Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University, 1930. / Vita. Description based on print version record. "General bibliography": p. 151-156.

Thesis (LLM)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

This thesis seeks to contribute to the organisational trust literature by investigating the relevance of trust to organisations through executive self-reports, and exploring the potential congruities and incongruities of these self-reports with the existing trust literature. Further, the study allows for the participants to introduce unique conceptualisations of trust in organisations that may not appear in the literature but might be worthy of further consideration and research. The results of this study begin to fill an existing gap in the trust literature by considering the perceptions of the most senior executives in the corporate environment. A trust typology is proposed (Chapter 5) which distinguishes between characteristics of genuine trust and surrogate trust. Definitions widely cited in the literature are analysed against the typology, and the executives' definitions are compared to consider congruities and incongruities of definitions. The dynamics of trust are examined (Chapter 6), and an optimal trust path for transactions is proposed (Chapter 7). The possible economic impacts of trust in organisations are evaluated (Chapter 8) and new conceptualisations from executive reports are analysed. The extensive use of metaphors by the executives to convey trust is examined (Chapter 9). Alternative configurations of trust are examined (Chapter 10) and a model for optimal trust transactions based on the literature and executive reports are presented. The final chapter argues that future studies may benefit from the findings of this thesis, including key considerations in defining trust for research in organisations, recognising that executives may view trust as an asset that is strategically invested like any other corporate asset, expanding the scope of trust and its potential economic impacts on the organisation, and developing new models for building trust.

M.Com. (Business Management ) / The primary objective of the research was to investigate what business expects from its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contribution to education, with the secondary objectives being the establishment of a sustainable partnership, and the solicitation of more funding to attain the strategic goals of the Education Department. To achieve these objectives, research was conducted with the research population consisting of 15 targeted companies. The sample comprised of CSR practitioners from the respective companies. Out of the 15 companies targeted, only 12 responded. A survey was utilised to collect the data, and the completion of the questionnaires was followed by in–depth interviews for clarity where necessary. The findings revealed six major expectations by business from its CSR contributions to education, namely: 1. Delivery of quality education 2. The need to form partnerships 3.Sustainability 4.Skills development 5. Leadership 6. Measurement, evaluation and reporting. It was also established that the six aspects identified by the participating companies were not only critical for CSR, but were also pivotal for the transformation of education, socio-economic development, and for the return of investment in the form of human capital.

Corruption and unethical management is a legitimate global economic concern as it can have a direct and substantial impact on the longevity and the economic success of an organisation, an industry and a country. As a result of individuals having more readily available access to information, much attention has been given to unethical behaviour and organisational ethical violations over the last decade. Recent events have indicated that business ethics is an organisational concern with mammoth implications for business. For example, Esterhuyse (1999, p. 27) reports that South Africa has lost astronomical amounts of money due to office or white-collar crime. Organisations’ attempts to become globally competitive will be hampered by the behaviour of employees who are unethical at work. Therefore, it is imperative that organisations implement measures to increase ethical awareness and behaviour in their employees. This research study deals with business ethics in the automotive cluster of the Eastern Cape Province and proposes a model that can assist an organisation in improving its ethical culture. The main question that this research study addressed was: To what extent do the strategies of human resource departments contribute to establishing and maintaining an ethical organisational culture? To answer the above question it was necessary to address the most universal characteristics of ethical organisations. To this end the role of the human resource department in attempting to develop and sustain an ethical organisational culture is discussed. Thereafter, various ethical models are outlined and evaluated. Lastly, the proposed ethical model for establishing an ethical organisational culture is presented. Based on the theoretical findings of the literature survey which outlined the characteristics of ethical organisations and the interventions required to improve the ethical functioning of an organisation, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to organisations within the automotive cluster in the Eastern Cape Province. The empirical results obtained from the survey indicated dominant consensus regarding the model (see Chapter Four). The main findings from this research are that 74.7 per cent of organisations that participated in the empirical study had implemented a code of ethics. However, the majority of these organisations had not implemented the identified critical and optional interventions (see to Chapter Four) required to operate as an ethical organisation. The study also revealed that 49.4 per cent of respondents believed that the human resource manager is responsible for organising and coordinating an ethical initiative within the organisation. Respondents in this study stated that the benefits of operating ethically are the improved financial position of the organisation (76.5 per cent), the enhanced morale of employees (95.3 per cent), positive stakeholder perception (93 per cent), better long-term strategic sustainability (94.3 per cent) and superior social responsibility (85.9 per cent).

