Paul F. Buller

The challenge of global ethics

The authors argue that the time is ripe for national and corporate leaders to move consciously towards the development of global ethics. This papers presents a model of global ethics, a rationale for the development of global ethics, and the implications of the model for research and practice.

Ethical Considerations of the Legitimacy Lie

This article draws upon prior research and theory on the legitimacy threshold that suggests entrepreneurs in start–up ventures will likely employ proactive strategies to gain initial legitimacy with key stakeholders. We argue that these strategies may sometimes include questionable ethical behaviors, including telling legitimacy lies—intentional misrepresentations of the facts. Based on a review of literature on ethical decision making, we then apply two common ethical frameworks to explore the ethical boundaries of what may or may not be acceptable behavior in seeking legitimacy. We conclude the article with some specific guidelines for start–up entrepreneurs.

Creating and sustaining ethical capability in the multi-national corporation

Multinational corporations are continually seeking sources of competitive advantage. In addition to strategic, technological, financial, and organizational capabilities as sources of competitive advantage, this paper argues that ethical capability also can be an important source of sustainable advantage. The paper presents the challenges of ethics in an international context, discusses the resource-based view of competitive advantage, and describes how a multinational company can develop and sustain ethical capability through the related processes of transformational leadership, organizational learning, and human resource management.

Resolving cross-cultural ethical conflict: Exploring alternative strategies

In this article, seven strategies for dealing with cross-cultural ethical conflict are described. Conflict situations are classified on the basis of centrality and consensus on the values involved, influence of the decision maker, and urgency. A contingency model suggests appropriate strategies for different situations. The model is applied to representative cases of cross-cultural ethical conflict.

For successful strategic change: Blend OD practices with strategic management

Abstract This article has shown how principles and practices of strategic management and organization development can be integrated to enhance an organizations long-term performance. Specific OD concepts and practices apparently do much to improve the quality of strategic decision-making processes and to create the conditions for successful implementation of those decisions. However, there are some fundamental barriers to full integration of these two disciplines. Differences in values, knowledge, and skills, and in actual outcomes present difficult challenges that must be overcome if greater integration is to be achieved. Strategic managers must become more sensitive to and skilled in dealing with the human elements of change; this can come about only through broader formal education and experience. Organization development practitioners must also enlarge their knowledge base; however, they will also need to resolve the conflict between traditional OD values and the values of top management, particularly those involving profitability and the uses of power and politics. There is some indication that broader perspectives and more integrative experiences are developing among managers and OD practitioners; however, some individuals may never reconcile the basic value conflicts we have identified. Indeed, effective integration may only occur in firms with core values that are consistent with those of OD. I believe that firms with strategic managers who incorporate OD practices into their activities will be more disposed to meet the challenges of an increasingly dynamic business world.

A Model for Addressing Cross - Cultural Ethical Conflicts

As transnational interactions increase, cross-cultural conflict concerning ethical issues is inevitable. This article presents a model for assisting decision makers in selecting appropriate strategies for addressing cross-cultural ethical conflict. A theoretical framework for the model is developed based on the literature on international business ethics and on conflict resolution. The model is illustrated through several case examples. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

The Power of Outdoor Management Development

States that outdoor management development (OMD) is on the increase. Based on personal experience, lists the characteristics of effective OMD programmes, and argues that this type of training can be very powerful. On the basis of a review of relevant literature and anecdotal evidence, discusses ten salient features of OMD that account for this power: emotional intensity; psychological safety; consequentiality; enhanced self‐confidence; use of metaphors; unpredictability; experiencing peak performance; multiple skill/knowledge types; developing the whole person; and focus on transfer.

A Model for Implementing a Sustainability Strategy through HRM Practices

There is a rapidly growing interest in the topic of sustainability as it relates to long-term business performance that optimizes the “triple bottom line”: economic, environmental, and social outcomes. This article articulates a multilevel conceptual model for executing a business strategy for sustainability primarily through the design and implementation of human resource management practices. The model builds on open systems theory, the resource based view of the firm, and the concept of line of sight to identify certain key organizational capabilities, group competencies, and individual abilities and other characteristics that combine to drive organizational performance when pursuing a sustainability strategy. The article concludes with a discussion of implications of the model for theory, research, and practice.

Human resource management practices in mid-sized enterprises

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the similarities and differences in human resource (HR) practices between large and mid-sized organizations. Design/methodology/approach - With organization life cycle as the theoretical base, this study collects data on HR practices from a sample of mid-sized firms in one western state and compares the results to a previously published study of HR practices in much larger firms. Mid-sized firms are defined as having between 300 and 3,000 employees (mean=1,205); the average number of employees in the large firm sample was 30,700. Findings - While there are some similarities in HR practices, it appears that HR organizations in large firms are more targeted at strategic business issues and have achieved a greater degree of outsourcing and/or information technology application for the routine, file maintenance aspects of HR work. On the other hand, HR informants in mid-sized firms are more operationally focused, appear to be more satisfied with the skills and knowledge of their significantly smaller HR staffs, and give their HR organizations higher ratings on performance along multiple dimensions. Research limitations/implications - Limitations to the present study include the use of a single informant and a limited sample of mid-sized firms ( Originality/value - The HR practices of large and small (less than 500 employees) firms have been studied in the past. This paper fills a gap in organization life cycle theory by examining HR practices in mid-sized firms, suggesting in particular that the drive to refocus HR on strategic issues in large firms may be inappropriate in enterprises with 300 to 3,000 employees.

Resolving cross-cultural ethical conflict : An empirical test of a decision tree model in an educational setting

The authors have previously developed and described a decision tree model for addressing cross-cultural ethical conflicts. The model is intended to provide an ethically sound yet pragmatic tool for decision makers facing such situations. This paper presents the results of an empirical test of the model in an educational setting with a sample of business students. Students trained to use the model demonstrated significantly more flexibility and appropriateness in their decisions on case scenarios than those who were not trained. The implications for use of the model in educational settings and recommendations for future research are discussed.