An empirical study on business ethics development in Taiwanese trade personnel

¶ … Business Ethics Development of International Trade Personnel in Taiwanese Industries

Criteria for Coding Data

The survey data that is analyzed in this chapter relied on the Likert scaling methodology for defining forced choice to attitudinal questions. A total of 28 variables are included in the analysis, with two being demographic, the age and gender of the respondent. The attendance in an ethics training course is measured from the standpoint of having completed training in the last five years or not. Twelve additional variables are also used to ascertain the respondents' level of ethics judgement in response to a hypothetical case regarding an illegal liver transplant. The remaining thirteen questions comprise the Ethical Climate Questionnaire as is shown in the Appendices of this study.

The intent of the Likert Scale is to accentuate the differences between each ethical position on the attitudinal variables included in the questionnaire.

The intent of this analysis is to test the survey results for statistical significance relative to the eight hypotheses that form the foundation of this study. The demographics of the survey population are first discussed, in addition to an analysis of the percentage of respondents that have completed business ethics training in the past five years. By first looking at these factors, a set of assumptions can be made regarding the acceptance or rejection of each hypothesis; namely how conversant and educated this respondent base was in the first place relative to ethical judgements and issue resolution.

Respondent Demographics

Of the respondent population of 299 interviews, the majority are male (58.5%) versus 41.5% who are female, and the majority have had ethics training within the last five years (52.8%). 80.3% of respondents are 40 years old or below, with 37.8% being 30 yrs or younger, and 42.5% being between 31 and 40 years old. Frequency distributions were next computed in addition to cross-tabulations. To see how pervasive ethics training had specifically been in each of the respondent groups, a cross-tabulation of age of respondent by ethics training completed is shown in Table 4-1.

Table 4-1: Crosstabulation of Age by Ethics Training

What specifically is shown in this analysis is that the majority of respondent age groups have had ethics training in the last five years with the exception of those 30 years old or below. This indicates many organizations are completing ethics training on their own, especially given the face that the majority of interviewed respondents in the 41 to 50, and 51 years and older age categories had received ethics training in the last five years. From this short analysis of demographics and ethics training the assumption is made that organizations are periodically completing ethics training on their own, continually updating the knowledge of employees in this area.

Hypothesis One

The first hypothesis looks to prove or disprove the hypothesis that business ethics vary significantly by age levels in Taiwan. The following Null and Alterative Hypotheses are defined as follows:

H0: There are no differences in the business ethics level of ITP's in Taiwan with respect to different age levels.

H1: There are differences in the business ethics level of ITP's in Taiwan with respect to different age levels.

Results of Testing Hypothesis One

Using both t-tests of statistical significance between means and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) both with unclustered and clustered representation of the Age variable, the results showed no statistically significant differences in business ethics level of ITPs in Taiwan at both the 95% and 99% Confidence Interval. Given the demographics and level of ethics training by age group, this is not surprising. It is important to note that the only factor that emerged from the ANVA even close to a statistically significant level was from the Hypothetical Story, on the factor of the parents seeking out another hospital and doctor with perfect facilities and excellent skills. This does not imply a lack of ethics on the part of respondents, yet in aggregate across all age groups, this strategy was ethically the most prevalent chosen. On the ECQ, there was, in aggregate, a lack of statistical significance showing variations in ethical judgment across all age groups.

Hypothesis Two

The second hypothesis of this research effort looks to accept or refute the role of gender regarding the ethics of ITPs in Taiwan. The following Null and Alterative Hypotheses are defined as follows:

H0: There are no differences in the business ethics level of ITP's in Taiwan with respect to different genders.

H1: There are differences in the business ethics level of ITP's in Taiwan with respect to different genders.

Results of Testing Hypothesis Two

Using both t-tests of statistical significance between means and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of across twenty five of the attitudinal variables used to measure stated adherence to ethical standards, no statistically significant differences between genders were found, so therefore the Null Hypothesis can be accepted. There is no statistically difference at both the 95% and 99% Confidence Intervals (CI).

In completing this analysis through two-tailed t-tests for statistical significance, ANOVA, and analysis of means across each of the twenty five attitudinal variables measuring ethics by respondents' gender, a specific question from the Ethical Climate Questionnaire (ECQ) to fully follow the company policies and procedures is seen as the key element for a successful employee in this company, showed very high levels of statistical differences between respondents by gender however. From the comparison of means, males tended to be more concerned with compliance to organizations' policies and procedures than women.

