Ethics and honesty in organizations: Unique organizational challenges

Abstract

Ethics and honesty in organizations deserve unique attention as the workplace context adds additional complexities to be considered. We organize the development in research into three areas: (a) the move from the traditional view of looking at unethical behaviors in organizations as motivated by self-interest to the one looking at some motivated by the desire to benefit others; (b) honesty in organizations and the different motivational tensions at work that add to its complexities; (c) interventions to curb unethical behaviors and encourage honesty at work. In the process, we identify and typologize how different pillars within the organization-hierarchy, goal interdependence, and coordination and teamwork-bring about unique psychological tensions and challenges that make ethics and honesty in organizations particularly complex. We conclude by encouraging more observer- versus actor-centric future research.

Keywords: Challenges; Ethics; Honesty; Organization.