This paper advocates the importance of the emergent concept of organizational virtuousness defines it and connects it to scholarly literature in organizational sciences. One of the most important findings is the strongly correlated relationships between virtuousness and both perceived and measurable organizational performance. The findings validate the two major functions played by virtuousness in organizations,first,an amplifying function that creates self-reinforcing positive spirals, and second, a buffering function that strengthens and protects organizations from adverse organizational change.
In a relentless quest for organizational excellence, organizations have adopted various programs and methodologies to improve their global performance. Hence, total quality management policies and practices have become extensively entrenched in organizational mindsets. Along this trend, a greater consideration of elemental theories of ethics and morality, has paved the way towards enhanced practices of corporate social responsibility.
This “new quality awareness” is promising as far as reaching a higher evolutionary stage in the quality endeavor. This study attempted analyzing subsequent inferences in terms of amplification of the quality concept, clarifies the definitional edge of quality, and investigates the philosophy of quality and the philosophy of virtue and morality in order to detect conceptual symbiotic inter-linkages.
We assume that the “new quality paradigm” will unequivocally incorporates virtue as one of its major intrinsic elements. Until now, managers and researchers have been convinced that knowledge and competency are the sole keystones of organizational advantage. However, the nature of this knowledge and competency embodied in practice is being increasingly outlined. It has also been commonplace to understand organizations as resource portfolios.
In such a view, organizations differed according to performance and resource endowments, considered as the ultimate basis for competitive advantage. Our hypothesis is that a thorough amalgamation of ethics and organizational morality in the domain of Total Quality Management, will take us to the next juncture of advancement in quality theory, whereby this newly heightened sense will consequently further current managerial policies and practices of corporate social responsibility. What is badly needed now is a process of charting a paradigm shift to move toward these virtuous organizational structures and cross the threshold of the next stage of quality evolution.
Statement of the Problem
Organizations valuing excellence and performance are constantly searching for innovative continuous improvements measures and alternative business models. Managing this imperative transformational change has become both a major corporate concern and a strategic tool for maintaining organizational competitiveness in current hyper-competitive global markets. Organizational behavior scholars are more and more convinced that firms can only reach this goal by tapping their "wellsprings" of human talent and creative energy using means that create positive emotion, positive meaning and positive relationships.
This new scientific approach, called “Positive Organizational Scholarship”, stresses specific virtues and strengths in individuals and organizations associated with positive outcomes in business environments. This revelation of existing dynamics of self-reinforcing positive spirals, the effects of positive emotion, inquiry and leadership on employees and organizations has led the latter to perceive that trust, compassion; integrity could constitute the next basis for competitive advantage.
Research Objectives
The main intent of this study is therefore to test the relationship between organizational virtuousness and organizational excellence. The specific objectives of this study are to:
- Validate virtuousness overall positive impact on organizations;
- Confirm that virtuous firms perform better and reap higher profits than less virtuous firms.
Importance of the Study
We assume that virtuous human capital leadership can enable organizations to reach optimized levels of excellence. As such, recommendations of this study will chart needed organizational development policies:
- By providing corporate leadership with another intangible success factor to be invested for purposes of providing an alternative source of competitive advantage;
- By suggesting appropriate virtuousness policies ;
Research hypothesis
The study will attempt to test the following a priori hypotheses:
- There is a strong correlation between virtuousness and improved overall performance;
- Organizational virtuousness manageable and developable at will;
The study will assess virtuousness impact on five organizational performance measures:
- Innovation;
- Customer Retention;
- Quality;
- Turn over;
- Profitability;
Scope and Limitations
The scope of this study is limited to three well-known UAE Banks, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB); Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADB); and Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB).The selection of these three organizations is logical and appropriate, because they are organizations who are known for trying to comply with (Islamic) business ethics standards. Another limitation may arise in the fact that the questionnaire asks respondents about their perception of their own organizations' virtuousness. However, careful design will minimize the risks involved with subjectivity errors.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
”Organizational virtuousness” refers to the attributes characterizing the best of a “humane” resource. The study of virtuousness in organizations has so far focused on four major questions: What is the impact of virtuousness on organizational performance? Which specific virtues are associated with raising productivity? What are the key measures and indicators of organizational virtuousness? What are the peculiarities of virtuousness organizations compared to normal organizations? However, the least to say is that scholarly investigations specializing in organizational virtuousness are not abundant; this research field being considered “taboo” by some has been de facto a neglected and discouraging area.
