Vikas Anand

THE NORMALIZATION OF CORRUPTION IN ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract Organizational corruption imposes a steep cost on society, easily dwarfing that of street crime. We examine how corruption becomes normalized, that is, embedded in the organization such that it is more or less taken for granted and perpetuated. We argue that three mutually reinforcing processes underlie normalization: (1) institutionalization, where an initial corrupt decision or act becomes embedded in structures and processes and thereby routinized; (2) rationalization, where self-serving ideologies develop to justify and perhaps even valorize corruption; and (3) socialization, where naive newcomers are induced to view corruption as permissible if not desirable. The model helps explain how otherwise morally upright individuals can routinely engage in corruption without experiencing conflict, how corruption can persist despite the turnover of its initial practitioners, how seemingly rational organizations can engage in suicidal corruption and how an emphasis on the individual as evildoer misses the point that systems and individuals are mutually reinforcing.

The Ethics of Organizational Secrets

Most organizations are holders of sanctioned and unsanctioned secrets. While some secrets such as product formulas are necessary and ethical, others such as hiding the negative health effects of smoking tobacco are unethical. We examine secrets along two dimensions: The first one examines the beneficiaries and victims/targets of a secret while the second focuses on whether the secret was sanctioned by the secret holders, the organization, or society. Thinking about secrets along these two dimensions helps provide a handle on the complexities involved in understanding the ethics of organizational secrets.

Capital social: explorando a rede de relações da empresa

Organizations are operating in an increasingly complex world, where knowledge is continuously changing, requiring them to apply large amounts of information. Accordingly, they need to source large amounts of knowledge from outside the organization, a process that is accomplished when organizations tap their linkages to external organizations and individuals. This article explores a variety of methods that can be used to access knowledge that lies outside the organization’s boundaries, such as how to take advantage of social capital. Additionally, as organizations develop their relationships with external entities they also need to continuously monitor the quality of knowledge derived from such sources; there is always the danger of such relationships becoming a liability without the organization being aware of it. This paper details the various ways through which such pitfalls may be avoided.

An Organizational Identity Approach to Strategic Groups

We argue that a firm forms three distinct relationships with strategic groups-identification, disidentification, and ambivalent identification. Firms can form any of these relationships with multiple strategic groups, and the set of these relationships comprises a firms strategic group configuration SGC. We propose that the nature of a firms identity influences the characteristics of its SGC. We demonstrate the implications of our model by exploring how a firms strategic group configuration affects its information-seeking behaviors. Finally, we describe how the SGC framework offers several key implications for this field of research.

Psychological Contracts in a Nontraditional Industry Exploring the Implications for Psychological Contract Development

This research examined the employment contracts and experiences of information technology contractors working on H-1B visas for bodyshopping firms in the United States. Examination of these nontraditional workers allows for the emergence of insights that promote theory development on psychological contracts (PCs). In a qualitative study of 54 Indian contractors, we identified experiences that both contradict and further develop our currently limited understanding of the PC development process. Specifically, we found evidence of underdeveloped contracts, different PC content, missing PC elements, a high frequency of breach, PCs becoming more transactional over time, and the significant role of context in the PC development process. We discuss the implications of our findings related to these nontraditional workers for research on PCs.

Toward a Framework of Corporate Merger Processes and Outcomes: A Behavioral Perspective

Abstract Traditionally, the merger literature has examined mergers and acquisitions from a strategic or financial perspective, largely overlooking important behavioral issues. In this paper, we present a comprehensive behavior‐based framework of merger processes and outcomes designed to provide more academic rigor to the study of the behavioral aspects of the merger process. The proposed framework combines and synthesizes established merger‐related behavioral concepts and relationships with new ones that are not encompassed within the current literature. #An earlier version of this paper was presented to the Human Resources, Labor Relations, and Careers track of the 1999 Southern Management Association Conference in Atlanta, GA.

Self-Managing Teams in a Crystal Ball

A plethora of benefits has been attributed to the implementation of self-managing teams including increased productivity, quality, employee satisfaction, and quality of work life for employees and decreased absenteeism and turnover. While additional research is needed to further validate and clarify the benefits of adopting a team-based organizational structure, the general conclusion is that empowered teams enhance organizational effectiveness. Given the growth of this self-managing team focus in both research and practice, the next logical question to ask is “what is the future of self-managing team research and practice?” This chapter will take the initial step toward answering this question.

An interactionist model of punishment severity: The effects of moral intensity and moral identity

Business ethics researchers have long focused on identifying the individual and situational antecedents of organizational misconduct. More recently, researchers have begun to investigate what happe...