Congress reacted with stiffer laws and punishments, raising the question of the role of punishment in deterring corporate crime. This study investigates the effect of four variables, valence of the outcome, probability of getting caught, severity of punishment, and moral values, on ethical decision making. A survey with six ethical scenarios was administered in three different classes resulting in 115 ...