This study examines CSR engagement by Zimbabwean SMEs through their practices and procedures. A qualitative approach was adopted, involving 16 in-depth interviews with key decision makers of ICT SMES in Zimbabwe. The study makes finds that Understanding of CSR by SMEs is patchy, their approach to selecting and executing CSR activities is ad hoc, unstructured and not supported by dedicated budgets while decision making rests solely with the CEO who values and upbringing plays a defining role in this process. The study presents useful insights from a developing world context on CSR characteristics by SMEs.
{"title":"CSR ENGAGEMENT BY ZIMBABWEAN SMES","authors":"Maxwell Chanakira","doi":"10.15249/13-1-217","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15249/13-1-217","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines CSR engagement by Zimbabwean SMEs through their practices and procedures. A qualitative approach was adopted, involving 16 in-depth interviews with key decision makers of ICT SMES in Zimbabwe. The study makes finds that Understanding of CSR by SMEs is patchy, their approach to selecting and executing CSR activities is ad hoc, unstructured and not supported by dedicated budgets while decision making rests solely with the CEO who values and upbringing plays a defining role in this process. The study presents useful insights from a developing world context on CSR characteristics by SMEs.","PeriodicalId":42425,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Business Ethics","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42078724","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Distributive justice is associated with the perceptions of an individual to the presence of equity and fairness in an organisation. The primary objective of this study is to critically assess distributive justice within the South African financial services industry. A quantitative research design was employed. Non-probability sampling was used and 436 usable questionnaires were returned. The empirical results revealed that trustworthiness of management, extrinsic rewards and organisational climate have positive influence on distributive justice, while employee engagement and two-way communication are founded to have no significant influence on distributive justice. Furthermore, distributive justice had a positive influence on organisational citizenship behaviour and reputable employee retention in the financial services industry.
{"title":"Perceptions regarding distributive justice in the South African financial service industry","authors":"E. Smith, N. Mazibuko, Viwe Mrwebi","doi":"10.15249/13-1-206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15249/13-1-206","url":null,"abstract":"Distributive justice is associated with the perceptions of an individual to the presence of equity and fairness in an organisation. The primary objective of this study is to critically assess distributive justice within the South African financial services industry. A quantitative research design was employed. Non-probability sampling was used and 436 usable questionnaires were returned. The empirical results revealed that trustworthiness of management, extrinsic rewards and organisational climate have positive influence on distributive justice, while employee engagement and two-way communication are founded to have no significant influence on distributive justice. Furthermore, distributive justice had a positive influence on organisational citizenship behaviour and reputable employee retention in the financial services industry.","PeriodicalId":42425,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Business Ethics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48379419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ethics is reflected in the culture of an organisation. If necessary, the status of the ethical culture in an organisation can be measured. The purpose of this study was to identify an instrument that can measure ethical culture, and to establish its validity and reliability in a South African context. The Corporate Ethical Virtue Model was identified, as its validity had been subjected to reliability tests within a South African insurance company. The instrument’s reliability was confirmed through Cronbach Alpha coefficients. The article concludes that the CEV model has application value within the context in which it was tested.
{"title":"VALIDITY OF THE CORPORATE ETHICAL VIRTUE MODEL (CEV) IN A SOUTH AFRICAN CONTEXT: A CASE STUDY","authors":"Ireze van Wyk","doi":"10.15249/13-1-203","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15249/13-1-203","url":null,"abstract":"Ethics is reflected in the culture of an organisation. If necessary, the status of the ethical culture in an organisation can be measured. The purpose of this study was to identify an instrument that can measure ethical culture, and to establish its validity and reliability in a South African context. The Corporate Ethical Virtue Model was identified, as its validity had been subjected to reliability tests within a South African insurance company. The instrument’s reliability was confirmed through Cronbach Alpha coefficients. The article concludes that the CEV model has application value within the context in which it was tested.","PeriodicalId":42425,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Business Ethics","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67333588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Strathmore University is the first educational institution in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve a zero-carbon footprint. With 2,400 panels located on the roofs of six buildings, it is the largest rooftop solar installation in the region. Kenya sits on the equator and enjoys year-round insulation. Taking advantage of a green line of financial support created by the French Government, Strathmore embarked on a project to install a 600kW roof-top, grid-connected solar photovoltaic power system to cater for its electricity needs. The system is designed to produce more than the required self-consumption, hence the extra power is sold to the utility via a power purchase agreement. This investment in renewable energy confirms that universities can demonstrate leadership in the area of environment and energy. This paper describes the economic and social impact created by a university through greening its sources of energy.
