An Unexpected Means of Embedding Ethics in Organizations: Preliminary Findings from Values-Based Evaluations

Gemma Burford, Elona Hoover, Lee Stapleton and Marie K. Harder
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Gemma Burford: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Elona Hoover: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Lee Stapleton: School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UK
Marie K. Harder: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 7, 1-22

Abstract: Ethical principles constitute a crucial area of debate and discussion in the global conversation around transitions to sustainability, and of particular relevance to the contribution of businesses and other organizations. Scholars in business ethics have recently identified several challenges in this area, such as problems of measurement, rigor, and meaningfulness to practitioners; corporate social responsibility; and institutionalization of ethics in businesses. In this paper, the impacts of a pragmatic values-based evaluation approach originally developed in another field—education for sustainable development—are shown to strongly contribute to many of these challenges. Impacts found across eight organizations include (i) deep values conceptualization; (ii) increased esteem (iii) building capacity for assessment of values-based achievements; (iv) values mainstreaming; and (v) effective external values communications. It seems that the in-situ development and use of values-based indicators helped to conceptualize locally shared values that underpin decisions, thus embedding the application of (local) ethics. Although this study is exploratory, it is clear that the values-based approach shows promise for meeting key challenges in business ethics and wider sustainability, and for new directions for future cross-disciplinary research.

Keywords: values-based indicators; business ethics; organizational values; values conceptualization; corporate social responsibility; application of ethics; WeValue; evaluation impact (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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