Hypothesis Three

In evaluating the ethical judgement and maturing of those respondents who have taken ethics courses vs. those than have not, the following two hypotheses have been derived. From the demographic analysis completed earlier in this chapter, it became apparent that many organizations are completed ethics training for their mid-level and senior-level employees on a periodic basis, as the majority of each age segment had successfully completed ethics training, with the exception of those respondents below 30 who may not have completed their degrees yet. The two hypotheses to test the effects of ethics education are as follows:

H0: There are no differences in the business level of ITP's in Taiwan whether they have completed ethics education or not.

H1: There are differences in the business level of ITP's in Taiwan whether they have completed ethics education or not.

Results of Testing Hypothesis Three

Using both t-tests of statistical significance between means and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of across twenty five of the attitudinal variables used to measure stated adherence to ethical standards, no statistically significant differences between the trained and non-trained Taiwanese ITP. While there is no significant statistical difference between those trained and not trained relative to their ethical decision making, two variables illustrate the extent of differences in ethical thinking. From the story, the variable Will this surgery be understood and accepted by the public in view of the respect for life and humanity? generated a higher value for those who had been through ethics training relative to those that had not. In addition, the variable, in this company, every employee is concerned about their own interests and this is their primary concern also was higher for those who had been through ethics training. The conclusion can be drawn that those who have been through ethics training are more sensitized to ethical dilemmas see them in their immediate environment when someone not trained may not have seen them, and also takes a balanced view of life vs. law (as is exhibited by the results of the test story in the questionnaire).

Hypothesis Four

The fourth hypothesis concentrates on the relationship of the ethical climate of independence relative to the level of ethics that Taiwanese ITPs exhibit as recorded in the survey results. The ethical climate of independence refers to the level of autonomy employees have in defining their own levels of ethical decision making. The Null and Alternative Hypotheses of this fourth hypothesis are as follows:

H0: In the ethical climate of independence, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is high.

H1: In the ethical climate of independence, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is low.

Results of Testing Hypothesis Four

As each of the variables recorded in the ECQ are scale-based and can therefore be used in both parametric and nonparametric correlations, all thirteen values of the ECQ were included in the correlation analysis. The two specific statements on the ECQ, in this company, personal ethics and personal judgment are primary concerns and in this company, the employees can make decisions based on their personal judgment produced a Pearson's Correlation Coefficient of.682 at the.01 level of confidence, relying on a two-tailed test. From this correlation and the strength of correlation across the factors in the ECQ that measure the encouragement respondents receive from their organizations to make ethical decisions on their own, the Alternative Hypothesis (H0) is accepted. From a correlation analysis of the results, the greater the ethical climate of independence the higher the business ethics. it's clear that the respondents have taken ownership of ethical decision making and defining ethical standards of conduct on their own.

Hypothesis Five

In the fifth hypothesis of measuring the business ethics levels of Taiwanese ITPs the Null and Alternative Hypotheses are defined as follows:

H0: In the ethical climate of independence, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is high.

H1: In the ethical climate of independence, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is low.

Results of Testing Hypothesis Five

It has been established in the fourth hypothesis that the greater the ethical climate of independence, the greater the level of ethical self-direction and ownership of ethical outcomes. This also holds true when the ethical climate of instrumental low. The adherence to self-defined ethical standards is high. When the specific variable of in this company, the employees are expected to do their job according to their personal belief of ethics is correlated against the variable of in this company, the employees can make decisions based on their personal judgment, a Pearson's Correlation Coefficient of.545, statistically significant at the.01 level of confidence. This supports the acceptance of the Null (H0) hypothesis. Arguably the greater the level of independence and instrumental low defined for respondents, the greater the level of personal ethical standards applied to decisions.

Hypothesis Six

The sixth hypothesis relates to the effects of an ethical climate of law and code relative to the level of ethics exemplified by Taiwanese ITPs' level of self-censuring and self-adherence to internal ethical standards. As is the case with hypotheses four and five, the effects of greater levels of independence and freedom foster Taiwanese ITPs' greater sense of ownership relative to ethical conduct, decision making, and definition of norms and values in their organization. The two hypotheses that are tested as a result are as follows:

H0: In the ethical climate of law and code, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is high.

H1: In the ethical climate of law and code, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is low.