{"title":"Reducing Carbon Emissions: Strathmore University Contributions Towards Sustainable Development in Kenya","authors":"Lilian Njeri Munene","doi":"10.15249/13-1-173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15249/13-1-173","url":null,"abstract":"Strathmore University is the first educational institution in sub-Saharan Africa to achieve a zero-carbon footprint. With 2,400 panels located on the roofs of six buildings, it is the largest rooftop solar installation in the region. Kenya sits on the equator and enjoys year-round insulation. Taking advantage of a green line of financial support created by the French Government, Strathmore embarked on a project to install a 600kW roof-top, grid-connected solar photovoltaic power system to cater for its electricity needs. The system is designed to produce more than the required self-consumption, hence the extra power is sold to the utility via a power purchase agreement. This investment in renewable energy confirms that universities can demonstrate leadership in the area of environment and energy. This paper describes the economic and social impact created by a university through greening its sources of energy.","PeriodicalId":42425,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Business Ethics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42898949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
South Africa ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016 and thereby committed to reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) concentration levels as part of its self-determined goals in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). This articleviewed the targets in the NDC through an ethical lens. It was demonstrated that the commitment below the ‘business-asusual’ (BAU) level allowed for large increases in South Africa’s emissions without explaining how these were consistent with a specific understanding of what equity required. Also, the NDCtargets were found to be highly insufficient. Consequently, South Africa’s climate change mitigation commitments were deemed inconsistent with the ethical ‘no-harm’ principle.
{"title":"Some ethical considerations for South Africa's climate change mitigation approach in light of the Paris Agreement","authors":"L. Steenkamp, P. Naudé","doi":"10.15249/12-2-179","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15249/12-2-179","url":null,"abstract":"South Africa ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016 and thereby committed to reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) concentration levels as part of its self-determined goals in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). This articleviewed the targets in the NDC through an ethical lens. It was demonstrated that the commitment below the ‘business-asusual’ (BAU) level allowed for large increases in South Africa’s emissions without explaining how these were consistent with a specific understanding of what equity required. Also, the NDCtargets were found to be highly insufficient. Consequently, South Africa’s climate change mitigation commitments were deemed inconsistent with the ethical ‘no-harm’ principle.","PeriodicalId":42425,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Business Ethics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47740727","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper focuses on the issue of justice as a challenge facing business and society. I advance a simple deductive argument based on two premises. The first emerges out of theories of justice and holds that fairness, as a foundational basis for justice, demands impartiality or the avoidance of bias. The second emerges out of fiduciary law and holds that the duty of loyalty owed by managers to serve the interests of investors is fundamentally partial or biased. The conclusion is the troubling fact that the fiduciary duty of loyalty owed by managers to serve the interests of investors appears to be incompatible with the demands of justice. Having presented this, I describe the impartiality tools of Rawls’ veil of ignorance and Adam Smith’s impartial spectator and discuss how these might be applied in this context. I speculate that while Smith’s impartial spectator is absolutely incommensurable with managers’ fiduciary duty of loyalty, Rawls’ veil of ignorance might be used to imagine a synthesis between this duty of loyalty and the impartiality demands of justice – in theory at least. And finally, as a parting shot, I wonder whether the real “Leadership Challenge that Matters” isn’t the gap between theory and reality.
