Firstly, age is a factor, although age does not fully equate with social experience. But in general terms, higher age means more social experience. The age of a manager brings with it a completely different style of management and ethical decision-making. Younger managers generally tend to use the company’s culture to make ethical decisions, while older managers, on the other hand, develop their own management and ethical decision-making styles based on their own experiences and knowledge. A study by Chen Chunking and Sun Jinhua (2008) found that the older managers have more resources, especially social connections, the more beneficial they are to the implementation of ethical strategic decisions in start-up companies. On the other hand, with the change of management team, the younger generation of post-85s are gradually entering the middle management level of the company, and their understanding and acceptance of new tools and methods is much higher than that of the previous generation of managers, thus bringing about a completely different ethical decision making. It is clear that age has a completely different impact on the style of ethical decision making in companies.

The second is the impact of locus of control, which refers to how managers and employees in a company view their own power and resources. Some people are the natural type; these people tend to have no desire for power and control and do not deliberately seek to gain more power and control for themselves. They usually behave according to their own feelings, attitudes and beliefs; whereas self-monitoring people are better at adapting to changes in their environment and adjusting their behavior in response to changes in the external environment. Another type is the internal control type, where managers and employees want to keep their work and life in a more controlled and predictable sphere through their own skills and means. They believe that they deserve more resources in the organization and put this need first, so they will resort to all sorts of even illegal means to achieve their ends. They will feel empowered to call on more resources to achieve their goals and have a greater voice in the organization, thus making them feel that they are influential in the organization. This different attitude towards power is likely to influence ethical decision making in business.

The third is the difference in ethical business decisions brought about by gender. Even in modern societies, women are relatively marginalized in property structures and power structures. But it is true that in the modern corporate system more and more women are taking over management roles that would otherwise be carried out by men. In Sweden, for example, although social welfare conditions have been leading the way for decades, the increase in the proportion of women in corporate executives is also due to a change in business philosophy and a diversity of managers. Different genders can influence ethical decision-making in companies. Even women of equal or greater competence can be treated differently depending on their gender roles. Female executives in the executive team will have different personal qualities and conduct themselves differently compared to male executives. Faced with changes in the external environment of the organization and internal job autonomy requirements, employees of different genders will respond in different ways. Women show a degree of stronger empathy and thus a willingness to behave in a way that benefits the organization, softening the company’s ethical decisions.

By JIN Kaiwei