An approach to organizational ethics

Great importance has recently been given in studies on management to subjects such as values or organizational cultures. The fact that on dealing with these questions there are many terminological coincidences with ethics has meant that the discourse on values or organizational culture has often automatically been identified with organizational ethics. This paper questions this identification, proposing an approach to what should be understood by organizational ethics (OE). Three ideas support this approach: (1) an understanding of OE from a process and learning approach, (2) a presentation of 10 components that make up a reflective OE, and (3) an understanding of how values are understood in OE, underlining four dimensions: dynamic, practical, dialogical, and committed. The paper concludes by proposing that the development of OE should be linked to the development of an organizational citizenship.