Results of Testing Hypothesis Six

Earlier in this chapter the observation was made that males more than females have a higher level of compliance to formal authority in their organizations. Using both parametric and nonparametric correlation analysis was used in deciding whether to accept or reject the sixth hypothesis. Using the three variables specifically from the ECQ the level of law and code that contributes to ethics on the part of Taiwanese ITPs' was measured. From the correlation analysis of variables ECQQ19 (to obey the law and professional code is compulsory for the employees in this company), ECQQ20 (This company expects that employees must not violate the law whatever they do or in any decisions they make) and ECQQ21 (to fully follow the company policies and procedures is seen as the key element for a successful employee in this company), shows statistical significance between the two variables This company expects that employees must not violate the law whatever they do or in any decisions they make and to obey the law and professional code is compulsory for the employees in this company (correlation analysis of ECQQ19 and ECQQ20) generated a correlation coefficient of.594 at the.01 level of significant using a two-tailed test. This leads to the acceptance of the Null Hypothesis (H0) that when an ethical climate of law and code is in place the ethics of Taiwanese ITPs' is high. The Null Hypothesis is accepted as a result.

Hypothesis Seven

Taiwanese ITPs' ethical conduct based there being an ethical climate of rule is also evaluated in the research to ascertain how this aspect of Taiwanese ITPs' environments affects their level of business ethics. The hypotheses are defined as follows:

H0: In the ethical climate of rule, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is high.

H1: In the ethical climate of rule, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is low.

Results of Testing Hypothesis Seven

Very comparable to the sixth hypothesis, this hypothesis looks to measure the impact of a climate of rule on ethics of Taiwanese ITPs. The concept of the climate of rule, is very comparable to the ethical climate of law and code, yet difference variables for the ECQ are used in accepting or refuting the hypotheses. Using correlation analysis to identify the statistical significance of ECQQ22 (Not any employee can violate the firm's rules and policies) measured against ECQQ19 and ECQQ20, two variables that predict the level of climate and code, generates a Pearson correlation coefficient of (.226), significant at the.01 level of confidence using a two-tailed test. Based on the correlation analysis completed, the Null Hypothesis is accepted that in an ethical climate of rule, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is high. Another insight also emerges from the analysis that in general, the Taiwanese ITPs' level of compliance is very high in relative terms and also seen as a potential career strategy for getting ahead as evidenced by the high co relational value of ECQQ21, which is the variable from the ECQ that specifically measures the perception on the part of respondents that a potential career strategy is to be highly compliant to ethical guidelines.

Hypothesis Eight

From previous research completed its apparent that once ethical training has been completed, there is a correspondingly higher level of sensitivity and perception of ethical dilemmas and issues both inside and outside their organizations. The eight hypothesis focused on the impact of an ethical climate being caring is present. From the previous hypothesis testing that is related, it's clear that recent ethics training actually increases empathy and caring, in addition to a more discerning approach to ascertaining the best possible direction ethically for an individual to take. The two hypotheses to be tested are as follows:

H0: In the ethical climate of caring, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is low.

H1: In the ethical climate of caring, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is high.

Results of Testing Hypothesis Eight

From a correlation analysis of all twelve variables measured as part of the hypothetical story included in the questionnaire, the finding was mentioned earlier of those who have received ethics training being more tolerant of the differences in ethical behaviour, and also more likely to be caring and compassion, looking at the value of life over law on a very consistent basis. From the correlation analysis completed, it is clear that the respondent base feels that a legal exception should be made in order to save the Da Pao's son on the one hand, yet there is concern of what the illegal activity of having a black-market kidney transplant will have on ones' reputation. At the intersection of these variables is a correlation coefficient of.726, at the.01 level of confidence, using a two-tailed test. Given these results it appears that in an ethical climate of caring, business ethics levels are high. As a result the Null Hypothesis is rejected and the Alternative H1) is accepted.

In conclusion, the following hypotheses are accepted from an analysis of the survey results. Each of the accepted hypotheses is listed below:

Hypothesis One

H0: There are no differences in the business ethics level of ITP's in Taiwan with respect to different age levels.

Hypothesis Two

H0: There are no differences in the business ethics level of ITP's in Taiwan with respect to different genders.

Hypothesis Three

H0: There are no differences in the business level of ITP's in Taiwan whether they have completed ethics education or not.

Hypothesis Four

H0: In the ethical climate of independence, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is high. (Instrumental low)

Hypothesis Five

H0: In the ethical climate of independence, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is high.

Hypothesis Six

H0: In the ethical climate of law and code, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is high.

Hypothesis Seven

H0: In the ethical climate of rule, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is high.

Hypothesis Eight

H1: In the ethical climate of caring, the business ethics level of Taiwanese ITP's is high.

