Ethical Ambivalence and Organizational Reward Systems

    Published Online:https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1985.4279104

    Ethical ambivalence is a form of sociological ambivalence in which (a) the behaviors, attitudes, and norms that are shaped and maintained by the organizational reward system conflict with (b) the behaviors, attitudes, and norms congruent with the ethical values and judgments of organizational stakeholders. For example, though stakeholders require honest, open reporting, stonewalling and falsification of data may be rewarded. Examples of norms and counternorms are developed, and action strategies for researchers and managers are recommended.

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