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).

M.A. / Whistleblowing can be defined as the disclosure by organisation members (former or current) of illegal, immoral or illegitimate practices under the control of their employers, to persons or organisations that may be able to effect action. There are various factors that influence the extent to which people would be prepared to blow the whistle. One of these factors is job satisfaction. The extent to which people are satisfied in their jobs influences the extent to which the whistle will be blown. However, the relationship between whistleblowing and job satisfaction has not been studied in great detail and not at all in a South African context. The nature of this relationship was explored among academic staff at a South African university by means of a quantitative study. It was decided to conduct the study at the Auckland Park Kingsway Campus (APK) of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) due to the degree of transformation that has taken place at this institution in recent years and thus being relevant regarding the issue of job satisfaction. The study involved investigating the circumstances under which academic staff would be prepared to blow the whistle, how far they would be prepared to go in terms of making use of various channels to report wrongdoing, the level of job satisfaction, as well as the relationship between job satisfaction and the responses of academic staff members to whistleblowing. Examination of the findings revealed that overall the academic staff of the University of Johannesburg are satisfied in their jobs and this correlated, to a small degree, with the furthest reporting of offences that are minor in nature. Overall, academic staff were more inclined to report wrongdoing internally. Academic staff who had been employed at the university for more than ten years as well as those who had no financial dependants were slightly more inclined to report wrongdoing than those who had been employed for a shorter period of time and had financial dependants.

This research explores methods to improve code of conduct effectiveness. Misconduct is a common phenomenon in the business environment, even in the face of increased regulation, and the adoption of codes of conduct by organisations. This impacts negatively on organisations’ reputations, results in financial loss, and has a negative impact on the sustainability of businesses. While researchers suggest that codes of conduct should reduce misconduct and improve the ethical culture of organisations, mixed research results suggest codes of conduct are not always effective. While research into code of conduct effectiveness proliferates, seldom does such research take a holistic approach to understanding effectiveness of codes of conduct. Models proposed to better research code of conduct effectiveness, such as Kaptein and Schwartz’ (2008) integrated research model, do not present guidelines for better developing and implementing codes of conduct. Therefore the primary research objective was to develop a benchmarking framework which could provide insight into factors that could influence code of conduct effectiveness, and provide guidelines on how these factors should be influenced and accounted for to improve code of conduct effectiveness. Content of codes of conduct can play an important part in code of conduct effectiveness, yet they vary enormously in terms of provisions, language, tone, style, design. Some are directional or rules based, others aspirational, or values based. Bettcher, Deshpandé, Margolis and Paine (2005) developed the Global Business Standards Codex that depicted the most commonly found provisions in organisations they surveyed. A secondary research objective was therefore to apply this codex to the evaluation of participating organisations codes of conduct, and in so doing, evaluate the suitability of the codex as a benchmarking framework for the content of the code of conduct. Adopting a grounded theory methodological approach and code of conduct content analysis, the researcher investigated nine of South Africa’s largest multinational organisations in order to understand the factors influencing their code of conduct effectiveness better. The research makes a significant contribution to the understanding of codes of conduct, their effectiveness, and provides practical guidelines on improving their effectiveness. This is achieved by 1) presenting nine formulae for an effective code of conduct; 2) detailing a multi-dimensional model that can facilitate the effectiveness of codes of conduct; and 3) improving the codex developed by Bettcher et al. (2005) on the content of codes of conduct with the proposed code of conduct architecture criterion.