Summary

From an analysis of both the hypothetical liver transplant story and the thirteen variables that comprise the ECQ, each of the eight hypotheses have been tested and selected using t-tests of significance, correlations including Pearson's Correlation Coefficient, ANOVA and comparison of means. An overall assessment emerges of ethical decisions and behaviour on the part of Taiwanese ITPs' as being more focused on compliance as a career advancement strategy over fear of reprisals. The effects of ethics training also exhibit the effect in the respondent base of making them more questioning of the ethics of a given situation and also more caring overall; in other words ethics training brings a higher level of ambiguity tolerance into the evaluation of decisions and their ethical alternatives. Respondents also exhibit a high level of ownership relative to ethical decisions in their organizations the greater independence they have. The role of autonomy and the opportunity for Taiwanese ITP's to sense and take direct responsibility for their ethics is also emerges from the statistical analysis of the results.

Chapter 5: DISCUSSION

Study Design Based on Contemporary Literature

Ethics and their influence on the viability and performance of organizations globally has never been more critical, with international trade and commerce being highly visible in the recent series of scandals globally. The exponential growth of compliance initiatives including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) and many other specific compliance initiatives implemented by the U.S., European nations, Asia, and Australia all continue to underscore how critical compliance and its preventative strategy, enhanced ethics training, have become globally. With the intent of this study focusing on the ethics of Taiwanese ITP's and the results of surveys completed of this respondent base are discussed in this chapter. Based on the accumulated experiences of previous researchers who evaluated the demographic variables included in this study from an ethical standpoint, this study extends these previous researchers' efforts by evaluating their results in the context of Taiwanese ITP professionals. Further, this research design includes the Ethical Climate Questionnaire (ECQ) as the foundation for analysis and extrapolation of results to the broader Taiwanese ITP population. Researchers have also said there is a maturity effect present in professionals who progress from an ethical standpoint. In effect, contemporary research defines a formative maturity model of ethical decision making over time. This concept of an ethics maturity model is discussed in the context of findings within this chapter, as is the proposed development of a Proposed ITP Model of Trust. Researchers who have contributed to the body of knowledge regarding how professionals make ethical decisions have not fully explored the area of the quantification and continued growth and nurturing of trust over time as an incentive to adhere to consistently ethical behaviours. This aspect of quantifying trust and the development of the proposed ITP Model of Trust is recommended in this chapter based on the gap in research specifically of Taiwanese ITP's and their ability to gain and sustain trust. A limitation of the present study in fact is that lack of coverage specifically of the area of how the Taiwanese ITP's managers and co-workers see them from an ethical standpoint. This lack of a 360-degree view is a limitation, yet the construction of the basic model is derived from the results of the survey. A review of the key findings are next presented followed with a discussion of the proposed ITP Model of Trust.

Review of the Findings

What is immediately apparent from the data is that Taiwanese ITP's shows a very high level of compliance and conformity to ethics standards, and paradoxically this is even more the case when respondents have not gone through ethics training vs. those that have. Those respondents who have gone through ethics training in fact show a greater tolerance of the ambiguities of ethical decisions, not willing to pronounce an ethical decision as rapidly as those who had not been recently in ethics training. Underscoring these results are correlation analyses of the variables of ethics training to each of the variables in the hypothetical story example. There was no significant correlation of training to any of the factors measured in the hypothetical study, yet there was significant correlation between each of the items in the analysis itself. Most significant was the correlation between the variables of Will this surgery be understood and accepted by the public in view of the respect for life and humanity? By the value of Should the law make an exception to allow such surgery to be legal? When a Pearson's correlation coefficient was completed for the interrelationship of variables, the value.734 was attained at the.01 level of confidence using a two-tailed test. From the correlation matrix derived from the analysis of all variables associated with the hypothetical story, this was the most significant correlation coefficient generated from the analysis. It is important to note that this analysis also controlled for recent training and ethics, and also delivered no statistically significant findings on that specific controlling variable. In other words, ethical training may help to alleviate conflicts in making ethical decisions and also lead to more introspection and tolerance of the more unknown areas of the ethical decision making process. A limitation of this study is that it does not force a choice of ethical decisions based on immediate and material financial gain, which would have certainly driven a more divergent and potentially higher level of duality into the results.

