Talk Isn’t Cheap: Moral Messaging Tactics Used in Content of Ethics Centered Communication

Johnathan Nelson

Advisor: Stephen Zaccaro, PhD, Department of Psychology

Committee Members: Eden King, Nance Lucas

April 05, 2012, 01:30 PM to 11:00 AM

Abstract:

Well-publicized ethical scandals have increased interest in methods for managing ethical behavior in organizations. Ethics talk, a type of ethics centered communication has been empirically identified as one method for managing ethical behavior in organizations and as a key component of ethical leadership.  However, to date, no research has explicitly defined what ethics-centered communication is or identified what moral messaging tactics form the content of ethics-centered communication.  To address this gap, this study empirically evaluated a taxonomy of thirteen moral messaging tactics identified by synthesizing disparate social science literatures.  Critical incidents describing ethics-centered communication were collected and content analyzed.  Content analysis indicated support for twelve moral messaging tactics.