Organizational wrongdoing: A theoretical essay on the malleability of the course of action of ethical decisions

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19094/contextus.2021.61435

Keywords:

behavioral ethics, bureaucratic ethics, theory of social control, decision-making process, organizational wrongdoing

Abstract

In this theoretical essay, we present a reflection on organizational irregularities (wrongdoing), considering ethics and morality from a sociological perspective, and exploring the rules used to guide human behavior in organizational decision-making. To this end, we reviewed the dominant and emerging sociological perspectives for organizational wrongdoing; behavioral ethics; and the rationalization of unethical behavior in organizations. In this reflection, we move away from the implicit thought that the organization's participants are regulated only by external control agents and from the dichotomous view of ethical decisions and call the attention for a third alternative: that of socially justified choices, which are a new possibility of analyzing wrongdoing, still poorly understood and with implications for organizational theory.

Author Biographies

Fabíola Caldeira de Medeiros Rocha, Universidade Federal do Paraná

Mestranda em Administração pela Universidade Federal do Paraná - Linha de pesquisa: Estratégia e Análise Organizacional (2019/2020). Especialista em Inteligência de Negócios pela Universidade Federal Paraná (2017) com graduação em Gestão de Empresas pelo Centro Universitário Campos de Andrade (2008) - Membro do grupo de pesquisa Estratégia e Processo Decisório (GEPD/UFPR)

Karina de Déa Roglio, Federal University of Paraná

Doutora em Engenharia de Produção pela Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (2006). Professora Associada da Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR).

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Published

2021-02-08

How to Cite

Rocha, F. C. de M., & Roglio, K. de D. (2021). Organizational wrongdoing: A theoretical essay on the malleability of the course of action of ethical decisions. Contextus - Contemporary Journal of Economics and Management, 19, 29–39. https://doi.org/10.19094/contextus.2021.61435

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Articles