نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسنده
استادیار گروه مدیریت فرهنگی، دانشگاه معارف اسلامی، قم، ایران.
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسنده [English]
Extended Abstract
Introduction and Objectives: Today, organizational ethics, particularly with an Islamic approach, is a significant concern for managers and agents in society. Organizational ethics plays a key role in interactions, task performance, and the social responsibility of organizations and their members.
Institutionalizing Islamic ethics in organizations, which is a desired level of Islamization, goes beyond mere compliance with jurisprudential-legal requirements and necessitates a transformation in individuals’ beliefs and attitudes (Naghipor-Far, 2011). Research shows that practical commitment to Islamic ethics leads to positive individual, occupational, organizational, and social consequences and is effective on productivity (Omidvar et al., 2023). The most sustainable method for promoting ethics is to create change in knowledge and attitudes (Rezaeian, 2001). From the perspective of Islamic teachings, the real value of an ethical behavior is when it is supported by belief (goodness of the agent) and the correctness of the action itself (goodness of the act) (Mesbah Yazdi, 2000). Therefore, organizational ethics is deeply connected to value and belief foundations, and individuals are motivated to act when they have insight and belief in it. Islamic teachings, by presenting a comprehensive ethical system, relying on human nature, and accountability before God, can provide a solid theoretical foundation for ethics in organizations. Although numerous studies have been conducted in the field of organizational ethics with an Islamic approach, identifying the core beliefs of this field independently has received less attention. Therefore, this research, focusing on the individual level (managers and employees), seeks to identify, synthesize, and explain Islamic beliefs affecting organizational ethics by referring to sources on organizational ethics and Islamic professional ethics.
Method: A meta-study is a method for in-depth examination of previous research in a field, conducted in four forms: meta-analysis, meta-method, meta-theory, and meta-synthesis. This research, with an applied purpose and using a qualitative method, is a type of meta-synthesis and employs the seven-step approach by Sandelowski and Barroso. The steps include: defining the research question, searching and selecting sources, systematically reviewing texts, extracting information, analyzing and synthesizing findings, quality control, and presenting results. Data were gathered from primary studies in various areas of organizational ethics with an Islamic approach through databases such as Noor, SID, and Scopus. Out of 88 articles, after screening, 32 suitable articles were selected. Through content analysis of the sources using thematic analysis, initially 179 codes were extracted, which after removing duplicates, were reduced to 122 basic themes. These themes were ultimately classified into 20 organizing themes and 4 overarching themes. In the quality control stage, two main questions were addressed: the confirmation of these beliefs by Islamic teachings and their connection to organizational ethics. For assurance, the extracted beliefs, in addition to referencing Islamic scholars’ interpretations, were directly examined and confirmed by referring to the Quran and Islamic traditions. Furthermore, these beliefs were presented to five expert specialists from religious and academic fields, and the connection of all of them to organizational ethics was ultimately confirmed. Although measuring the impact of each belief requires an independent quantitative study, this research provides a comprehensive framework of Islamic beliefs affecting organizational ethics at the individual level.
Findings: This study identified four core categories of Islamic beliefs affecting organizational ethics:
God-centered beliefs, comprising two organizing themes: “Divine Governance over Decisions and Actions” and “The All-Knowing Sustainer’s Authority.” These beliefs, emphasizing God’s omnipresence, supervision, and provision, form the foundation for sincerity and accountability.
Afterlife-oriented beliefs, categorized under “The Day of Judgment as a Perfect Mirror of Deeds” and “The Precise Reckoning of Actions.” By fostering motivation for accountability before a just final audit, these beliefs create the strongest mechanism for self-control, making the organizational individual aware and responsible for even their smallest actions.
Duty-based beliefs, which view positions as divine trusts and a means to otherworldly ascent, and consider work to be of exceptional value and sanctity. This perspective strengthens ethical conduct such as meritocracy, integrity, lawful earning, and avoidance of negligence and illicit gain. It establishes the cornerstone of organizational responsibility, viewing management as a duty and service, and power as a tool for divine testing.
Dignity-centered beliefs, which, by emphasizing inherent human dignity, build the organization on themes such as comprehensive human responsibility, the manager as an ethical role model, service to others as worship, respect for others’ rights, and gracious cooperation. This integrated framework bases organizational relationships on religious brotherhood, transforming the organization into a community founded on dignity, service, and cooperation.
Collectively, these Islamic beliefs transform the organizational individual’s attitude, create an internal ethical benchmark, and reinforce transcendental motivations, ultimately leading to ethical behavior.
Conclusion: God-centered beliefs form the core and foundation of the other beliefs, explaining the why of responsibility. Afterlife-oriented beliefs create the internal driving force and guarantee of execution. Duty-based beliefs define the how of action by sanctifying work, and dignity-centered beliefs regulate the rules of relationships among stakeholders. This framework is interconnected within an integrated system, and Islamic organizational ethics is the manifestation of this belief system. In contrast to the Western paradigm, which bases ethics on utilitarianism or legal requirements, the ultimate source of ethical obligation in this view is divine pleasure and accountability before God. The strongest monitoring mechanism is internal monitoring derived from belief in God’s absolute knowledge and the final judgment. Furthermore, the primary motivation for ethical behavior in this perspective is attaining divine pleasure and fulfilling one’s duty, not the material and external motives common in Western literature.
The primary innovation of this research is presenting a systematic and comprehensive framework of Islamic beliefs affecting organizational ethics at the individual level, developed through the meta-synthesis method. This framework demonstrates that Islamic organizational ethics is not merely a set of manners, but the output of an integrated worldview.
This achievement has the potential to become a theoretical framework for developing indigenous organizational ethics indicators and designing more effective training programs, as it focuses on addressing the foundational, internal beliefs rather than merely focusing on behavior.
Acknowledgements: I deem it necessary to express my gratitude and appreciation to the experts, supervisors, the editor, and the respected officials of the journal.
Conflict of Interest: In the preparation of this article, matters pertaining to publishing ethics have been observed, and there are no commercial interests involved in this regard. The author has not received any payment for submitting their work. Furthermore, this is to declare the originality of the article’s content and that it has not been published elsewhere.
کلیدواژهها [English]
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