From Complexity to Clarity: How Do Audit Managers Experience Sensemaking in Ethical Choices?
Open Access“Virtue is a state of character concerned with choice, lying in a mean, i.e. the mean relatively to us, this being determined by a rational principle” (Aristotle, 350 BC/1980, p. ix). Rational thought is a foundational view of what is often referred to as ancient philosophy, or Greek philosophy. Thomas Kuhn (1996) offered that changes in paradigms were a source for scientists to be better “able to account for a wider range of natural phenomena” (p. 66). In the mid-1980s, several models were developed to attempt to explain the process of ethical decision-making, using rationalist methods (Ferrell & Gresham, 1985; Jones, 1991; Rest, 1986; Sonenshein, 2007; Trevino, 1986). After years of research and reviews of the literature on ethical decision making, calls were made for alternatives to the rationalist models proposed in the mid-1980s and early 1990s (Craft, 2013; O’Fallon & Butterfield, 2005; Sonenshein, 2007). It was proposed that decision-making is not a rationalist process, but instead a more intuitive process, which utilizes sensemaking processes to better understand the ethical dilemma and characteristics of the decision (Sonenshein, 2007). Sonenshein (2007) proposed the sensemaking intuition model (SIM), where factors such as representations, motivations, social anchors, expectations, and justification were shown to have effects on the development of the decision and analysis of the problem. This research focused on understanding the nature of sensemaking in an EDM context through a phenomenological study of seven certified public accounts. Three in-depth interviews were conducted with each participant. The data were analyzed through the Stivik-Colaizzi-Keen method (Moustakas, 1994). Findings included a more in-depth understanding of the relationship between ambiguity and sensemaking in this context and the role of constraints and trust in this process. Implications and recommendations are offered for theory, research and practice
- All rights reserved
Notice to Authors
If you are the author of this work and you have any questions about the information on this page, please use the Contact form to get in touch with us.
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Visibility | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Matthews_gwu_0075A_15937.pdf | 2022-04-25 | Open Access |
|