Definition of Key Terms:
| Ethics: | An intellectual challenge to understand morality, that is, to discuss it helpfully, sort out and arrange presuppositions and procedures to arrive at conclusions to moral questions and issues; ethics is about theories and principles that drive and defend moral choices (Burtness, 1999). |
| Morality: | Encompasses experience and practice, more specifically, the character and conduct of individuals, groups of individuals, and the organizations in actual life situations and how individuals behave in what is determined to be moral matters (Hanssen, 2000; Thiroux, 2001). |
| Business Ethics: | The application of general ethical principles to resolve moral issues, dilemmas and problems that arise in the realm of the business community (Snodgrass, 1993). |
| Business Illegality: | Comprehends all actions committed by any individual or group of individuals within an organizational setting that violates an administrative, civil or criminal law and the organization is perceived as being the principle beneficiary (McKendall & Wagner, 1997). |
| Moral Reasoning: | Deals with the considerations that are contemplated when individuals are making a moral decision. These considerations include the nature of the prioritizing and the integration of principles (Rest, 1979). |
| Ethical Climate: | Represents shared perceptions of individuals, a group of individuals, or an organization as it relates to ethically correct behavior and the methodology of resolving ethical issues (Victor & Cullen, 1987). Its focus is on perceptions rather than on evaluating what is right or wrong (Smith, Grojean, & Ehrhart, 2001). |
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