While the variable specifically dedicated to measuring if ethical training had occurred or not, when correlation analyses were completed with the ethics training variable designed as a control variable, two interesting insights emerged. First, there was more of a questioning if the ethics of not allowing Da Pao to have the liver transplanted legally, and second, more of a concern on how the unethical activity would appear, either humanitarian or unethical. The first insight from this analysis is that those who have ethics training recently are more likely to question the laws and rules for why a given activity is unethical to begin with. This is evidenced by the Pearson Correlation coefficient of.547, significant at the.01 level of confidence using a two-tailed test of significance. The second significant insight is that ethics training does not deliver a necessarily more black-and-white world of right and wrong, compliance or non-compliance. Instead, ethics training actually promotes more independent thought of just what is ethical or not. This is certainly seen in the series of correlations completed of the questions pertaining to the hypothetical case study, controlling for ethics training. It is a reasonable statement then that ethics training does influence the decision making processes of Taiwanese ITP's, yet it does it in a completely different and counterintuitive way. It does not force a high level of compliance, create a reactionary response to ethical dilemmas, yet it does foster more independent thought and introspection of just what is ethical or not. Lastly, on this issue of ethics training, it is clear that training did make respondents more aware of the circumstances of not being ethical over the long-term. This is seen in the correlation matrices generated from the questions included in the hypothetical case study. Ethics training made respondents more aware of their own liability for unethical behaviour yet also reinforced the situational nature of ethics. Those that had not gone through ethics training continued to perceive ethics as much more of compliance-driven decisions, much more black -- and write, with less room for interpretation. The real benefit of ethics training across the sample of Taiwanese ITP's then is that they have become more independent thinkers with regard to defining in their own minds just what is ethical or not. It is debatable if this influence of training will avert scandals and lead to more intentional and far-reaching compliance initiatives put into place by these professionals ten and twenty years into the future as they assume senior positions. Defining responses to only one hypothetical situation is a very limited viewpoint from which to extrapolate the effectiveness of ethics learning and ethics decision making for the Taiwanese ITP's. To be more complete more scenarios must be included in subsequent analysis. This limitation is discussed later in this chapter as more monetary-driven scenarios are required and more anonymity of respondents must also be assured to get more candid responses to questions that would concentrate on the amounts of funds any given Taiwanese ITP would be tempted to do something unethical for, a serious limitation of the current study is that it does not provide boundaries of ethical activity; it presupposed a very high level of compliance as a result of the use of just two measurement instruments, the hypothetical story and the ECQ.

In testing for each of the hypotheses, another insight emerged from the data alluding to how Taiwanese ITPs view ethics as a means for upward mobility in their careers. Additional research is specifically needed to ascertain if this was due to not getting into trouble or having an exemplary reputation. That aspect of the research is needed in future studies. Yet the data from this series of respondents shows a concern on the part of respondents of being overtly ethical and inf act being known for being ethical to advance ones' career in an organization. The variable of interest in this analysis is ECQQ21 (to fully follow the company policies and procedures is seen as the key element for a successful employee in this company) produces insights into how positioning oneself against unethical activity is a viable career strategy. From an analysis of the results specifically on variable ECQQ21 it is not possible to show that Taiwanese ITP's see ethics as a foundation for future career growth by means of a personal career strategy of differentiating themselves from the many scandals and innuendoes that have led to global compliance initiatives. Analyzing adherence to ethics as a career strategy for Taiwanese ITP's also illustrates other key findings from the surveys' results. Inherent in working to attain the highest possible level of an ethical reputation there is also the issue of trust, and its quantification as part of an ethical decision making framework. This is another limitation of this study yet needs to be addressed in subsequent research. The implication of why any Taiwanese ITP would concentrate heavily on ethics as a career strategy also speaks to the issue of trust. In order to gain greater insights into the aspects of how high ethical behaviour is viewed as a career strategy the following analysis was also completed.

Additional cross tabulations were completed of ECQQ21 to relevant variables to gain sights into how Taiwanese ITP's are using ethics as a career advancement strategy. What is immediately apparent is that men (25.1%) agree more than women (17.7%) that following company policies and procedures and by implication, gaining a reputation for a very high level of ethics is viewed as much more relevant to men as women. The following cross-tabulation table illustrates this point:

The level of compliance is quite high for men relative to women, and this finding pervades much of the other aspects of this research study as well. This is an area of future research that also needed to be addressed; this does not connote women see ethics as less important, it may be very well that their careers in a given organization as not as critical to them as a career in the industry. The differences on demographics alone however are significant.

One of the most insightful analyses with regard to the perception that high levels of compliance to company policies and procedures and resulting reputation for ethics is seen when compared to the attitudinal variable from the hypothetical story that states Based on mutual interests, could this surgery be performed if Da Pao would pay any cost? What is surprising is how polarized the results are from the respondent population shown in the following cross-tabulation of the variable ECQQ21 to the variable Story1Q3 (state above). Note that even those who don't necessarily agree with the concept of high levels of compliance to company polices and procedures do not agree with an activity that could be argued to be ethical (the performance of a liver transplant to save his son's life). Notice also that over 50% of the respondents disagree and strongly disagree with the statement of variable Story1Q3. This points to the need for specifically having a much greater level of ethical boundary testing within the analysis to have a more realistic assessment of how Taiwanese ITP's make ethical decisions.

