Extant research on ethical decision-making has mainly focused on its individual and situational correlates; this approach has yielded mixed results. This state of affairs has in part been attributed to researchers' lack of attention to the processes through which these correlations come to exist. In a recent review, Tenbrunsel and Smith-Crowe (2008) challenged ethics researchers to look beyond the static aspects of ethical decision-making and to begin exploring the underlying processes. The proposed symposium answers this call by bringing together the latest research examining individual and group ethical decision-making as a dynamic process which unfolds over time. Theoretical as well as quantitative and qualitative empirical papers are included that examine the processes through which constructs such as moral emotions, time pressure, political and economic forces, and social interactions among organizational members affect ethical decision-making.

Agenda/Outline:

A Functional Account of Moral Emotions in Organizations
Presenter: Kristin Smith-Crowe; U. of utah;
Presenter: Danielle E. Warren; Rutgers U.;

Walking a Thin Line at Time Zero: The Ethical Consequences of Time Pressure
Presenter: Dolly Chugh; New York U.;
Presenter: Mary Kern; Baruch College;

Weaving a Tangled Web of Lies: How Lying Escalates and Diffuses in Organizations
Presenter: Suzanne Chan-Serafin; U. of New South Wales;

Missed Opportunities and Inherent Limitations of the Ethical Decision-making Approach
Presenter: Donald A Palmer; U. of California, Davis;