SMEs have been acknowledged by governments globally as a prime source of economic growth and development. In Africa there has been a noticeable increase in the number of SME establishments. In Uganda, SMEs are the most popular business choice and play a major role in the national economy. Although SMEs significant economic contributions are generally acknowledged, being ethical and successful has become a challenge, as many SMEs in Uganda have not fully adopted and integrated ethics into their business strategies. Understanding the reasons for the increased unethical behaviour in SMEs is central to their continued business success. The primary objective of the study was to investigate the factors that influence ethical business conduct in Ugandan SMEs. From a comprehensive literature review, three main independent variables (staff-, business- and external environment factors) were identified as variables influencing ethical business conduct (dependent variable) of SMEs. A hypothetical model was developed to determine whether the independent variables have an influence on the dependent variable. Twelve hypotheses were formulated to test the relationships between three staff factors, five business factors, four external environment factors and ethical business conduct. The study sought the perceptions of SME owners or managers in the Kampala District and utilised the quantitative research paradigm. A survey was conducted with the aid of a structured self-administered questionnaire distributed by three fieldworkers. A combination of convenience and snowball sampling was utilised. The final sample comprised 384 respondents. The validity of the measuring instrument was ascertained by using exploratory factor analysis. The Cronbach‟s alpha values for reliability were calculated for each of the factors identified during the exploratory factor analysis. A total of ten valid and reliable factors were retained. Pearson product-moment correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to test the correlation and statistical significance of the relationships hypothesised between the various independent and dependent variables. One statistically significant relationship was found between the staff factors (employee attitude) and ethical business conduct. Two statistically significant relationships were found between the business factors (knowledge acquisition and management practices) and ethical business conduct. Three statistically significant relationships were found between the external environment factors (legal requirements, industry norm and media power) and ethical business conduct. External environmental factors seem to have a greater influence on SME ethical business conduct in Uganda. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used to identify if significant relationships exist between the eight demographic variables and seven reliable and valid independent variables. Furthermore, post-hoc Scheffé tests identified where the significant differences occurred between the different categories. Cohen‟s d-values were calculated in order to assess the practical significance of the mean scores. A total of twelve practical significant relationships were identified. SME owners or managers should consider employing staff with the right attitude to uphold sound ethical business values. They should implement ethical management practices to promote ethical business conduct amongst employees and ensure that employees are made aware of what is regarded as acceptable ethical business behaviour. SME owners or managers should adhere to legal requirements and industry norms to be known as businesses exhibiting ethical behaviour and utilise media to instil and guide ethical values in employees. Lastly, they must pay attention to the role that demographical variables such as: gender, level of education, current employment status, number of years in business and number of employees, play in behaving ethically in business.

A mere 16 percent of the population enjoys the benefits of private healthcare; medical schemes however remain an important contributor to the South African economy with an annual contribution flow of close to R85 billion per annum. Similar to the international scenario, South African healthcare inflation surpassed consumer price inflation. In addition, the medical schemes industry remains riddled with fraud, this coupled with escalating private healthcare costs remain subsequent threats to the sustainability of the industry. It is reported that service provider fraud has surpassed fraud committed by scheme members. Most medical schemes appear to have policies in place to manage and combat fraud, however transparency in terms of information sharing remains elusive. Of greater concern have been the investigation and management ethicality and endgame of medical schemes in terms of fraud risk management amongst medical practitioners. The research problem states that there is currently no standard fraud investigation and management protocol available for the ethical investigation and management of medical schemes fraud committed by medical practitioners. The literature review demonstrated that there has been a paradigm shift regarding the expectations that society has of the modern corporation and emphasised the inclusive stakeholder model theory in favour of the traditional shareholder dictum: pursuit of profit maximisation at any cost. The research design was done by providing a survey questionnaire to private medical practitioners. The literature review and survey findings highlighted the need for medical schemes to pay greater heed to their ethicality and stakeholder issue management practices. Focus areas for the development of an industry standard fraud investigation and management protocol was recommended.