The Struggles of the Interculturalists: Professional Ethical Identity and Early Stages of Codes of Ethics Development

Abstract

Ethicalisation processes that partake in the construction of a firm or a professional group's ethical identity are often described as a relatively linear combination of several components, such as policies (starting with the development of a code of ethics), corporate practices, and leadership. Our study of a professional community dealing with the topics related to cultural diversity indicates a more reciprocal relationship between ethical identity and ethicalisation processes. We argue that a tangible form of ethical identity can pre-date the ethicalisation process of a professional group, and additionally, can impact this process at the start. We highlight that, despite the absence of official ethical statements in the community, a form of ethical professional identity is already present among the interculturalists of the international organisation Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research. Using critical discourse analysis, we identify the proclaimed humanist ethos in the discourses that interculturalists co-produce and diffuse during conferences, on on-line discussion forums, and in the mission of their professional organisations. This study contributes to the literature on ethical identity development by showing how a pre-existing form of ethical identity can influence the early stage of the development of a code of ethics. In addition, we indicate that, similar to organisational identity construction, ethical identity construction uses self-other identity talks, thus, defining an ethical other (or less ethical other) in its development.

What, When, and with Whom? Investigating Expatriate Reentry Training with a Proximal Approach

“…These forums could be moderated by content experts with peer evaluations which enable the distilling of best practices. Finally, professional associations such as SIETAR are charged with continuing to facilitate knowledge exchange through online databases and workshops, and we encourage these organizations to expand their membership and resource availability, particularly in light of the professionalization attempts of the community (Romani & Szkudlarek, ).…”

How do external regulations shape the design of ethical tools in organisations? An open polity and sociology of compliance perspective

“…We explain how these regulations are connected to organisations through the sourcing of ethical tools, the intra-organisational replication of political divisions and processes, and the emerging and self-reinforcing legalisation of ethical tools. Second, our study advances current knowledge of how ethical tools are designed in organisations (Romani and Szkudlarek, 2014). We highlight the key roles played by distinct groups of professionals and their interpretative processes throughout the process of translating regulations.…”

“…However, an analysis of the micro-foundations of compliance practices that connect external regulations to the development of internal tools and practices is still missing from the literature. Institutional studies have usually assumed the pre-existence of such tools in organisations or organisational fields, neglecting the development of these tools within organisations (Kaptein and Schwartz, 2008;Romani and Szkudlarek, 2014). They have also assumed that ethical tools circulate without necessarily being altered, despite evidence that practices or tools are usually tailored to local contexts (Ansari et al, 2010;Gond and Boxenbaum, 2013).…”

Identity Drift: The Multivocality of Ethical Identity in Islamic Financial Institution

“…It has been argued that an organization's ethical beliefs and viewpoints (Berrone et al 2007) are equally as important as their profit motives in shaping organizational life, especially in the case of Co-operative or Islamic banks (Balmer et al 2007;Berrone et al 2007;Haniffa and Hudaib 2007). An organization's ethical identity is often believed to be the result of an ethicalization process (Gray and Balmer 2001;Romani and Szkudlarek 2014). In this process, it is surmised that ethical beliefs/viewpoints prevailing in an organization can contradict with existing organizational prescriptions, which either requires a transformation or resolution (Voronov and Vince 2012) to create a new consciousness of organizational identity (Giorgi et al 2014;Giorgi and Palmisano 2017).…”