We asked the following research
questions:
and people may progress at different
paces. Third, people may prioritize a
certain ethical framework (for example,
the Ethics of Justice or the Ethics of
Care frameworks). Fourth, closeness to
key people in a situation matters, and
information has an impact on closeness.
The more information people receive, the
more likely they are to feel close — and
care.
At this point, we wondered, does
personality matter? After all, some people
are more naturally caring and attuned
to others’ feelings. Some prioritize
relationships at work; others are more
task oriented. Reasonably, therefore,
personality traits could relate both to the
ability to experience empathy and to a
person’s likelihood of selecting either care
or justice when making ethical decisions.
One personality trait —
accommodation — could be particularly
relevant. This trait can be described as
the tendency to be compassionate and
cooperative. Those who score high in
accommodating (called Adapters) often
value social harmony and are motivated
Methodology and Findings
The main purpose of our study was
to explore the relationship between
personality (specifically, accommodation)
and the decision to report an ethical
violation under three conditions of
closeness. A secondary purpose was to
investigate the impact of closeness and a
preferred ethical framework (Justice or
Care) on moral decisions. We adopted a
survey designed by Tim Kozitza (2012),
which includes three ethical dilemma
scenarios and questions measuring a
person’s preference for the Ethics of
Care or the Ethics of Justice. We also
included personality questions measuring
accommodation and its four sub-traits
from the Workplace Big Five Profile 4.0,
a robust personality assessment designed
for workplace applications (Howard &
Howard, 2011).
We were particularly interested in
HR professionals for two reasons. First,
HR managers often are expected to be
impartial and objective. Second, HR
professionals are asked to help promote
organizational ethics. For instance, here is
Table 1. Summary of Accommodation Sub-Traits
SUB-TRAIT
DEFINITION
Others’ Needs
How readily people inconvenience themselves for others
Agreement
Preference for harmony; a person’s level of comfort in
disagreeing with others’ viewpoints
Humility
The desire for recognition and praise
Reserve
A person’s level of comfort in sharing thoughts and opinions
by service to others. On the other hand,
low scorers (called Challengers) are
often more focused on their own needs
and goals. Challengers may also be less
likely to conform to rules or policies —
unless the rules are of their own making!
Interestingly, leaders in the United States
are typically Challengers (Howard &
Howard, 2011).
For the purposes of this study, we
explored accommodation and its four
sub-traits: others’ needs, agreement,
humility and reserve. (See Table 1 for the
definition of each sub-trait.)
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2014: Volume I
an excerpt from the first paragraph of the
SHRM Code of Ethics (www.shrm.org):
“As HR professionals, we are responsible
for adding value to the organizations
we serve and contributing to the ethical
success of those organizations.”
1. Does accommodation have an impact
on a person’s decision to report an
ethical violation?
2. Does closeness have an impact on a
person’s decision to report an ethical
violation?
3. Does the strength of the person’s
tendency toward the Ethics