Abstract
Analyzing corruption or other kinds of misconduct in organizations sometimes leads to a discussion about the particularities of different cultures. There is a wealth of literature dealing with the correlations between the Chinese culture (Schweitzer 2009), the Russian culture (Shulzhenko 2012), the Indian culture (Soumi 2012), or the Hungarian culture and the theme of corruption. Of course, it is very easy to blame culture for people’s misconduct and somehow it seems self-evident to ascribe it to the specific features of different regions of the world (Hofstede 1991). However, from a practical point of view this dimension is not very helpful. Culture may be described, but it can definitely not be changed. You can blame this situation for the discussion about international standards and higher ethics in managerial behavior. However, this kind of discussion makes the analytical problem even worse. If we cannot change culture, how can the focus on ethical behavior solve the problem of misconduct of managers? Actually, in everyday life we can always observe misconduct of employees, and we are tempted to assume bad manners or criminal personalities. Though we might blame society or the individuals, we are trying to focus on the missing link between society and the individual. Let us therefore look into the organization itself, not only because it is easier to analyze, but also because it is changeable. In what way can the organization be called the missing link between society and the individual? We are well aware of the fact that organizations have a substantial impact on individual behavior and especially on interaction (McGregor 1966). The reason for the existence of organizations is to force people to adopt a specific behavior so as to pursue the organizational goals (Goffmann 1961). One might not immediately recognize this power behind every organizational objective but it exists nevertheless determining the relations and interactions between individuals in organizations (Weber 1922). There are still correlations between society, culture, and the personality of people. What we have to do is understand the organizational part. To do so, the action must be deconstructed into different analytical spheres (Parsons 1964, 1978). We can then figure out specific yet sometimes inconsistent values that cannot be described without any analytical deconstruction. Inconsistencies actually exist between culture and society, but also between the expectations cherished within the organizations.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Ashforth BE, Gibbs BW (1990) The double-edge of organizational legitimation. Org Sci 1(2):177–195
Bussmann KD (2010) Wirtschaftskriminalität aus der Sicht der Unternehmen. Kriminologische Schriftenreihe Bd. 112
Ciulla JB (2004) Ethics, the heart of leadership. Praeger, Westport
Claussen J (2011) Compliance oder integrity-management. Metropolis, Marburg
Coenen T (2008) Essentials of corporate fraud. Wiley, Hoboken, NJ
Donaldson T, Preston L (1995) The stakeholder theory of the corporation: concepts, evidence, and implications. Acad Manag Rev 20(1):65–91
Douglas MG (1966) The human side of enterprise. In: Bennis WG, Schein EH (eds) From leadership and motivation: essays of Douglas Mc Gregor. MIT Press, Cambridge
Finser T (1956) Organizational integrity: how to apply the wisdom of the body to develop healthy organizations. WorldCat
Goffmann E (1961) Asylum. Essay on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates. Anchor Books, Chicago
Hetzer W (2015) Ist die Deutsche Bank eine kriminelle Vereinigung? Westend Verlag, Frankfurt
Hofstede G (1991) Cultures and organizations: software of the mind. McGraw-Hill, London
KPMG (2016) Wirtschaftskriminalität in Deutschland. unv. Man
Meyer JW, Rowan B (1977) Institutionalized organizations. Formal structure as myth and ceremony. Am J Soc 83:340–363
Mintzberg H (1979) The structuring of organizations. Engle Wood. or Liberation? Acad Manage Exec 6(2):43–54
Paine LS (1996) Moral thinking in management: an essential capability. Bus Ethics Q 6:477–492
Palazzo G (2007) Organizational integrity. Understanding the dimensions of ethical and unethical behavior in corporations. In: Zimmerli WC, Holzinger M, Richter K (eds) Corporate ethics and corporate governance. Springer, Berlin
Parker C (2002) The open corporation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Parsons T (1939) Actor, situation and normative pattern: an essay in the theory of social action (Studies in the theory of action, Band 2)
Parsons T (1964) Social structure and personality. Free Press, New York
Parsons T (1978) Action theory and human condition. Free Press, New York
Schein EH (1985) Organization culture and leadership. Jossey Bass, San Francisco
Schröder F, Schmidtke O (2010) Zum erwünschten Habitus zukünftiger Investmentbanker und anderer Bankangestellter. Sozialer Sinn. Heft 02, S. 219–242
Schweitzer H (2009) Vom Geist der Korruption. AVM, München
Shulzhenko E (2012) Human resource management and labour relations in post-transitional Russia. WZB Discussion Paper, Berlin
Soumi R (2012) Human resource management and labour relations in the Indian industrial sector. WZB discussion papers
Weaver GR, Trevino LK, Cochran PL (1999) Corporate ethics programs as control systems: influences of executive commitment and environmental factors. Acad Manage J 42(1):41–57
Weber M (1922) Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft. Mohr, Tübingen
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Stark, C. (2019). What Is Meant by Organizational Integrity? An Analytical Framework. In: Organizational Integrity. SpringerBriefs in Business. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94087-8_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94087-8_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-94086-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-94087-8
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)