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Comportamento Organizacional e Gestão

versão impressa ISSN 0872-9662

Comport. Organ. Gest. v.14 n.2 Lisboa out. 2008

 

Dimensão ética da conduta das empresas e dos trabalhadores: Factos empíricos de um estudo exploratório realizado em Portugal

 

Olgierd Swiatkiewicz

 

Escola Superior de Tecnologia de Setúbal

 

Resumo. O artigo apresenta uma selecção dos resultados de um estudo empírico realizado em Portugal em 2004, numa amostra por conveniência, sobre diversos aspectos da conduta ética das empresas e seus trabalhadores. A dimensão ética da conduta das empresas e dos trabalhadores foi assumida como conceito composto pelos seguintes aspectos: reflexão ética, legalidade da conduta, relações entre a ética e a eficiência, responsabilidade das empresas, percepção da conduta não ética e denúncia da sua ocorrência, institucionalização e formalização da ética nas empresas. Dos resultados destacam-se: o impacto positivo ao nível cognitivo da implementação dos elementos de ética formal na empresa, o qual pode, contudo, conduzir à supressão da responsabilidade e à desculpabilização pelos actos potencialmente imorais; o crescimento da imagem positiva do tecido empresarial com a ascendência na posição hierárquica e o inverso com o decréscimo do poder organizacional; o decréscimo de confiança nas empresas nacionais à medida que o sentimento de segurança de/no emprego se reduz e a sua transferência para as empresas estrangeiras; o crescimento de confiança depositada pelos inquiridos nas empresas com o aumento da dimensão destas últimas; a predominância de documentos escritos de ética nas empresas de origem estrangeira e a sua escassez nas empresas nacionais.

Palavras-chave: Conduta ética das empresas e dos trabalhadores em Portugal, percepção ética, legalidade, imagem ética da economia, do empresário e da empresa, RSE, conduta não ética, denúncia de condutas impróprias, institucionalização e formalização de ética.

 

Abstract. The paper presents selected results of an empirical study carried out in Portugal in 2004 on companies and workers’ ethical behaviour, based on convenience sample. It is assumed that ethical dimension of companies and workers’ behaviour is a concept composed of such aspects as ethical reflection, legal obligation, ethical image of a domestic economy, ethical image of a businessman and a firm as well, corporate responsibility, deontological obligations of the firm, perception of unethical behaviour, whistle blowing, institutionalisation and formalisation of ethics. All presented aspects of ethical dimension were analyzed in the light of the impact of selected independent (individual and institutional) variables (sex; age; level of education; tenure; hierarchical level; actual and future sense of security of employment and career development; property and capital origin of the company; its size, age, sector and financial situation). The main results point out a positive impact on workers’ cognitive level as a result of the implementation of elements of formal ethics in a company, which might, however, lead to the suppression of responsibility and to indulgence towards potentially immoral action; the increase of a positive image (honesty) of the business/company as the hierarchical responsibility rises and vice versa; the trust in national companies decreases as the feeling of security of employment lessens whereas the trust in foreign capital companies rises; the bigger the size of the company is, the higher is the level of trust; the existence of ethical standards is more likely to be found in foreign companies than in national ones.

Key words: Ethical conduct of workers and companies in Portugal, ethical perception, legality, ethical image of Portuguese economy, businessman & company, CSR, ethical misconduct, whistle blowing, institutionalization and formalization of ethics.

 

Texto completo disponível apenas em PDF.

Full text only available in PDF format.

 

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Endereço: Escola Superior de Tecnologia de Setúbal, Campus do IPS, Estefanilha, 2910-761 Setúbal, Portugal. E-mail: olgierd@est.ips.pt