Business Administration - Research Publications

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    A Question of Ethics: Navigating Ethical Failure in the Banking and Financial Services Industry
    Wheeler, M ; Wood, R ; Sojo Monzon, V ; McGrath, M (Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, 2016)
    Since the global financial crisis (GFC), financial institutions and practitioners in Australia, New Zealand and Asia have come under scrutiny for a range of ethical transgressions leading to industry scandal, as have their more well-known counterparts in the United States and United Kingdom. Some scandals were caused by people who – driven by greed and the demands of a complex, fast-paced industry – chose to behave unethically. However, evidence from social psychology points to an alternative explanation: a good deal of unethical behaviour is also unconscious. In A Question of Ethics, we draw on themes and findings from various industry scandals to examine contributing factors at the structural, social and individual levels that influence ethical conduct, and how these may be distorted by what social psychologists refer to as cognitive biases. We present data from a six-country survey of banking and financial services industry practitioners, which explores attitudes towards questionable practices and seeks views about the potential for ethical improvement.
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    Reporting requirements, targets, and quotas for women in leadership
    Sojo, VE ; Wood, RE ; Wood, SA ; Wheeler, MA (Elsevier, 2016-01-01)
    Reporting requirements, targets, and quotas have been implemented in several countries to increase female representation in leadership. In three studies, we analyze the effectiveness of these strategies from a goal-setting perspective. Study 1 evaluates the relationship between reporting requirements and female representation on boards of directors with data from Fortune 500 companies from 1996 to 2015. Study 2 analyzes the association of reporting requirements, targets, and quotas with the representation of women on boards of directors of public companies across 91 countries. Study 3 evaluates the impact of targets and quotas for women in parliaments across 190 nations. The board diversity reporting directive introduced in the US was followed by an acceleration in the increase of female representation on boards of directors of Fortune 500 companies. Higher goals for women on boards of directors were related to higher female representation. Similarly, higher gender goals and strong enforcement mechanisms in parliaments were related to higher female representation.