Drawing on the core values of western civilization, the author refines the counterparts in Chinese civilization, summarized as four core principles: duty before freedom, obedience before rights, community before individual, and harmony before conflict. Focusing on guoxue or Sinology as the basis of his approach, the author provides detailed explanations of traditional Chinese values. Recent scholars have addressed the concept of guoxue since the modern age, sorting through it and piecing it together, which has produced an (...) extremely abundant range of information. However, given that the concepts and theories involved have been left largely unanalyzed, this book develops a theoretical treatment of them in several important respects. First, it analyzes the mindset of guoxue, examining the dominant ideas and values of the era from which the term "guoxue" arose, focusing on its connection to early changes and trends in society and culture, and distinguishing three key phases of development. Past scholars mainly had in mind the range of objects studied in guoxue when defining it, and what this book underscores is the meaning of guoxue as a modern body of research. Secondly, it assesses several phases in the modern evolution of the body of guoxue research from the beginning to the end of the 20th century, id est, ending with the later phase of the National Heritage movement. Third and lastly, the book explores the various main modes of modern guoxue, which correspond step by step with the evolutionary phases of guoxue research. (shrink)

The research presented in this article aims to contribute both quantitatively and qualitatively to the discussion on family versus non-family businesses' differences in ethical core values, culture and ethical climate. The purpose of our article is to better understand the association between the degree of involvement of a family in an enterprise and its influence on the enterprise's core values, culture and ethical climate as the constitutional elements of enterprise ethical behaviour. The research indicates that family (...) as well as non-family enterprises maintain positive attitudes towards the core values with ethical content. Regarding the type and strength of culture as well as the type of ethical climate, our research results indicate significant differences between family and non-family enterprises. (shrink)

Innovation has been widely regarded as a powerful tool for stimulating economic growth and changing the quality of human life since the beginning of time. Innovation will continue to remain a key driving force for sustainability and growth in the current economic global slowdown. At present there are hardly any studies that show why innovation is successful at some organizations, and yet fails to achieve the desired results at others. The authors investigate the role of “core values and (...) beliefs” of leading innovative companies in India and abroad on how they go about building a unique innovation culture which ensures their continuous growth even in troubled times. (shrink)

This study is an extension of our recent ethics research in direct marketing and information technology. In this study, we investigated the relationships among core organizational values, organizational ethics, corporate social responsibility, and organizational performance outcome. Our analysis of online survey responses from a sample of IT professionals in the United States indicated that managers from organizations with organic core values reported a higher level of social responsibility relative to managers in organizations with mechanistic values; (...) that managers in both mechanistic and organic organizations which were perceived as more socially responsible were also perceived as more ethical; and that perceived ethical attitudes and social responsibility were significantly associated with organizational performance outcome measures. Our article discusses research premises, conceptual framework, hypotheses, research methodology, data analysis, recommendations for further research, and conclusions. (shrink)

A new Clinical Ethics Advisory Group was created to contribute to NHS Trust policies and guidelines in response to ethical issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. An ethical analysis framework used in medical education, the CoRE-Values Compass and Grid, was adapted to form a step-wise ‘ABC’ decision-making process. CEAG members found the framework simple to understand and use and the model facilitated time-efficient decisions that were explicitly justifiable on moral, ethical, professional and legal grounds. The adapted CoRE- (...) class='Hi'>Values framework might help facilitate decision-making processes for similar new clinical ethics advisory or support committees. (shrink)