{"title":"Overcoming constraints imposed by fiduciary duties in terms of justice as a “Leadership Challenge that Matters”","authors":"N. Eccles","doi":"10.15249/12-2-202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15249/12-2-202","url":null,"abstract":"This paper focuses on the issue of justice as a challenge facing business and society. I advance a simple deductive argument based on two premises. The first emerges out of theories of justice and holds that fairness, as a foundational basis for justice, demands impartiality or the avoidance of bias. The second emerges out of fiduciary law and holds that the duty of loyalty owed by managers to serve the interests of investors is fundamentally partial or biased. The conclusion is the troubling fact that the fiduciary duty of loyalty owed by managers to serve the interests of investors appears to be incompatible with the demands of justice. Having presented this, I describe the impartiality tools of Rawls’ veil of ignorance and Adam Smith’s impartial spectator and discuss how these might be applied in this context. I speculate that while Smith’s impartial spectator is absolutely incommensurable with managers’ fiduciary duty of loyalty, Rawls’ veil of ignorance might be used to imagine a synthesis between this duty of loyalty and the impartiality demands of justice – in theory at least. And finally, as a parting shot, I wonder whether the real “Leadership Challenge that Matters” isn’t the gap between theory and reality.","PeriodicalId":42425,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Business Ethics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44978539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The article argues that there is a paradirm shift in our understanding of the role of business in society and that this move is best understood as a "restorying" of the purpose of business. The term "story" is used here to refer to a pattern of meaning. The organization leading this movement is the United Nations Global Compact with its ten principles and 17 Sustainable Development Goals designed to overcome global poverty. With over 9,000 companies in 165 countries "restorying" the purpose of business there is hope for a better life for all.
{"title":"Restorying the Purpose of Business: An Interpretation of the Agenda of the UN Global Compact","authors":"Oliver F. Williams","doi":"10.15249/12-2-195","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15249/12-2-195","url":null,"abstract":"The article argues that there is a paradirm shift in our understanding of the role of business in society and that this move is best understood as a \"restorying\" of the purpose of business. The term \"story\" is used here to refer to a pattern of meaning. The organization leading this movement is the United Nations Global Compact with its ten principles and 17 Sustainable Development Goals designed to overcome global poverty. With over 9,000 companies in 165 countries \"restorying\" the purpose of business there is hope for a better life for all.","PeriodicalId":42425,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Business Ethics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46991347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The paper introduces an expanded typology of research approaches applicable to the field of ethical leadership, namely: theoretical-integrative, systematic-analytical, narrative-interpretive, and action-advocacy. An illustrative review identified clear examples of this framework for categorising types of research on ethical leadership. It is concluded that the investigation shows the applicability of a more nuanced perspective on research in the field of ethical leadership. The analysis provides support for the use of the typology beyond the customary quantitative and qualitative dichotomy.
{"title":"A typology for the categorisation of ethical leadership research","authors":"C. Pietersen","doi":"10.15249/12-2-153","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15249/12-2-153","url":null,"abstract":"The paper introduces an expanded typology of research approaches applicable to the field of ethical leadership, namely: theoretical-integrative, systematic-analytical, narrative-interpretive, and action-advocacy. An illustrative review identified clear examples of this framework for categorising types of research on ethical leadership. It is concluded that the investigation shows the applicability of a more nuanced perspective on research in the field of ethical leadership. The analysis provides support for the use of the typology beyond the customary quantitative and qualitative dichotomy.","PeriodicalId":42425,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Business Ethics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44727615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper explores the importance that potential employees attach to CSR practices of firms and how their perceptions of CSR may translate into their willingness to work for CSR practicing firms. The paper sought to investigate the effect of students’ CSR perception on their perception of the attractiveness of CSR practicing firms as prospective employers and also explore the possible moderating effects of student’s demographic characteristics on the relationship between their perception of CSR and the employer attractiveness of CSR practicing firms. The study employed correlations, multiple and hierarchical regression analyses to explore data collected from 603 students in the largest university in Ghana. Male respondents had attached significantly higher importance to firms’ engagement in CSR activities than their female counterparts while respondents from the African continent attached higher importance to firms’ engagement in CSR practices than respondents from other continents with the exception of Australia. Additionally, individual’s perception of firms engagement in CSR was found to be positively related to their perceived attraction to CSR practicing firms as prospective employers. Results of the study indicate that CSR can be employed to differentiate job offerings within the African context and as such, CSR can serve as an employer branding tool in Africa. This study represents one of the first attempts to explore the role of demographic characteristics in affecting individuals’ CSR perceptions as well as the role of CSR perceptions in affecting the attractiveness of prospective employers within the African context.