As has been alluded to in earlier sections of this paper, the greater the level of ethics training, the more the tolerance for ambiguity and the greater the level of questioning of what actions are inherently ethical or not, which need to be questioned to become more in alignment with ethical activity, and the development of entirely new boundaries of ethics. This dynamic is illustrated in the following cross tabulation analysis shown in the following graphic. When those respondents who see compliance to policies and procedures as an opportunity to position themselves as ethical are compared with the question from the hypothetical case study if the law should make an exception for the liver transplant for the main's dying son, over 38% agree (both Strongly Agree and Agree categories for ECQQ21 compared to the same categories for variable Story1Q3.

This validates the finding that those Taiwanese ITP's who have ethics experience and see the inherent value of ethics as a career differentiator also realize that laws and regulations may need to be changed over time in order to attain a more accurate and valid definition of just what ethical decision making is over time. This also illustrates that ethics are far from being black-and-white, and more of a reasoning and thought framework used to define entirely new ethical decision making processes.

In summary on the issue of ethics being a differentiating strategy for career growth the majority of male Taiwanese ITP's see this as a viable strategy for gaining visibility and potentially gaining a higher position in their organizations. This career strategy became apparent in the testing of hypotheses, and was further validated through a series of correlation and cross tabulations completed. The divergence of women vs. men seeing compliance to company policies and procedures and the further pursuit of a reputation for a high degree of ethics however is not fully defined as a pre-emptive or defensive career strategy. With so many scandals and the high level of compliance in corporations who are traded on any U.S. stock exchange, the requirements for Sarbanes-Oxley reporting are onerous and labor-intensive. The impact of compliance on the career decisions of Taiwanese ITP's in light of how closely monitored many logistics and trading professionals are today is an area of future research that needs to be completed. The conclusion can be drawn however that ethics as a career differentiator is considered highly potent by Taiwanese ITP's and is pursued even when the decisions surrounding ethics are not as intuitively obvious to resolve.

Another aspect of decision making as it relates to ethics is the role of independence and autonomy fostering a higher level of ethical decision making and behaviour. Clearly from the analysis of results, the greater the level of independence in an organization, the greater the level of ethical ownership of making ethical decisions and fostering ethical behaviour, leading to a higher level of overall ethics by Taiwanese ITP. In support of the hypothesis that discusses this point, when the variables of in this company, the employees are expected to do their job according to their personal belief of ethics is correlated against the variable of in this company, the employees can make decisions based on their personal judgment, a Pearson's Correlation Coefficient of.545 is calculated at the.01 level of confidence. The role of autonomy then plays a significant role in the internalizing of ethics standards. When autonomy is combined with the attribute of seeing ethics as a differentiator, then compared with how much perceived freedom there is in a job to enforce ones' own ethical standards, the results are significant. The following table quantifies this dynamics of these variables' relationships to each other.

The majority of respondents who see compliance to company policies and procedures as critical to their career success, when compared to the level of personal freedom in enforcing ones' own ethical standards on a job, 66.7% of respondents Strongly Agree and Agree with the statement. Clearly autonomy and independence are catalysts for higher levels of internalized standards of ethical performance. The internalization of ethical standards further is supported by the perception that the higher the level of compliance, the greater the reputation (whether this is to avoid risk or accentuate alignment to strategic objectives needs further research to ascertain) and therefore the greater the motivation to again internalize ethical standards. This is precisely how organizations become exceptional performers in their industries; these processes become self-perpetuating and fuel continual improvement in ethics and the further internalization of ethics standards. The Taiwanese ITPs look for the structure of their organizations and the adherence to policies and procedures as process definition points for compliance and ethics, yet also look for agile organizational structures that allow for Taiwanese ITP's to internalize ethics standards as opposed to having both managerial controls and more hierarchical organizational structures enforce ethical standards that may actually never be adopted.

Taking this analysis a step further, cross tabulating the variable in this company, employees can make decisions based on their own judgement by the variable, in this company personal ethics and personal judgement are primary concerns generates a Pearson's correlation coefficient of.683, significant at the.01 level of confidence, between each of these variables that further underscores the argument that the greater the level of independence in setting ethics standards the higher the level of ethics standards set over time for Taiwanese ITP's.

Implicit in the ownership of ethical standards by the Taiwanese ITP's is use of ethical decision frameworks to earn and retain trust over time. The analysis of the survey implies that over time Taiwanese ITPs will need to gain trust both internal to their own organizations and externally to both advance their careers and do their job more effectively as well.