The hypothetical social contract between a profession and society exchanges the privilege of self-regulation for the profession's promise to regulate itself in the public interest. When it no longer appears that the profession is exercising its privilege responsibility, there will be pressure to reform the regulation of the market for legal services, for example by allowing non-lawyers to provide legal services, or permitting lawyers to practice in partnerships with non-lawyers. So far the American profession has been relatively successful at resisting (...) reform, and the American Bar Association's Ethics 20/20 Commission wrapped up its business by proposing only a few minor, technical changes to the rules of professional conduct. One way the profession has fended off attempts to enact more comprehensive reforms is by appealing to professional core values. This article presents several claims about professional core values and reform of professional regulation. First, the American profession has not been particularly rigorous in defining a set of core values that appeal to the interests of clients or the public interest and are not merely a rearguard attempt by the profession to protect its monopoly. Second, and related, professional core values are plural in nature and vary in application considerably according to the context. Third, there is no reason that reforms cannot be considered that better serve interests such as access to justice while also respecting core values. Fourth, regulatory form is rather far down the list of threats to professional core values, after forces such as the increasing power of in-house counsel. The conclusion is not that there is no such thing as core values, but that if the profession continues to appeal to them as a rhetorical makeweight, it may find itself overwhelmed by pressures for reform. (shrink)

This article represents the outcome of a dialogue between a vet and a healthcare ethicist on the theme of ‘love’ in professional life. We focus on four types or varieties of love in relation to the professional care of humans and animals. We discuss the relevance of Fromm’s core elements of love and consider the implications of these for human and animal health care practice. We present and respond to five arguments that might be waged against embracing love as (...) a professional value in veterinary and medical practice. We argue that a moderated love can and should be reclaimed as a contemporary professional value. It is most helpfully contextualised within virtue ethics or care ethics. We suggest that love is a rich starting point from which to launch an exploration of an interprofessional humanimal clinical ethics. (shrink)

On American Freedom critiques the value of freedom as it is now manifest in America's political, economic, and cultural life in light of a more robust value of freedom coordinated around human dignity and civic participation. Drawing from historic sources as diverse as James Madison, Adam Smith, and Catherine Beecher - as well as from contemporary sources like George W. Bush and Bob Dylan - the book paints a bleak picture of this most cherished American value. At the same time, (...) On American Freedom outlines a reform initiative that will secure a more preferred value of freedom by simply by reconfiguring the federal system to include reorganized and empowered city-states capable of serving as sites for a fuller form of freedom than Americans now enjoy. (shrink)

The role of values in organizations has been a highly researched topic (Collins in Good to Great, HarperCollins, New York, 2001; Collins and Porras in Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, HarperCollins, New York, 1997; Frederick and Weber 1990; Kouzes and Posner, The Leadership Challenge, 4th ed, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2007; Pattison et al. Emerging Value in Health Care: The Challenges for Professionals, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Philadelphia, 2010). However, little research has focused on values in health (...) care settings. In addition, the research that has been done has focused on values from an organizational perspective, not from an individual perspective. Based on these two factors, in addition to the maturation and growth of the hospice industry and the researcher’s prior studies on hospice leadership and organizational practices, a research study was conducted to evaluate the core values of hospice professionals. Another key driver of the research was the expressed difference identified by leaders within the hospice industry that values of individuals new to hospice were different than those who have worked in the industry longer. A web-based survey was utilized to gather core values and demographic data from hospice professionals. Data were collected over a one-year period and involved 531 hospice professionals from 33 states. The demographic information collected was similar to comparative data from previous hospice studies. The top three core values identified in the study were family, faith, and love, and represented 76 % of all responses. No statistically significant identifiable differences, based on demographic variables, were found. Based on the findings, no support was found for the perceived differences noted by leaders working in the hospice industry. However, it identified that hospice professionals regardless of demographic characteristics appear to hold similar values as being important. Based on the findings, core values appear to be an area of commonality versus difference among hospice professionals and could serve as a focal point for building a positive organizational culture. Further research is suggested to evaluate the unique meaning of the key values identified by hospice professionals in the study. In addition, replication of the study in other health care settings would be encouraged. (shrink)

A large number of Swedish public authorities produce ‘platform of values’ texts that present core values. This article presents a study of how such texts and practices, including the core values they revolve around, are legitimized. Using Van Leeuwen’s legitimation framework, three different data sets are analysed: 47 ‘platform of values’ texts, a focus group discussion with seven senior HR officers, and a quantitative questionnaire study answered by civil servants at three public authorities. The (...) analysis shows how the existence of ‘platform of values’ texts and practices is legitimized through rationalizations, above all by describing the texts as concrete means for reaching specific ends and, with regard to the choice of core values, through a custom-conformity type of authority. Thus, this article addresses discursive transformations of contemporary organizations with a particular focus on available discursive space for critical thinking in the wake of New Public Management and related developments. (shrink)

