| Description |
This article examines the relation of culture to the propensity for, and potential effectiveness of, both internal reporting and whistle-blowing as ethics management tools within a North American context. Samples from a total of 10 regions in the US, Canada and Mexico increased the accuracy and meaningfulness of the findings. Hofstede's cultural dimensions uncertainty avoidance and power distance had the most consistent and significant relationship to propensity for both whistle-blowing and internal reporting, while collectivism was not found to be significantly related to either ethics management tool. Managers who better understand the cultural links to ethics management are more likely to craft the most effective organizational ethics strategies. Researchers can gain from increased insight, allowing departure from assumptions to an empirically based examination of how cultural dimensions might influence ethics management instruments. (Abstract from Source) |