Bart Victor

The Effects of Ethical Climates on Organizational Commitment: A Two-Study Analysis

Although organizational commitment continues to interest researchers because of its positive effects on organizations, we know relatively little about the effects of the ethical context on organizational commitment. As such, we contribute to the organizational commitment field by assessing the effects of ethical climates (Victor and Cullen, 1987, 1988) on organizational commitment. We hypothesized that an ethical climate of benevolence has a positive relationship with organizational commitment while egoistic climate is negatively related to commitment. Results supported our propositions for both a benevolent climate and an egoistic climate. We also hypothesized that a principled climate is positively related to organizational commitment for professional workers but has no relationships for nonprofessional workers. Results supported this hypothesis.

The Ethical Climate Questionnaire: An Assessment of its Development and Validity

The Ethical Climate Questionnaire measures the ethical climates at individual and organizational levels of analysis. With 1,167 individuals tested across three surveys the results at the individual level have suggested strong support for the validity and reliability of the questionnaire However, given the limited number of organizations (n = 12) surveyed, the presence of organizational-level ethical climates remains contestable. This paper reports on the development of the Ethical Climate Questionnaire, includes the results of the latest survey, and contrasts these results with previous findings.

Beyond products: new strategic imperatives for developing competencies in dynamic environments

Abstract Strategy research has often taken a product-centered perspective. When firms compete in environments characterized by accelerating product life cycles, mass customization, and technological discontinuities, a product-centered perspective on strategy may help explain a firm’s current competitive advantage. However, this perspective adds little guidance in making strategies that create competitive advantage in the future . In this paper, we present a perspective in which dynamic environments require firms to focus on (1) building market-driven, technological, and integration competencies, not a stream of product improvements, and (2) decoupling these competencies from current products in order to create and exploit new opportunities. We discuss the perspective of products as a temporary integration of market and technology trajectories. Research propositions are presented and future implications are discussed.

Towards a new model of strategy-making as serious play

A new model of strategy-making as play is presented in response to increasing calls for a deeper theory of strategy-making. First an elaboration of the construct of strategic imagination is offered, describing three distinct, but interrelated forms of imagination: descriptive, creative, and challenging. Strategic Imagination is defined as an emergent property of a complex interplay between the three kinds of imagination. Then, extending the work of the planning and design schools, the model describes the complex social dynamic of strategy-making itself. Applying the notion of play from anthropology and cognitive development, the strategy-making process is described as a three-phase play process. The three phases, constructing to stimulate new ideas, story telling to share meaning, and deep engagement to assimilate new directions, are described. Finally some directions for strategy-making practice improvement are offered.

Collective Virtuosity in Organizations: A Study of Peak Performance in an Orchestra

The purpose of this paper is to build theory on peak performance at the group level. Peak performance transcends ordinary performance and is associated with a subjective experience in which one loses a sense of time and space as well as feels great joy and bliss. We chose to study this phenomenon at the group level through a methodology of participant observation in an orchestra. We found that groups can be transformed by their own performance in a reflexive process in which virtuosity, or individual peak performance, becomes collective. We offer a propositional model of collective virtuosity in organizations, and offer directions for further research.

‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ : Taking Play Seriously in Organizations

In response to the dominant logic that characterizes play as frivolous and only marginally relevant, this paper attempts to develop a theoretical framework that will allow play to be taken seriously in organizations. Psychological, sociological, anthropological and philosophical literature streams are reviewed to establish a coherent understanding of the emotional, social and cognitive benefits of play. A net of semantic distinctions is then introduced to differentiate play from work, and play is presented formally as imaginative, ethical and autotelic. This analysis is then embedded in the organizational research literature to show the implications of play with regard to strategic innovation, the management of uncertainty and continuous learning.

BUSINESS ETHICS: A SYNTHESIS OF NORMATIVE PHILOSOPHY AND EMPIRICAL SOCIAL SCIENCE

A synthesis of the two theoretical bases of business ethics?nor? mative philosophy and descriptive social science?is called for. Examples from the literature are used to demonstrate that to ignore the descriptive aspects of moral behavior is to risk unreal philosophy, and that to ignore the normative aspects is to risk amoral social science. Business ethics is portrayed as a single unified field, in which fact-value distinctions are inappropriate. THE field of business ethics comprises two distinct theoretical bases: norma? tive philosophy and descriptive social science?most often social psychol? ogy and organization theory. As many crossroads do, the current debate about whether these two bases of business ethics ought to interact offers a number of fearful and attractive alternative routes. At this juncture we see the opportunity to both recognize the reality that business ethics is one field, and to capitalize on a unique opportunity of creating new synergy between disciplines too long separated. We see business ethics as a particularly crucial applied field of study. If well pursued, our field has the potential to enhance the quality of society. Conversely, our field also has the potential to do harm. Perhaps more than other applied fields in the Academy, doing business ethics (and this includes both research and teaching) carries obligations. We believe that business ethics is fundamentally both descriptive and norma? tive. The field explores the antecedents and consequences of moral behavior in the business context. To ignore the descriptive aspects of this process is to risk unreal philosophy; to ignore the normative aspects is to risk amoral social sci? ence. In either case, the synergistic strength of business ethics is vitiated. In this paper we will attempt to argue, through example, that business ethics is one field. The examples are offered to raise awareness both of the costs of the continued division of labor in the field and the rich rewards for the field from true integration. The examples are not intended to point a finger at particular scholars, or to elevate others. The examples are of both threat and promise for all of us in the field of business ethics.