Understanding the individual-level factors associated with sustainable behaviour in the workplace is important to advance corporate ethics and sustainability efforts. In two studies, we simultaneously assess the role of core values and personality traits in relation to a broad set of sustainability actions, both beneficial and harmful. Results from a student sample and then a national sample confirm that values and personality are distinct constructs that incrementally and differentially predict economic, social, and environmental outcomes. We successfully replicate (...) previous findings pertaining to values and find that, controlling for values, the personality dimension of Honesty–Humility is the strongest negative predictor of harmful actions. Our analyses highlight the unique characteristics of values and personality and their distinct implications for ethical and sustainable management practice. By assessing values and personality together, we also contribute to more general efforts within psychology to develop an integrative view of the person. (shrink)

Evolutionary psychology (EP) theorizes that contemporary women and men differ psychologically, particularly in mating and sexuality. It is further argued that EP research on gender-specific psychological differences is compatible with feminist perspectives. This paper analyzes if integrating EP scholarship on gender differences into feminist scholarship is possible by investigating EP’s core scientific commitments. I will argue that EP’s theories, hypotheses, and empirical findings that pertain to the study of gender do not align with its core values based (...) on Longino’s feminist theoretical virtues as outlined in the 1996 article “Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Values in Science: Rethinking the Dichotomy.” I employ feminist theoretical virtues as tools for revealing how certain theories, models, and hypotheses rely upon, promote contentious norms, and suppress gender. I will defend the thesis that EP theories, hypotheses, and empirical findings are often empirically inadequate, androcentric, and ontologically too homogeneous. Further, EP employs single-factor control models, has no straightforward practical application, and might even be politically dangerous. These characteristics challenge a successful integration of EP into feminism. (shrink)

We examine how corporate bribery is impacted by cultural distance between multinational enterprises home and host countries, and organizational distance to core values between MNE entry modes and MNE headquarters. Tension between external and internal legitimacy helps to explain why cultural and organizational distances will affect MNE bribery. The empirical analysis used data from cross-border transactions by MNEs that were sanctioned by US regulatory officials between 1978 and 2011. We find statistical support for all hypotheses capturing main and (...) moderating effects and suggest that MNEs may be seriously risking their legitimacies from transactions in corruption-prone host countries. (shrink)

One side of this paper is devoted to showing that the Golden Rule, understood as standing for universal love, is centrally characteristic of Confucianism properly understood, rather than graded, familial love. In this respect Confucianism and Christianity are similar. The other side of this paper is devoted to arguing contra 18 centuries of commentators that the negative sentential formulation of the Golden Rule as found in Confucius cannot be converted to an affirmative sentential formulation (as is found in Christianity) without (...) a change in its meaning. In this respect Confucianism and Christianity are different. (shrink)

When formulating a policy related to food in a heterogeneous context within a nation or between nations, oppositional positions are more or less explicit, but always have to be overcome. It is interesting to note, though, that such elements as culture and religion have seldom been the focus in discussions about methods of decision-making in food policy. To handle discrepancies between oppositional positions, one solution is to narrow differences between partners, another to accept one partner or position as dominant. In (...) a solid and lasting policy, any of these options has to be agreed upon by all the partners involved. In this article, I argue that context sensitivity and a shared picture of the situation are necessary bases for a solid food policy. Two methods for policy discussion are elaborated on and religious slaughter is given as an example of a heterogeneous setting with strongly diverging ideals. Several aspects have to be respected from the outset, such as culture, religion, and value systems. This condition is partly met in a model of informed consent and in a consensus model. The informed consent model is regarded as insufficient, because it lacks both methods of dealing with hierarchies and the goal of finding a shared and nuanced picture of the situation. A consensus model meets these tasks but might on the other hand, among other things, be too difficult to follow and to administer. For both models, some difficulties with justification of decisions arise. Five essential elements emanating from a combination of these models are suggested as a basis for a decision process regarding food policies: respect for each discussion partner, context sensitivity, respect for arguments including emotions, a shared picture of the situation, and finally relating theory and practice. (shrink)

