Penny for your thoughts?: An investigation into the dilemma-board as a means to influence ethical culture

Abstract

This research attempts to determine the factors that influence ethical behaviour specifically in workplace environments. This decision was made because of the target organisation, WPI. WPI is an organisation within the municipality of Amsterdam, which provides income to the city’s inhabitants in need. It also functions as an employment agency for people who it provides income to. Within the field of workplace ethical behaviour, research has shown that several factors lead to ethical behaviour: • Ethical Sensitivity (Clarke, 2003) • Ethical Judgement (Clarke, 2003) • Ethical Climate (Steven H Appelbaum, Deguire, & Lay, 2005) • Ethical Culture (DeBode, Armenakis, Feild, & Walker, 2013; Kaptein, 2008) Two of these factors – Ethical Sensitivity and Judgement - are bound by personal capacity, and are therefore hard to adjust in a short timeframe. Ethical Climate is a complex factor, with no clear way to achieve positive change. Thus, the current research focuses on Ethical Culture. [SJ(2]