RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN PROFESSIONALISM AND ETHICS

1
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN PROFESSIONALISM AND
ETHICS

• Linda Thorne
• York University

2
Agenda

• Whats been done
• Progression
• What remains to be done

3
Whats been done

• Existing research primarily takes an
  individualistic, cognitive, rationale perspective
• Assumes Individuals are first and foremost
  responsible for ethical decisions and
  professional judgment
• Professional judgment is cognitive, rationale
• Function of the individual decision maker
• PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPHASIS

4
Early 1990s

• Professional judgment is analogous to
  individuals ethical decision process
• -Factors that influenced individuals ethical
  decision making influence auditors professional
  judgment
• -Heavy reliance on cognitive-developmental
  paradigm
• -Investigation of factors associated with
  individuals cognitive development (education,
  work experience, gender, political orientation)
• -Heavy reliance on Survey methodology

5
Late 1990s

• Emphasis includes the character (virtue)
  associated with auditors professional judgment,
  as well as cognitive
• Method evolves to scenario testing
• Character Factors include Locus of control,
  Professional commitment, organizational
  commitment
• Still an individual emphasis
• Figure 2

6
2000 and forward

• Move beyond individual factors to consider how
  context influences individuals decision-making
• Integrated perspective, analogous to the models
  of Trevino and Jones
• Context and individual interact to affect
  accountants professional judgment
• Factors include Code of ethics, peer pressure,
  culture
• Method moves more toward experimentation
• Emphasis is still on ethical decision making as
  primarily an individual process
• Figure 3

7
What remains to be done

• Increased emphasis on Virtue, Context and Culture
• Move beyond individualistic, cognitive,
  rationale, psychological paradigm
• Virtue perspective is that Character is more
  important than Cognition
• Sociological and Anthropological perspective
• Context is more important than individual
• Collective is more important than individual
• Non-rationale, non-decision-making perspective
• Method would be more like those traditionally
  used in Sociological and Anthropological research
• Qualitative, field research, observation

8
Questions?

• lthorne_at_ssb.yorku.ca