Abstract:The mission and value statements of healthcare organizations serve as the foundational philosophy that informs all aspects of the organization. The ultimate goal is seamless alignment of values to mission in a way that colors the overall life and culture of the organization. However, full alignment between healthcare organizational values and mission in a fashion that influences the daily life and culture of healthcare organizations does not always occur. Grounded in the belief that a lack of organizational alignment (...) to explicit organizational mission and value statements often stems from the failure to develop processes that enable realization of the leadership’s good intentions, the authors propose an organizational ethics dashboard to empower leaders of healthcare organizations to assess the adequacy of systems in place to support alignment with the stated ethical mission. (shrink)

This article explores the nature of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate reputation using qualitative research approach. Specifically, the relationship between CSR and corporate reputation is examined from the viewpoint of value theory. This paper brings up for discussion the various value priorities lying in the background of CSR actions. The aim is to form categories of value priorities around CSR and reputation, based on qualitative research approach. The main concepts in this paper – CSR, reputation and value – are (...) also defined. This paper further discusses the theory of value structure and content, which identifies certain principal values among different cultures. The data consist of eight interviews with employees of a newspaper company. The results suggest that value priorities play an influential role in CSR actions, influencing to the essence of certain reputation stories in the corporate context. (shrink)

This essay intends to build an analytical tool for understanding social values. It proceeds by defining the term ‘social value’, differentiating ‘core’ and ‘non-core’ social values and discussing their respective functions in society. Then, it extracts from social values a seven-tier system of core social values, built on seven basic social relationships: self–other, man–nature, individual–community, community–society, people–government, people–(state) nation, and (state) nation–world system. The corresponding views of right and wrong on these types of (...) relationships are ‘core values’ and concern perceptions of morality, nature, groups, society, politics, nation, and the world. The very core of the construct is the universal morality of human beings, and the outermost tier is the perception of world affairs. In a further section, the functional connection between the tiers is explored, to show how a core value system collapses. Lastly, the author presents a rudimentary idea of how a core social value system might be built or rebuilt. (shrink)

The longitudinal research presented here is unique, having examined a model of stability and change in work values of the same people over the course of time. The purpose was to reflect the changes in work values that occurred in Israel during this period. The research focused on three domains: work goals, job satisfaction, and work centrality. Following an analysis of research literature, a model of work values was examined by the LISREL method. Instrumental and expressive goals (...) effected work centrality both directly and indirectly. While in 1981 only the positive effect of expressive goals on work centrality was significant, the 1993 analysis revealed that beyond the positive effect of expressive goals, there is also significant negative effect of instrumental goals on work centrality. Our research shows that the main changes occurred in peripheral values as compared with the stability of core values. Slight changes occurred in semi-peripheral values. (shrink)

Background:The perceptions of core professional nursing values of men in baccalaureate nursing programs are poorly understood.Objective:The study purpose was to understand and interpret the meaning of core professional nursing values to male baccalaureate nursing students.Research design and context:One-to-one interviews were conducted with male nursing students from a public university in the Midwest, following interpretive phenomenology.Ethical considerations:Measures to protect participants included obtaining Institutional Review Board approval, obtaining signed informed consent, and maintaining confidentiality.Findings:The study revealed five themes and (...) several subthemes under an overarching finding of caring. Acquisition of professional nursing values began prior to the nursing program and continued to varying degrees throughout the program.Discussion:Several implications are offered for nursing education, nursing practice, research, and public policy. These include identification of common values, teaching-learning strategies, inclusive environments, teamwork, and conflict resolution.Conclusion:Caring was revealed using a metaphor of a puzzle. (shrink)

