Ethics management: how to achieve ethical organizations and management?

Abstract

The last decades´ serious organizational scandals stemming mainly from corruption, conflicts of interest, bribery, and favoritism have accentuated the need for finding methods and tools to achieve more ethical organizational behavior and management. Ethical management is especially important in the public sector because of its responsibility to work for common good and increases citizens´ wellbeing by providing effective and responsible services. As such services are financed by public resources, it is essential that they are managed in ethical way. Only accountable management striving for integrity by applying ethical methods is acceptable. Even though there has been increasing research on ethics management, the scandals indicate a knowledge gap as for tools to be applied for gaining more ethical organizational behavior. Consequently, this paper aims at reviewing methods and tools that may facilitate more ethical organizational behavior and management. The paper adds knowledge in the fields of management and organization, ethics, and public management.