Evaluating Small, Medium and Micro-Enterprises’ Ethical Management Practises to Ensure Efficient Business Decision-Making in the eThekwini Municipal Area
The underlying assumption of this study is that the democratic government of South Africa has used a variety of programmes to support the growth of SMMEs. This is because this industry can promote the economy of the nation. This study looked at the possibilities of SMME managers and business owners in terms of how they use their understanding of ethical management to make decisions that will help their companies thrive economically. The basis for this study was the human behaviour of SMME managers, operators, and business owners in connection to how they might support economic growth and thrive in a competitive market by employing ethical management practices to make good decisions. Simple random selection was used to collect study data from several SMMEs in the eThekwini Municipal Area. The survey received responses from 200 entrepreneurs in total, making up the study’s sample. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 28 was used to collect, analyse, and produce the descriptive statistics from this data. The study’s key findings were that, for SMME owners, managers, and employees to succeed in their chosen industry, they must be informed about how to run their businesses with fundamentals of trustworthiness and values of honesty, integrity, fairness, accountability, loyalty, and empathy. The respondents’ responses revealed some limiting issues, such as the incapability to prioritise the legal requirements and ethical principles that govern their behaviour, which has an impact on their capacity to make wise decisions. The major recommendation is that aspiring business owners must equip themselves with knowledge about how to deal with the shifting hazards they may face while operating as well as how to develop emergency plans that can lessen this issue. Additionally, this might be an avenue for further study.
Cite this paper
Ndlazi, S. E. , Ogunsola, S. A. , Dlamini, B. I. and Nhleko, M. N. (2023). Evaluating Small, Medium and Micro-Enterprises’ Ethical Management Practises to Ensure Efficient Business Decision-Making in the eThekwini Municipal Area. Open Access Library Journal, 10, e859. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1110859.
Kolk, A. (2016) The Social Responsibility of International Business: From Ethics and the Environment to CSR and Sustainable Development. Journal of World Business, 51, 23-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2015.08.010
Mayanja, J. and Perks, S. (2017) Business Practices Influencing Ethical Conduct of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Uganda. African Journal of Business Ethics, 11, 17-20. https://doi.org/10.15249/11-1-130
Dion, M. (2017) Corporate Citizenship as an Ethic of Care: Corporate Values, Codes of Ethics and Global Governance. In: Perspectives on Corporate Citizenship, Routledge, London, 118-138. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351282369-8
Hassmiller, S. and Bilazarian, A. (2018) The Business, Ethics, and Quality Cases for Consumer Engagement in Nursing. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 48, 184-190. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000000597
Suriyankietkaew, S. and Kantamara, P. (2019) Business Ethics and Spirituality for Corporate Sustainability: A Buddhism Perspective. Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion, 16, 264-289. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766086.2019.1574598
Schaefer, U. and Bouwmeester, O. (2021) Reconceptualizing Moral Disengagement as a Process: Transcending Overly Liberal and Overly Conservative Practice in the Field. Journal of Business Ethics, 172, 525-543.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-020-04520-6
Abildgaard, J.S., Nielsen, K. and Sverke, M. (2018) Can Job Insecurity Be Managed? Evaluating an Organizational-Level Intervention Addressing the Negative Effects of Restructuring. Work & Stress, 32, 105-123.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2017.1367735
Ermasova, N. (2021) Cross-Cultural Issues in Business Ethics: A Review and Research Agenda. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 21, 95-121.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1470595821999075
Bentham, J. (1789) An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Clarendon Press, Oxford. https://doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00077240
Josephson, M. (2012) Business Ethics Insight: Johnson & Johnson’s Values-Based Ethical Culture: Credo Goes Beyond Compliance. Business Ethics and Leadership.
Ferrero, I. and Sison, A.J.G. (2014) A Quantitative Analysis of Authors, Schools and Themes in Virtue Ethics Articles in Business Ethics and Management Journals (1980-2011). Business Ethics: A European Review, 23, 375-400.
https://doi.org/10.1111/beer.12057
Kim, J.-J., Eom, T.-K., Kim, S.-W. and Youn, M.-K. (2015) Effects of Ethical Management on Job Satisfaction and Turnover in the South Korean Service Industry. The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business, 6, 17-26.
https://doi.org/10.13106/ijidb.2015.vol6.no1.17.
