Are Women Really More Ethical Than Men? Maybe It Depends on the Situation
Are Women Really More Ethical Than Men? Maybe It Depends on the Situation
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发表时间：
1998-03
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通讯作者：
J. Hoffman
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作者：
J. Hoffman
多年来，美国公司被发现从事不道德的行为，在许多情况下甚至是非法行为，例如逃税、承包商欺诈、“金手铐”和“降落伞”、过高的高管奖金、不安全产品的销售、欺诈和阴谋、工业间谍活动和产品失实陈述（Borkowski和Ugras，1992年;唐纳森和吉尼，1996年）。在做出做出这些不道德行为的大多数决定的时候，做出这些行为的公司的高层管理团队主要或完全由男性组成（例如，当Beech-Nut公司歪曲其苹果汁产品时，该公司高层管理团队的组成;当福特公司生产不安全的Pintos时，该公司高层管理团队的组成;道康宁公司生产不安全的乳房植入物时，该公司高层管理团队的组成;约翰斯-曼维尔公司隐瞒长期接触石棉的危险时，该公司高层管理团队的组成）。随着越来越多的妇女爬上公司的阶梯，进入关键的决策职位，妇女是否有可能从事这些不道德的做法的问题变得更加相关。虽然一些研究工作已经检查了性别对道德决策的影响，但这些研究的结果好坏参半（Beltramini等人，1984; McNichols和Zimmerer，1985;巴内特和Karson，1987; Kidwell等人，1987年; Jones和Gautschi，1988年; Harris，1989年; Tsalikis和Ortiz-Buonafina，1990年; Stanga和Turpen，1991年; Sikula和Costa，1994年）。本研究的目的是开发一个基于情境动力学的模型，更充分地确定哪些因素影响的方式，妇女和男子应对道德困境。为了实现这一目标，将审查几项研究，审查性别对道德决策的影响。一旦这些研究进行了审查，并确定其不足之处，目前的研究将试图克服以前的研究的弱点，并揭示更多的光性别对个人的道德决策水平的影响。性别对伦理决策的作用和影响文献综述随着女性管理者和执行者在组织层级中的出现，人们越来越关注男性和女性的管理风格和决策模式之间可能存在的差异。由于缺乏经验支持的概念，妇女往往是更道德或肯定更多的规则为导向比男性（布雷迪，1987年），这些差异一直特别感兴趣的研究人员在该领域的经济伦理。关于这个问题的第一个主要研究是由Beltramini，Peterson和Kozmetsky（1984）进行的。在他们对28所大学的2,856名学生进行的研究中，发现女性比男性更关心商业道德问题，无论是什么问题。根据他们的研究结果，作者认为，“教育工作者目前不仅正在塑造未来决策者对道德做法的态度，而且在某种程度上，正是女学生的关切很可能在明天的商业世界中建立一种新的道德力量”（1984：199）。虽然这项研究支持了女性在某些情况下可能比男性更道德的论点，但其他研究人员的工作并没有明确证实这一结果。琼斯和高茨基（Jones and Gautschi，1988）在后来的一项研究中使用了15个问题的调查，作者发现，一般来说，女性和男性在道德态度上没有太大的差异。然而，他们确实发现了三个领域，女性比男性表现出更强烈的道德反应：消费者的产品信息，少数民族雇佣和可比价值。由于后两个问题对妇女的影响更直接，因此很容易理解妇女对这两个问题的兴趣有所增加。…
Over the years U.S corporations have been caught engaging in unethical and in many cases illegal acts such as tax evasion, contractor fraud, "golden handcuffs" and "parachutes," overly large executive bonuses, the sale of unsafe products, fraud and conspiracy, industrial espionage, and product misrepresentation (Borkowski and Ugras, 1992; Donaldson and Gini, 1996). During the time when most of the decisions to commit these unethical acts were made, the top management teams of the companies which committed these acts were made up primarily or exclusively by men (see for example the composition of the top management team at Beech-Nut when the company misrepresented their apple juice product; the composition of the top management team at Ford when the company produced unsafe Pintos; the composition of the top management team at Dow Corning Corporation when the company produced unsafe breast implants; and the composition of the top management team at Johns-Manville Corporation when the company concealed the dangers of long-term exposure to asbestos). As more women climb the corporate ladder into key decisionmaking positions, the question of whether or not women will be as likely to engage in these same unethical practices has become more relevant. Although several research efforts have examined the effect of gender on ethical decision making, results from these studies have been mixed (Beltramini et al., 1984; McNichols and Zimmerer, 1985; Barnett and Karson, 1987; Kidwell et al., 1987; Jones and Gautschi, 1988; Harris, 1989; Tsalikis and Ortiz-Buonafina, 1990; Stanga and Turpen, 1991; Sikula and Costa, 1994). The objective of the current study is to develop a situational dynamics based model that more fully identifies what factors affect the manner in which women and men respond to ethical dilemmas. In order to accomplish this objective several studies that have examined the effect of gender on ethical decision making will be reviewed. Once these studies have been reviewed and their shortcomings are identified, an attempt will be made by the current study to overcome the weaknesses of prior studies and shed additional light on the effect of gender on an individual's level of ethical decision making. THE EFFECT AND INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON ETHICAL DECISION MAKING Literature Review With the advent of women managers and executives in organizational hierarchies, more attention has been given to the possible differences between the management styles and decision-making patterns of men and women. Due to the lack of empirical support for the notion that women tend to be more ethical or certainly more rules oriented than men (Brady, 1987), these differences have been particularly interesting to researchers in the field of business ethics. One of the first major studies regarding this issue was conducted by Beltramini, Peterson, and Kozmetsky (1984). In their study of 2,856 students in 28 universities, women were found to be more concerned about ethical issues in business than men, regardless of the issue. based on their findings the authors suggested that "not only are the attitudes of future decision makers regarding ethical practices currently in the process of being shaped by educators, but to an extent it is the women students' concerns which may well be establishing a new moral force in tomorrow's business world" (1984: 199). While this study supported the thesis that women may be more moral than men in certain situations, the results are not clearly confirmed by the work of other researchers. In a later study by Jones and Gautschi (1988) that used a fifteen question survey, the authors found that in general women and men do not indicate much difference in their ethical attitudes. However, they did find three areas where women indicated a stronger ethical response than men: product information for consumers, minority hiring, and comparable worth. Since these last two issues more directly affect women, it is easy to understand the increased level of interest by females. …