The interaction of organizational norms and individual ethical norms require consistency, as is evidenced by the research cited in this section. Further, there is the need for making ethical decisions accountable to the velocity of transactions, an effect of higher ethics and therefore higher trust between trading partners. Fluidity of ethical communications is also critical.

Proposed ITP Model of Trust

The foundation of the proposed ITP Model of Trust is predicated on the assumption that when there is a high level of shared ethics between both associates and trading partners, there is a higher level of transaction velocity occurs. That is one of the core fundamental concepts of the model, and is driven by the ability of Taiwanese ITPs' to create and sustain trust through consistency of ethical standards, the model also captures the role of ethics as an enabler of greater levels of external communication and transaction speed between organizations as well. The initial research completed for this study has specifically touched on this aspect of the proposed model and more research is necessary to further validate and define the constructs of the model. Yet, the relationships across these components are theoretically sound and supported by the empirical research completed on this initial study.

In summarizing the results the dynamics of how ethics are internalized by Taiwanese ITPs' has the most practical relevance in assisting organizations to create and sustain high levels of ethical standards. The effects of a high level of independence for Taiwanese ITPs' organizations and the likelihood of ethical standards being internalized has been empirically proven throughout this analysis. The increasing focus on compliance to company policies and procedures and visible ethics decision making is seen as a career strategy for mostly the male Taiwanese ITPs who participated in the study. It is beyond the scope of this study however to determine if this is specifically related to the fear of appearing not in compliance, or the potential of gaining additional responsibilit8ies by appearing to be overtly ethical and in compliance with company policies and procedures. In any case the strategy for advancement on the part of Taiwanese ITPs connotes a high level of ethical conduct as a means to get noticed and, it is perceived, eventually promoted in ones career as a Taiwanese ITP.

Empirically there is strong evidence to support that the greater the level of independence in an organization the greater the propensity of Taiwanese ITPs to internalize their own standards of ethics and continually work to refine and grow them over time. The interaction of these variables was not possible given the research design, yet the need for a longitudinal study to evaluate the overall effects of organizational structure and culture on ethics internalization and enhanced decision making appears needed after the empirical results of this analysis have been completed.

Limitations

Many more variables could specifically have been included in this analysis, including the aspects of compensation, annual reviews, and the implications of group norms and values and situational ethics as well. The following are limitations of this study.

First, there is a scarcity of data on other aspects of the respondents' demographics, including their relative levels of education, experience, how many firms they have worked with, and if their positions required employment screening in the form of polygraph or background checks. Without knowing this data, the sampling frame of the study may not be truly representative of all Taiwanese ITPs.

Second, despite the use of hypothetical stories and the thirteen questions that comprise the ECQ, there is still a major gap in psychographics as they relate to how each respondent views themselves. For this study to be capable of having strategies based upon it, additional psychographic variables must be added to give respondents an opportunity to define which groups they are members of. Without knowing how respondents define themselves, the study provides insights into how ethics are defined, yet does not specifically address the issue of how to manage programs to gain greater levels of ethical clarity and decision making.

Third, given that this study only included one hypothetical exercise of the ethics a liver transplant, it arguably needs more scenarios to fully test the ethical decision making and values of respondents. While respondents in the existing data set show a very high level of compliance and a sense of internalized ethics, additional scenarios and studies would specifically show how these could be used to extrapolate results across the broader population of Taiwanese ITPs. There needs to be a more global overview of all the specific potential scenarios that can measure how Taiwanese ITP's evaluate their ethical decisions.

Fourth, there is a complete lack of scenarios involving financial transactions and the inherent greed people have for quick, even if it is unethical gain. The results of the existing study show that those respondents have a tendency to be more introspective and less knee-jerk in their reactions to ethical dilemmas after they have training, while those without training recently are apt to reach quick judgements. Ethics training shows respondents to consider all aspects more effectively. Relating this to more scenarios that involve unethical opportunities for financial gain, the scenarios would most likely lead to a much greater galvanizing of responses from those who have gone through ethics training and those than have not.

Fifth, there is inherent sampling error in this study as those who see themselves as the most ethical will be quick to respond, yet those that are not as ethical in their own opinion may not report as rapidly. The lack of researcher anonymity and lack of purpose could also lead to respondents overstating their responses to appear more ethical than they are, and to also please the researchers with their responses. Additional iterations of surveys would be needed to minimize the potential for this error.