Ferreira, J.J., Jalali, M.S. and Ferreira, F.A. (2018) Enhancing the Decision-Making Virtuous Cycle of Ethical Banking Practices Using the Choquet Integral. Journal of Business Research, 88, 492-497. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.12.031
Brous, P., Janssen, M. and Vilminko-Heikkinen, R. (2016) Coordinating Decision- Making in Data Management Activities: A Systematic Review of Data Governance Principles. In: Proceedings of International Conference on Electronic Government, Springer, Berlin, 115-125. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44421-5_9
Trieu, V.-H. (2017) Getting Value from Business Intelligence Systems: A Review and Research Agenda. Decision Support Systems, 93, 111-124.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2016.09.019
Chiheb, F., Boumahdi, F. and Bouarfa, H. (2019) A New Model for Integrating Big Data into Phases of Decision-Making Process. Procedia Computer Science, 151, 636-642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2019.04.085
Khademi, A. (2018) Statistical Intervals: A Guide for Practitioners and Researcher (2nd Edition). Journal of Statistical Software, 84, 1-4.
https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v084.b01
Salazar, T.L. (2016) The Role of Trust in Effective Instructional Leadership: Exploring the Perceptions of Educational Leaders. Dallas Baptist University, Ann Arbor.
Shaked, H. and Schechter, C. (2017) Systems Thinking among School Middle Leaders. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 45, 699-718.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143215617949
Singo, A.T. (2018) Ethical Leadership in the Limpopo Provincial Public Service of South Africa: An Imperative for Good Governance. PhD, University of Venda, Thohoyandou.
Constantinescu, M. and Kaptein, M. (2020) Ethics Management and Ethical Management: Mapping Criteria and Interventions to Support Responsible Management Practice. In: Research Handbook of Responsible Management, Edward Elgar Publishing, New York, 155-174. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788971966.00018
Wasim, S.S. and Rehman, M.U. (2022) Role of Transformational Leadership Style of Accounting Professionals towards Subordinates Performance, OCB, and Innovation: Mediating Effect of Integrity and Thriving. Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management, and Innovation, 4, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.52633/jemi.v4i1.147
Amoozad Mahdiraji, H., Hafeez, K. and Razavi Hajiagha, S.H. (2020) Business Process Transformation in Financial Market: A Hybrid BPM-ELECTRE TRI for Redesigning a Securities Company in the Iranian Stock Market. Knowledge and Process Management, 27, 211-224. https://doi.org/10.1002/kpm.1632
Morawiec, P. and Soltysik-Piorunkiewicz, A. (2021) Knowledge Management Significance in Agile Organization in Lights of COVID-19 Pandemic Changes. In: Proceedings of European, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern Conference on Information Systems, Springer, Berlin, 705-722.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95947-0_50
Wahjoedi, T. (2021) The Effect of Organizational Culture on Employee Performance Mediated by Job Satisfaction and Work Motivation: Evident from SMEs in Indonesia. Management Science Letters, 11, 2053-2060.
https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2021.3.004
Meunier, F., Krylova, Y. and Ramalho, R. (2017) Women’s Entrepreneurship: How to Measure the Gap between New Female and Male Entrepreneurs? World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, 8242. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3072072
https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-8242
Solesvik, M., Iakovleva, T. and Trifilova, A. (2019) Motivation of Female Entrepreneurs: A Cross-National Study. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 26, 684-705. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-10-2018-0306
Cruz-Ros, S., Garzon, D. and Mas-Tur, A. (2017) Entrepreneurial Competencies and Motivations to Enhance Marketing Innovation in Europe. Psychology & Marketing, 34, 1031-1038. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.21042
Alene, E.T. (2020) Determinants That Influence the Performance of Women Entrepreneurs in Micro and Small Enterprises in Ethiopia. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 9, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.2.24227/v2
Bansal, S., Garg, I. and Sharma, G.D. (2019) Social Entrepreneurship as a Path for Social Change and Driver of Sustainable Development: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda. Sustainability, 11, Article No. 1091.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041091
Meng, J. and Berger, B.K. (2019) The Impact of Organizational Culture and Leadership Performance on PR Professionals’ Job Satisfaction: Testing the Joint Mediating Effects of Engagement and Trust. Public Relations Review, 45, 64-75.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2018.11.002
Duarte, H. and Lopes, D. (2018) Career Stages and Occupations Impacts on Workers Motivations. International Journal of Manpower, 39, 746-763.
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-02-2017-0026
