THE EFFECT OF ETHICAL SIGNALS ON RECRUITMENT ...

Deontology
Deontology stems from the Greek word, deon, which means duty (Taylor, 1975).
The key to deontological schools of thought is the “righteousness of a behavior” (Hunt
& Vitell, 1986, p. 6). The ethical value of the act is judged by the act itself, not
necessarily the consequences of the act (Rallapalli et al., 1998). Deontologists evaluate
the rightness or wrongness of behavior by comparing the behavior to a predetermined set
of norms (Hunt & Vitell, 1986). As it applies to the organization, these norms include
both the individual’s personal rules of behavior and the organization’s rules (codes of
conduct) (Granitz & Loewy, 2007). Deontologists are concerned with elements of the
act itself, not necessarily its resulting value (Hunt & Hansen, 2007). General norms
from the deontologist perspective would be not stealing, murdering, or committing
adultery (i.e., the Ten Commandments), treating others as you would like to be treated
(i.e., the Golden Rule), as well as honesty, fair treatment, and many others (Hunt &
Hansen, 2007; Hunt & Vitell, 1986; Rallapalli et al., 1998). In addition to these general
norms or beliefs, deontologists also recognize that issue-specific or situation-specific
beliefs also determine ethical judgments and behaviors (Hunt & Hansen, 2007; Vitell,
Singhapakdi, & Thomas, 2001).
Immanuel Kant was a deontologist philosopher who had a significant influence
on business ethics (Frankena, 1963; Hunt & Hansen, 2007, Rallapalli et al., 1998). Kant
was born in Prussia in 1724 and wrote several seminal moral philosophy pieces
including Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, The Metaphysics of Morals, and
Critique of Practical Reason. His writings suggested that man has moral duties to
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