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Ethical Decision-Making in Organisations in Sri Lanka: a Buddhist Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

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Ethical Decision-Making in Organisations in Sri Lanka: a Buddhist Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING IN ORGANISATIONS IN SRI LANKA: A BUDDHIST INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS Thushini S. Jayawardena A thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) 2017 School of Business, Economics and Law Auckland University of Technology i | P a g e ABSTRACT Ethical decision-making (EDM) in organisations has gained momentum amongst business ethics scholars in the last few decades due to an increase in unethical behaviour in organisations. EDM theories in behavioural ethics management have been developed through the social sciences, psychology, social psychology, and cognitive neurosciences. Yet, there is no consensus amongst these behavioural ethics scholars as to whether EDM is cognitive, non-cognitive or an integration of both the cognitive and the non-cognitive. Thus, some scholars have recommended redefining what ‘ethical’ means through moral philosophy and theology. Buddhism has been viewed as a religion, a philosophy, a psychology, an ethical system and a way of life. The practise of Buddhism as a way of life starts with an individual’s ‘saddha’ (or confidence) in Buddhism. ‘Saddha’ is a spiritual faculty which enables an individual to cultivate awareness, wisdom and insight. Prior research conducted in Sri Lanka has found a relationship between Buddhist entrepreneurs’ spirituality and their right decision-making. But, Sri Lanka has also been identified as a country with a high rate of corruption. Consequently, a question arises: ‘how does Buddhism influence EDM in organisations?’ In Buddhism, divine states assist individuals to overcome their negative emotions, such as anger, fear and delusion. Those states are specified as: loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. They are so called because they enable individuals to develop ‘God-like qualities’. However, little is known of ‘what divine states managers experience during EDM’ and ‘how managers make meaning of these divine states through EDM’. Consequently, the aim of this thesis is to explore and understand how Buddhism influences EDM through the meanings which managers who practise Buddhist meditation assign to the divine states through their lived experience of EDM. This thesis is based on the conventional reality of Buddhism, which is most closely aligned with the interpretive paradigm. Theoretical sampling was used to recruit managers who practise Buddhist meditation, irrespective of their religious beliefs, and were working in organisations in Sri Lanka, with at least two years of managerial experience. Twenty semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted in Sri Lanka were used for the data analysis to answer the research questions above. The participants were: 17 Buddhists, one Hindu, one Muslim, and one non-religious person. i | P a g e A new EDM framework is developed through the findings, which indicate how Buddhism influences EDM. Firstly, the findings suggest individuals’ confidence in Buddhism, achieved through the practise of meditation, may influence their desire to cultivate the divine states and thereby their EDM. Secondly, the findings indicate that whether a decision is ethical or not may depend on an individual’s level of awareness, wisdom and insight. Thus, the theoretical contribution of this thesis is three-fold. Firstly, it defines what an ethical decision means in terms of the divine states. Secondly, it develops an EDM process which indicates a combination of the cognitive and non-cognitive aspects of EDM. Thirdly, it suggests how an individual’s confidence in Buddhism may inspire her/him to cultivate divine states and thereby EDM. Furthermore, the methodological contribution of this thesis is the development of Buddhist interpretative phenomenological analysis (BIPA), which is a method of interpreting texts from a Buddhist theoretical perspective. ii | P a g e TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ..................................................................................................................... i Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................. vii List of Tables ................................................................................................................. viii Attestation of Authorship ................................................................................................. ix Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... x Ethics Approval ............................................................................................................... xii Prologue .................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 2 1.1 The Problem Statement .............................................................................. 3 1.2 The Research Aim and Questions .............................................................. 7 1.3 Main Contribution ...................................................................................... 8 1.4 Outline of Thesis ........................................................................................ 9 Chapter 2: Buddhism and Ethical Decision-Making: A Literature Review ................... 12 2.1 Literature search ....................................................................................... 13 2.2 Buddhism as ‘an Art of Living’ (i.e. a Way of Life) ................................ 16 2.2.1 Origins of Buddhism ................................................................................. 16 2.2.2 Evolution of Buddhism ............................................................................. 16 2.2.3 The Two Main Schools of Buddhism ....................................................... 17 2.2.4 The Teachings of Buddhism (‘Dhamma’) ................................................ 18 2.2.5 Buddhist Ethics: The Discipline (‘Vinaya’) for Lay Persons ................... 26 2.3 ‘The Art of Ethical Decision-Making’: The Divine States ...................... 28 2.3.1 Loving-kindness (Metta) ........................................................................... 32 2.3.2 Compassion (Karuna) ............................................................................... 33 2.3.3 Sympathetic joy (Mudita) ......................................................................... 34 2.3.4 Equanimity (Upekkha) .............................................................................. 35 2.4 Summary .................................................................................................. 36 Chapter 3: Research Context: Sri Lanka ......................................................................... 38 3.1 Sri Lanka .................................................................................................. 39 3.1.1 Codes of Ethics in Sri Lanka .................................................................... 42 3.1.2 Buddhism in Sri Lanka ............................................................................. 43 3.2 Summary .................................................................................................. 45 Chapter 4: Methodology ................................................................................................. 47 4.1 Theoretical Perspective ............................................................................ 48 4.1.1 Buddhist Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (BIPA) ................... 49 4.1.2 Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) ..................................... 55 4.1.3 Buddhism: Interpretivism?........................................................................ 56 4.2 BIPA: A Reflexive Methodology. ............................................................ 58 iii | P a g e 4.2.1 Why BIPA? ............................................................................................... 60 4.2.2 Ideography and the Inclusion of Case Study in BIPA .............................. 66 4.3 Summary .................................................................................................. 67 Chapter 5: Methods of Inquiry ........................................................................................ 68 5.1 Qualitative Research Design .................................................................... 69 5.2 Theoretical Sampling ............................................................................... 70 5.2.1 Recruitment of Participants....................................................................... 70 5.2.2 Methods of Recruitment ........................................................................... 72 5.2.3 Sample Size ............................................................................................... 74 5.3 Data Collection ......................................................................................... 75 5.3.1 Pilot Interviews ......................................................................................... 75 5.3.2 Researcher Reflections: Journaling and Getting Myself Interviewed ...... 75 5.3.3 Semi-structured In-Depth Interviews ........................................................ 77 5.3.4 Interview
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