Strategies for Improving Codes of Ethics Implementation in Construction Organizations

It is necessary to reconsider the assumptions upon which the process of implementing compliance with ethical programs rests, in both theoretical and practical terms. These assumptions should hinge on organizational enablers that allow embeddedness of codes of ethics in the web of an organization's processes. This article sets out to describe an approach that will facilitate implementation of codes of ethics in construction organizations and a comprehensive literature survey approach is adopted to achieve this. The paper equally employs the application of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model as a tool to stimulate ethical behavior in an organization, with the focus on the enabler criterion of the model. The authors discuss organizational enablers in relation to the implementation of ethical codes. The study demonstrates how ethics can be managed in an organization by proposing a framework to enhance codes of ethics embeddedness in the web of an organization. The paper indicates current research gaps and future opportunities for both academics and practitioners.

[1]  Carl T. Haas,et al.  Strategic Management of Human Resources in Construction , 2006 .

[2]  Angela Harden,et al.  Mixed methods and systematic reviews: examples and emerging issues , 2010 .

[3]  Patrick X.W. Zou,et al.  Strategies for minimizing corruption in the construction industry in China , 2006 .

[4]  Albertus Laan,et al.  Measuring the Implementation of Codes of Conduct. An Assessment Method Based on a Process Approach of the Responsible Organisation , 2003 .

[5]  M. Emiliani.  The oath of management , 2000 .

[6]  Martin Skitmore,et al.  Ethics in Tendering: A Survey of Australian Opinion and Practice , 1999 .

[7]  I. Beeri,et al.  Advancing Ethics in Public Organizations: The Impact of an Ethics Program on Employees’ Perceptions and Behaviors in a Regional Council , 2013 .

[8]  A. M. Adam.  Effective Implementation of Ethical Programs: Theory and Practice , 2005 .

[9]  Andrew R.J. Dainty,et al.  Introduction: corporate social responsibility in the construction industry , 2008 .

[10]  Mladen Vukomanović,et al.  BSC-EFQM BASED APPROACH FOR PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKING IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY , 2007 .

[11]  J. Bryson,et al.  Putting the Resource-Based View of Strategy and Distinctive Competencies to Work in Public Organizations , 2007 .

[12]  C. Ho,et al.  Ethics management for the construction industry: A review of ethical decision‐making literature , 2011 .

[13]  Carol C. Cirka,et al.  Constructing a Code of Ethics: An Experiential Case of a National Professional Organization , 2010 .

[14]  G. Sweeney,et al.  Global corruption report , 2011 .

[15]  Githui Donatus Mathenge.  Ethical Issues in the Construction Industry in Kenya: A Critical Analysis of the Professional Conduct in Engineering Technology Management , 2012 .

[16]  Andrea Werner,et al.  Corporate Codes of Ethics: Necessary But Not Sufficient , 2008 .

[17]  R. H. Connery,et al.  Processes of organization and management , 1948 .

[18]  J. Barney,et al.  CAPABILITIES, BUSINESS PROCESSES, AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: CHOOSING THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE IN EMPIRICAL TESTS OF THE RESOURCE-BASED VIEW , 2004 .

[19]  Qiping Shen,et al.  Measuring the performance of value management studies in construction : critical review , 2007 .

[20]  Sue Cavill,et al.  Accountability to Prevent Corruption in Construction Projects , 2008 .

[21]  M. Kilcullen,et al.  At least do no harm: sources on the changing role of business ethics and corporate social responsibility , 1999 .

[22]  P. Chinowsky,et al.  Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Behavior in Construction Executives , 2006 .

[23]  John S. Oakland,et al.  Total Organizational Excellence: Achieving world-class performance , 1999 .

[24]  E. Westerveld,et al.  The Project Excellence Model®: linking success criteria and critical success factors , 2003 .

[25]  D. Wood,et al.  Global Business Citizenship and Voluntary Codes of Ethical Conduct , 2005 .

