Resolving ethical conflicts at workthrough cooperative goals and constructive controversy in the People's Republic of China

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Asia Pacific Journal of Management

Publication Date

9-1-2006

Volume

23

Issue

3

First Page

319

Last Page

343

Keywords

China, Competition, Constructive controversy, Cooperation, Moral intensity

Abstract

The idea of constructive controversy and the theory of cooperation and competition together suggest the type of interaction that promotes satisfactory resolution of ethical conflicts and the conditions under which this occurs. A sample of 101 Chinese mainland employees described and rated a critical incident of an ethical conflict at work. Structural equation analyses indicated that when the employees had goals that were cooperatively related with those of other stakeholders in the conflict, rather than competitive or independent goals, this facilitated constructive controversy, i.e., open-minded discussion, which, in turn, led to effective outcomes in terms of substantive ethical impact and interactional justice. Results also indicated that high levels of moral intensity strengthened competitive goals and rendered constructive controversy less likely. Implications are that organizations should make it clear to members that conflict avoidance and moral muteness are inappropriate responses to ethically unsound practices and policies, that it is important to detect ethically questionable behaviours or policies at an early stage, and that wherever possible these should be discussed promptly, before an uncomfortably high level of moral intensity is reached. Constructive controversy is suggested as a process through which corporate codes of conduct may be developed.

DOI

10.1007/s10490-006-9002-7

Print ISSN

02174561

E-ISSN

15729958

Publisher Statement

Copyright © Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2006

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Snell, R. S., Tjosvold, D., & Su, S. F. (2006). Resolving ethical conflicts at workthrough cooperative goals and constructive controversy in the People's Republic of China. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 23(3), 319-343. doi: 10.1007/s10490-006-9002-7

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