Improving Ethical Decision-Making in Organizations through Ethical Competencies

This research conceptualizes ethical competencies as a factor that can help to improve the understanding of ethical decision-making process in organizations. The authors discuss some limitations of existing models that describe the components of the ethical decision-making process as well as the main factors influencing on it. To overcoming these limitations, the authors propose the concept of ethical competencies as the set of knowledge, skills, and abilities acquired by experience which facilitates the engagement in ethical behaviours that produce an excellent performance in a specific job. The paper theoretically addresses how ethical competencies can influence each component of the ethical decision making process. In addition, the benefits of ethical behaviour for both individuals and organizations are discussed. Finally, some interesting managerial implications are also addressed.