The study has aimed to investigate how Human Resources (HR) and management are working to mediate and anchor values in organizations. I have chosen to apply a socio-cultural perspective with the help of artifacts and mediating tools. The issues researched are; (i) “How do organizations mediate and anchor common values, and how does this affect the work with values?”, and (ii) “How can mediation and anchoring in organizations be understood from a socio-cultural perspective, focusing on artifacts and mediating tools?”.I have via e-mail interviewed four people working with HR in four different organizations. When analyzing the empirical data, I have been inspired by phenomenographic analysis selecting and focusing on important concepts, similarities, and differences in the responses from the informants. Within the socio-cultural perspective, the key aspects are communication and, above all, language. Artifacts and mediating tools may be considered intellectual or physical tools that we develop together with others through our thoughts and language. Values in organizations can be regarded as one such artifact or tool. The informants in the study consider work on values being a successful way to control and guide its organizations, particularly noting the importance of participation and commitment of all employees. Further, an important factor for the work on values to be overall successful, the work needs to be established and secured at all stages and in all processes. For a clear and interpretive leadership to build trust among the employees, decisions need to be based on a designed value system. With the socio-cultural perspective and artifacts and mediating tools, communication and knowledge appeared to be of great importance, which strengthens the thesis that mediating and anchoring is a prerequisite for the work on values to be meaningful. The intellectual tools provide a way to manage and control through language, and relating to values is a prerequisite to be part of an organization.

Thesis (M.M. (Finance & Investment))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2012. / No abstract provided

No description available.

This thesis is a study of aspects of corporate culture that are generally ignored by the researchers. It considers issues like the effect of culture in ethical decision making, ethics in the marketing of insurance products and salespersons’ attitudes and assessment of ethical dilemmas like bluffing. This thesis explores the morality of bluffing in insurance sales while considering Pakistani culture. The word "bluffing" represents a wide range of practices from lying and deception to exaggeration of product features. Philosophers disagree on the morality of bluffing by considering different meanings. This thesis tries to evaluate all the meanings and comes to the idea that bluffing is different from deceptive practices. However, the morality of bluffing is dependent on the industry’s situation, cultural norms and expectations of the customers regarding the salesperson’s role. The practice of bluffing in insurance sales is discussed in this thesis because the insurance industry is perceived as less ethical by customers due to its major fraud cases. Moreover, this thesis tries to show the impact of cultural values in shaping the expectations of a particular behavior from an industry. By taking the example of the Pakistani insurance industry, this thesis tries to evaluate the act of bluffing in that particular culture. It studies the situation and expectations of customers in insurance sales negotiations. The aim of this thesis is to show that it is inappropriate to define bluffing as either moral or immoral, separating it from the situation. While considering the example of Pakistan, this thesis concludes that bluffing is immoral in this particular context.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2009. / "Spring Semester 2008"-- T.p. Adviser: Marshall Schminke. Includes bibliographical references (p. [139]-[158]).

The ethical behaviour of companies in their business dealings has been receiving increasing attention throughout the world in the last decade and is becoming very important to modern day businesses. This research investigated the state of business ethics existing between Prospecton Brewery and its suppliers. In particular the work sought to obtain accurate information regarding the following: • The knowledge and attitudes of Prospecton Brewery Suppliers towards business ethics. • The perceptions that suppliers have of the level of business ethics practiced by Prospecton brewery. • The degree to which poor ethical practices are occurring in interactions between Prospecton brewery and suppliers. This research was largely a descriptive study. Data was obtained using a self-administered questionnaire that was posted to suppliers and returned anonymously. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban. 2003.

More and more South African companies have taken the route to list their securities in developed economies in addition to the Johannesburg Securities Exchange. As a result of listing on exchanges in developed countries that have adopted stringent corporate governance regimes, together with the fact that those countries’ securities exchanges have listing regulations that are different from those of the Johannesburg Securities Exchange, has caused these dual-listed companies to adjust their board structure and composition to comply with these regimes and regulations. South African companies are also operating in an environment that has a strong transformation agenda that seeks to transform corporations by giving historically disadvantaged South Africans corporate ownership and equal representation in all levels of economic activity. Most corporate boards in South Africa do not represent the demographics of society. The transformation of boards due to international listings, global corporate governance developments and local legislative framework has lead to changes in board composition and structure. This study examines the effect of corporate board size on South African dual-listed companies in relation to shareholder value. This study is extended to study the effect of corporate board size to other variables that may affect board size to determine their impact on shareholder value. Data was sourced largely from annual reports and other publicly available documents (e.g. investor presentations). Statistical methods such as correlation and significance tests were utilised to test if a relationship exist between primarily board size and return on equity of dual listed South African companies. The overall period of investigation is over a four-year span (2005-2008). Available data was manipulated to create a one year lag between independent (board size and secondary variables) and dependent (ROE, PM. TAT, EM and Tobin’s Q) variables. Dependent variables were averaged over the 2006-2008 period one year ahead of the independent variables period of 2005-2007. The findings show no evidence of any association between board size and the firm performance as measured by the return on equity. However, interestingly, there is evidence that independent directors are negatively associated with the return on equity. This unexpected finding regarding board size and the negative association of independent board members with shareholder value is explained. The study also provides evidence that a greater proportion of non-executive owner directors are better at maximizing shareholder value than independent directors. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2011.

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No description available.

This review discusses the relationship between the Christian faith and business ethics, the academic work that had been done to enhance the understanding of this relationship and the opportunity for future research. The objective is to provide a research base for an empirical study on Malaysian Christians in business, their religiousness and ethical attitudes. / Religion is the most important source of a person's moral norms. Western business ethics is known to have Judeo-Christian roots and started off as an extension of religious ethics (De George 1986). As such the ethics of Christians in business is generally assumed to be consistent with the teachings of the Christian faith. Yet a couple of recent high profile criminal cases involving prominent self-declared Christians in business meant that a possible dichotomy between religious faith and business conduct surfaced. Therefore the question arises: can the relationship between the teachings of Christianity and the business ethics of its adherents be assumed? / This relationship had been of increasing interest since Christians in business are more up front and open about their faith in relation to the running of their businesses. There are ample inspirational writings based on Biblical precepts and principles intended to help Christians in business apply their faith to their business. However, theoretical and empirical research had been lacking. The volume of empirical studies had been very thin and the number of significant findings sparse. The findings were often inconclusive and sometimes contradictory. / Previous research on the relationship between Christianity religiosity and business ethics approached the concept of religion from the following angles: intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity after Allport's religiosity scale, religious intensity and frequency of religious practices, religious beliefs, Christian upbringing, and religious education. The review found the Love of Money Scale developed by Professor Thomas Li-Ping Tang which was founded on Biblical precepts. Since unethical business practices may be motivated by the love of money, the Love of Money Scale may provide new insights into the relationship between religion, love of money and ethical attitudes. / The review shows that important empirical research had been initiated in the study of the relationship between religion and business ethics. Although previous findings had been relatively weak and inconclusive, more recent studies had more positive findings. Further research would be helpful to establish the relationship on a more solid footing. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2006