Sixth, it's clear there is a connection between the level of autonomy respondents sense and their willingness to increase their level of ethical conduct. Measuring this specific aspect of ethical decision making needs to be included in future studies as well, and would no doubt increase the level of understanding specifically of this area of ethical decision making.

Seventh, the lack of measurements of global compliance standards' impact on Taiwanese ITP ethics needs to also kept in mind, as globalization and the impact of compliance initiatives from the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia are impacting the Taiwanese ITP's daily tasks and responsibility. The impact of global compliance strategies is a limitation that needs to be acknowledged and planned for inclusion in future studies.

Eighth, there is no indication in the existing study regarding the process- or task-centric approach that Taiwanese ITP's take in completing their jobs, and further, how these processes could potentially influence their perceptions of ethical decisions. A more process-centric approach to defining the overall roles, responsibilities and ethical dilemmas of the Taiwanese ITP's is necessary to have a complete overview of the entire process by which they make ethical decisions.

Ninth, another limitation of this study is the lack of longitudinal data to correlation with and ensures that the entire project is on a dominant research direction vs. defining a tangent. The lack of psychographic data, lack of financial scenarios, and lack of more accentuated approaches to understanding how ethics get challenged when there is potential for immediate gain all need further analysis and work. The current scenario included in the questionnaire and the use of the ECQ only partially defines the extent of the ethical level of decision making today.

Tenth, the study fails to adequately define the boundaries of ethics for Taiwanese ITP's. The initial results in fact seem to imply that the respondents are highly compliance-minded, see ethical behaviour as a strategy for furthering their careers, and also see ethical questions as much less well defined after ethics training. What's missing from this analysis however is the fact that respondents may have a series of unethical activities with regard to the use of company time, the temptation for quick financial gain through unethical means, or the ability to gain favours from suppliers. In short all the areas that encompass their positions and could lead to the development of unethical decisions and behaviour are not included in this study.

Eleventh, the lack of a quantification of trust with regard to the Taiwanese ITP's self-rating relative to their supervisor's ratings would be fascinating to look at and see if the differences were significant. The self-rating scores of respondents show exceptionally high levels of compliance and also show a decidedly politically correct response to questions showing ethics as a path to career growth. Yet this needs to be countered with a quantification of trust metric, an index of trust that would combine both their supervisors' rating with their own. This variance could tell much about how ethics are situationally relevant to Taiwanese ITP's and is truly being relied on as much as a career strategy as the initial results indicate. Quantifying trust and getting a 360 degree view of it relative to ethics could provide valuable insights into why people at times do unethical things.

Twelfth, the proposed ITP Ethics Model needs to be validated and refined through a series of additional tests and analyses, including additional research studies and programs. The proposed model is based on the contributory effects of both the hypothetical story defined in the questionnaire in addition to the results of the ECQ, yet the model must be validated for ongoing use.

There is also the urgent need to validate the Proposed ITP Model of Trust both from an internal organizational perspective as it relates to structure and culture contributing to a higher level of ethics internalization on the part of Taiwanese ITPs on the one hand, and the empirical testing and validation of how internalized ethics have an effect on transaction and communications velocities outside an organization. This measure of the impact of internalized ethics would also help to explain how the transactions that Taiwanese ITPs are involved in on a daily basis are actually made more efficient due to their ethics standards being set higher.

In summary, all these limitations make the existing research study foundational to a series of further research efforts which will be defined in the Future Research area of this chapter. The lack of longitudinal data and also scenario-based research to ascertain just when a Taiwanese ITP would specifically consider unethical behaviour has not yet been tested. The study shows how ethics are transferred well in well-managed organizations that have a high level of independence; it does not show how to counter potentially unethical behaviour. Only by attacking those issues can this study ascertain the level of strategies and deterrents necessary to alleviate a future financial disaster like Enron, Tyco and others.

Educational Implications

There are many educational implications from this initial research, beginning with the foundation of how organizations with high levels of independence coupled with structures and cultures that promote the internalizing of ethics, and the role of Taiwanese ITPs in defining their own ethical boundaries as well. In addition, the educational implications of this research center on the use of ethical decision making combined with compliance as effective strategies for career advanced in Taiwanese ITP roles. Interlinking internalized ethics and trust is also critical from this research, and the validation of the proposed ITP Model of Trust is also critical. The educational implications of this research also illustrate that ethical training does not in fact create contrasts in ethical interpretations, it blurs them. The greater the ethical training the greater the tolerance for ambiguity and the greater the questioning of current ethical standards in light of future ones. This is actually a very positive sign in that it shows how critical the need is for continuing to monitor how Taiwanese ITPs re-define and add to their ethical value set.