5.4 Corporate Ethical Values

The 2015 Huhtala et al. article below describes research examining how ethical organizational culture impacts employees. The research study found that “higher perceptions of ethical culture associated with lower burnout and higher work engagement” among employees. As a result, they argue, “organizations should support ethical practices at the work-unit level, to enhance work engagement, and should also pay special attention to work units with a low ethical culture because these work environments can expose employees to burnout.” (Huhtala, et al.)

The PDF version of the 2018 Huhtala article includes a table in the Appendix (Table A1) where corporate virtues are described in more detail through the questions asked in the Corporate Ethical Virtues (CEV) assessment. This assessment was used to rate the ethical nature of workplaces.

Huhtala, M., Tolvanen, A., Mauno, S., & Feldt, T. (2015). The associations between ethical organizational culture, burnout, and engagement: A multilevel study. Journal of Business and Psychology, 30(2), 399–414.

Huhtala, M., Kangas, M., Kaptein, M., & Feldt, T. (2018). The shortened Corporate Ethical Virtues scale: Measurement invariance and mean differences across two occupational groups. Business Ethics: A European Review, 27(3), 238-247.