The authors consider in detail the features of the socio-cultural design of ethnocultural activities based on the actualization of traditional values and heritage in the Aginsky Buryat district. Since the end of the twentieth century, there has been an intensification of activities for the development of ethnic culture in the district, and often the initiative comes from the people, and it is implemented in the form of socio-cultural projects of cultural institutions, education, non-profit organizations. In connection with these features, (...) it becomes relevant to analyze the value core of the Buryat culture, which becomes the object of socio-cultural design at the present stage. To study this issue, methods of external and included observation, content analysis of ongoing socio-cultural projects were used; scientific literature on the topic of socio-cultural design and values of Buryat culture was analyzed. The research material was social practices and projects implemented in the Aginsky Buryat district. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the socio-cultural processes emerging in the social environment, initiated by tribal communities and social groups of peers, are studied. In the Agin Buryat district, these social groups are the subjects initiating innovative social practices aimed at actualizing and reviving the cultural core of the people. On the basis of these practices that have arisen in the popular environment, social projects of government bodies and institutions of the social sphere, culture, and education are being created and implemented. As a result of the conducted research, it was revealed that socio-cultural design at the present stage actualizes the values of the native language, the continuity of the family and tribal community, love for the native land, strengthening friendly ties with fellow countrymen and peers during the implementation of socially significant practices. (shrink)

Most normative accounts of meaningful work have focused on the value of autonomy and capability for self-development. Here, I will propose that contribution–having a positive impact on others through one’s work–is another central dimension of meaningful work. Being able to contribute through one’s work should be recognized as one of the key axiological values that work can serve, providing one independent justification for why work is valuable and worth doing. Conversely, I argue that having to do work that has (...) no positive impact, or where one is separated from such impact, is an underrecognized type of alienation. Such alienation as pointlessness can be as harmful as the more recognized types of alienation such as powerlessness. Recognizing contribution as a core dimension of meaningful work is compatible with both subjectivist and objectivist accounts of meaningfulness, but I come to support a mixed view where the subjective sense of contributing must be sufficiently warranted by the facts of the situation. Recognizing the inescapable interest humans have for being able to contribute and engage in work that is not pointless has implications for the duties societies, organizations, and individuals have as regards ensuring that work conducted includes a recognizable positive impact. Along with autonomy and self-development, contribution should thus be seen as an independent axiological value that work can serve, its frustration being associated with a specific type of alienation, and it itself playing a key role in what makes work valuable and meaningful. (shrink)

A review of the stakeholder literature reveals that the concept of "normative core" can be applied in three main ways: philosophical justification of stakeholder theory, theoretical governing principles of a firm, and managerial beliefs/values influencing the underlying narrative of business. When considering the case of Wall Street, we argue that the managerial application of normative core reveals the imbedded nature of the fact/value dichotomy. Problems arise when the work of the fact/value dichotomy contributes to a closed-core (...) institution. We make the distinction between open- and closed-core institutions to show how in the case of the closed-core, ethical decision-making is viewed by the institution as a separate domain from the core business of the institution. The resulting blind spot stifles meaningful exchanges with stakeholders attempting to address the need for reform. We suggest in conclusion that ethical considerations are less about casting a value judgment and more about creating a process for meaningful conversation throughout an institution and its stakeholders. (shrink)

Without some form of objectivity, Harbour argues, there is no firm grounding other than taste for criticizing whatever constitutes another culture's values, or even for reforming one's own—and there is no firm grounding for moral objections to someone such as Hitler or Idi Amin.

Value co-creation goes through the stage of co-production, customer experience, service-dominant logic, and service ecosystem. The integration of science and technology has become a key factor to the process of VCC. The rise and application of artificial intelligence technology has added a new driving force to VCC and began to affect its original practical logic. Based on the consumer perspective, this study uses Q-methodology to measure consumer cognitive attitude toward the use of AI technology in VCC, aiming to explore the (...) key factors that affect VCC. The study found that content quality, information security, efficiency concern, and degree of manipulation have become the important concerns of consumers for VCC under AI integration. Moreover, their different statements have their specific focus and direction. The study demonstrates and analyzes the importance of the four factors and proposes the combination of human and non-human actors to shape the new model of VCC in the future, which is worth further deepening and exploring for academia and enterprises. (shrink)