{"title":"Corporate Social Responsibility and Employer Attractiveness: Perspectives of Students on the African continent","authors":"Ebo Hinson, S. Agbleze, John Kuada","doi":"10.15249/12-2-190","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15249/12-2-190","url":null,"abstract":"This paper explores the importance that potential employees attach to CSR practices of firms and how their perceptions of CSR may translate into their willingness to work for CSR practicing firms. The paper sought to investigate the effect of students’ CSR perception on their perception of the attractiveness of CSR practicing firms as prospective employers and also explore the possible moderating effects of student’s demographic characteristics on the relationship between their perception of CSR and the employer attractiveness of CSR practicing firms. The study employed correlations, multiple and hierarchical regression analyses to explore data collected from 603 students in the largest university in Ghana. Male respondents had attached significantly higher importance to firms’ engagement in CSR activities than their female counterparts while respondents from the African continent attached higher importance to firms’ engagement in CSR practices than respondents from other continents with the exception of Australia. Additionally, individual’s perception of firms engagement in CSR was found to be positively related to their perceived attraction to CSR practicing firms as prospective employers. Results of the study indicate that CSR can be employed to differentiate job offerings within the African context and as such, CSR can serve as an employer branding tool in Africa. This study represents one of the first attempts to explore the role of demographic characteristics in affecting individuals’ CSR perceptions as well as the role of CSR perceptions in affecting the attractiveness of prospective employers within the African context.","PeriodicalId":42425,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Business Ethics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44974063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article draws on the indigenous African tradition of philosophy to ground a moral-philosophical theory of leadership that is intended to rival accounts in the East Asian and Western traditions. After providing an interpretation of the characteristically sub-Saharan value of communion, the article advances a philosophical account of a good leader as one who creates, sustains, and enriches communal relationships and enables others to do so. The article then applies this account to a variety of topics, including what the proper final end of an organization is, how decisions ought to be made within it, who counts as a stakeholder, and how to deal with non-performing or misbehaving employees. For each topic, the article notes respects in which the African theory of good leadership entails approaches that differ from other, more internationally familiar ones, and suggests that its implications are prima facie attractive relative to them.
{"title":"An African Theory of Good Leadership","authors":"Thaddeus Metz","doi":"10.15249/12-2-204","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15249/12-2-204","url":null,"abstract":"This article draws on the indigenous African tradition of philosophy to ground a moral-philosophical theory of leadership that is intended to rival accounts in the East Asian and Western traditions. After providing an interpretation of the characteristically sub-Saharan value of communion, the article advances a philosophical account of a good leader as one who creates, sustains, and enriches communal relationships and enables others to do so. The article then applies this account to a variety of topics, including what the proper final end of an organization is, how decisions ought to be made within it, who counts as a stakeholder, and how to deal with non-performing or misbehaving employees. For each topic, the article notes respects in which the African theory of good leadership entails approaches that differ from other, more internationally familiar ones, and suggests that its implications are prima facie attractive relative to them.","PeriodicalId":42425,"journal":{"name":"African Journal of Business Ethics","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2018-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42373840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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