Dear prudence : An essay on practical wisdom in strategy making

If we presume an organizational ontology of complex, dynamic change, then what role remains for strategic intent? If managerial action is said to consist of adaptive responsiveness, then what are the foundations of value on the basis of which strategic decisions can be made? In this essay, we respond to these questions and extend the existing strategy process literature by turning to the Aristotelian concept of prudence, or practical wisdom. According to Aristotle, practical wisdom involves the virtuous capacity to make decisions and take actions that promote the “good life” for the “polis”. We explore contemporary interpretations of this concept in literature streams adjacent to strategy and determine that practical wisdom can be developed by engaging in interpretative dialogue and aesthetically‐rich experience. With these elements in view, we re‐frame strategy processes as occasions to develop the human capacity for practical wisdom.

Multidimensional Poverty in Rural Mozambique: A New Metric for Evaluating Public Health Interventions

Background Poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon and unidimensional measurements have proven inadequate to the challenge of assessing its dynamics. Dynamics between poverty and public health intervention is among the most difficult yet important problems faced in development. We sought to demonstrate how multidimensional poverty measures can be utilized in the evaluation of public health interventions; and to create geospatial maps of poverty deprivation to aid implementers in prioritizing program planning. Methods Survey teams interviewed a representative sample of 3,749 female heads of household in 259 enumeration areas across Zambézia in August-September 2010. We estimated a multidimensional poverty index, which can be disaggregated into context-specific indicators. We produced an MPI comprised of 3 dimensions and 11 weighted indicators selected from the survey. Households were identified as “poor” if were deprived in >33% of indicators. Our MPI is an adjusted headcount, calculated by multiplying the proportion identified as poor (headcount) and the poverty gap (average deprivation). Geospatial visualizations of poverty deprivation were created as a contextual baseline for future evaluation. Results In our rural (96%) and urban (4%) interviewees, the 33% deprivation cut-off suggested 58.2% of households were poor (29.3% of urban vs. 59.5% of rural). Among the poor, households experienced an average deprivation of 46%; thus the MPI/adjusted headcount is 0.27 ( = 0.58×0.46). Of households where a local language was the primary language, 58.6% were considered poor versus Portuguese-speaking households where 73.5% were considered non-poor. Living standard is the dominant deprivation, followed by health, and then education. Conclusions Multidimensional poverty measurement can be integrated into program design for public health interventions, and geospatial visualization helps examine the impact of intervention deployment within the context of distinct poverty conditions. Both permit program implementers to focus resources and critically explore linkages between poverty and its social determinants, thus deriving useful findings for evidence-based planning.

Correlates of Social Exclusion and Negative Labeling and Devaluation of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Rural Settings: Evidence from a General Household Survey in Zambézia Province, Mozambique

Background Increased HIV/AIDS knowledge and access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) have been hypothesized to decrease HIV stigma. However, stigma persists as a barrier to HIV services uptake. We studied the relationship between stigma, knowledge and attitudes towards HIV and its treatment, and confidence in the legal system (legal rights certitude). Methods We analyzed data from a household survey of 3749 randomly sampled female heads of households in 259 enumeration areas across 14 districts of Zambézia Province, Mozambique. The questionnaire included questions about beliefs, attitudes and behavior towards PLWHA, HIV transmission knowledge, treatment-related beliefs, and legal rights certitude. Factor analysis distinguished two stigma constructs: Negative labeling and devaluation (NLD) and social exclusion (SoE). Multivariable linear regression was used to determine the association between stigma, knowledge of HIV/AIDS, treatment-related beliefs, and legal rights certitude, while controlling for variance in socio-demographics. Results A 4-point increase in knowledge about HIV transmission was associated with more than a 3 unit decrease in NLD and SoE stigma scores (p<0.001). Given HIV transmission knowledge, a 25-point increase in legal rights certitude was associated with a 4.62 unit drop in NLD stigma (p<0.001); we did not detect an association between legal rights certitude and SoE stigma. Knowing at least one HIV positive person was associated with lower SoE (−3.17, 95% CI: −5.78, −0.56); no association with NLD (p = 0.1) was detected. ART efficacy belief was associated with higher NLD and lower SoE (2.90 increase and 6.94 decrease, respectively; p≤0.001). Conclusion Increasing knowledge about HIV transmission and access to ART are likely to reduce stigma, but neither of the two is a panacea. Raising community awareness of the legal rights of PLWHA might improve the efficacy of stigma reduction efforts. Strategies that focus on specific domains of stigma might be more effective than generic stigma reduction strategies.