[26]  Susan Key,et al.  Integrating ethics into the strategic management process: doing well by doing good , 1998 .

[27]  T. Thorpe,et al.  Developing a systems approach for managing ethics in construction project environments , 2004 .

[28]  Nicolas S. Majluf,et al.  A Two-Component Compliance and Ethics Program Model: An Empirical Application to Chilean Corporations , 2011 .

[29]  Christabel M. F. Ho,et al.  Communication Makes a Corporate Code of Ethics Effective: Lessons from Hong Kong , 2013 .

[30]  Paul A. Fadil,et al.  Developing Corporate Codes of Ethics in Multinational Firms: Bhopal Revisited , 1998 .

[31]  Thanwadee Chinda,et al.  Structural equation model of construction safety culture , 2008 .

[32]  David Greenwood,et al.  Construction Quality Management: Principles and Practice , 2011 .

[33]  M. Mey,et al.  An ethics model to develop an ethical organisation : original research , 2010 .

[34]  Jang B. Singh,et al.  The Embeddedness of Codes of Ethics in Organizations in Australia, Canada and the United States , 2011 .

[35]  Jyotsna Sanzgiri,et al.  Towards an ethical dimension of decision making in organizations , 1996 .

[36]  Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen,et al.  The Business Excellence Model for CSR Implementation? , 2014 .

[37]  J. Bawole,et al.  Challenges in implementing code of conduct within the public sector in Anglophone West African countries: Perspectives from public managers , 2009 .

[38]  T. Nawaz,et al.  Unethical Practices in Pakistani Construction Industry , 2013 .

[39]  Martin Skitmore,et al.  Decisions with moral content: collusion , 2000 .

[40]  B. Lewis,et al.  The Quality of Business Ethics Journals , 2016 .

[41]  Michael Burda,et al.  Revolutionizing product development , 1993 .

[42]  Abd Karim S.B,et al.  Does Professional Ethic Affects Construction Quality , 2007 .

[43]  D. Payne,et al.  Evolution and Implementation: A Study of Values, Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility , 2002 .

[44]  Terry W. Loe,et al.  The Impact of Ethics Code Familiarity on Manager Behavior , 2001 .

[45]  M. Loosemore,et al.  Corporate Ethics in the Construction and Engineering Industry , 2009 .

[46]  S. H. Appelbaum,et al.  The relationship of ethical climate to deviant workplace behaviour , 2005 .

[47]  Jim Mason,et al.  Ethics in the construction industry: The prospects for a single professional code , 2009 .

[48]  Martin Skitmore,et al.  Professional ethics in the construction industry , 2003 .

[49]  H. Adnan,et al.  Ethical Issues in the Construction Industry: Contractor's Perspective , 2012 .

[50]  Martin Loosemore,et al.  Implementing corporate ethics management and its comparison with the safety management system: a case study in Hong Kong , 2004 .

[51]  Eberhard Schnebel,et al.  Implementing Ethics in Business Organizations , 2004 .

[52]  Koleola Tunwase Odusami,et al.  Nigerian Building Professionals' Ethical Ideology and Perceived Ethical Judgement , 2010 .

[53]  Jacob Eskildsen,et al.  The criterion weights of the EFQM excellence model , 2001 .

[54]  J. Poon.  The study of ethical perceptions of construction managers , 2004 .

[55]  G. Svensson,et al.  Cross‐sector organizational engagement with ethics: a comparison between private sector companies and public sector entities of Sweden , 2009 .

[56]  R. S. Pochron.  A Leadership Journey : Personal Reflections from the School of Hard Knocks , 2009 .

[57]  Qiping Shen,et al.  An overview of previous studies in stakeholder management and its implications for the construction industry , 2009 .

[58]  C. Ho.  A critique of corporate ethics codes in Hong Kong construction , 2010 .

[59]  P. Fewings.  Ethics for the Built Environment , 2008 .

[60]  C. Reese,et al.  A Bayesian operationalization of the resource‐based view , 2004 .