Faculty of management, Prešov University, Prešov ANNA TAKÁ OVÁ -
Institute of Social Sciences SAS Košice,
Summary
The paper presents outcomes of research which was carried out by the project „European Social Survey“.
Fieldwork was done using a questionnaire at the sample of 45 681 respondents. The task of them was to answer the items measuring specific characteristics of eco-nomic morality.
The aim of presented paper is evaluate and compare the economic morality level across the European countries.
The ethic behaviour of consumers and organizations (producers, merchants or public institutions) is investigated. Paper enables to monitor the opinions of the citi-zens towards the operating of economy, the consumer´s protection, the relations be-tween consumers and organizations. It is based on the presumption, that the role and identity of consumer in the market economic have a direct relation to the role of citi-zens. As a result, the experience learned from the market environment effect the con-sumer ´s attitudes towards civic organizations.
Outcomes analysis from the Slovak Republic sample was done as well as its comparison with the outcomes of the other 24 participating countries.
Keywords: the economic morality, consumers and organizations relations, international context 1. Introduction
The accurate competitive environment in the market economy is considered to be the engine of prosperity. Such system Works on the base of „government of the rule“, which has to strictly and clearly created and at the same time actively implanted not just in benefit of those, who are connected with governing elite, but equally for all. Applying the principle of the chance equality is in this meaning one of the basic assumptions for creating accurate competitive environment.
Most important among the normative changes during the last decades has been the shift from normative patterns that stressed values of obligation and compliance with norms towards autono-mous decisions and individual disposal of norms according to situations and opportunities (Ingle-hart 1997; Karstedt 1999). In the market and spheres of consumption this shift has been most marked. Displays of individual autonomy and identity are at the core of modern consumption patterns. Consumer sovereignty is promoted, and consumers (and business) are urged to exploit any advantages. This affects the normative patterns and habits within and outside the market place. The view to what is moral or immoral is changing, the new concept is creating, while con-sumers successively form their relationship to new situations which are these changes bringing.
government. But this has to be visible, transparent, with unambiguous tasks, duties as well as re-sponsibility setting. State holds in all process the function of conditions (rules of economy compe-tition) – „game rules“. It should implant provisions to secure „ flat at the playground“, and at the same time it acts as keeper of their following. The aim is to make the performance of his function the most readable for all participating subjects.
2. Method
This paper brings results acquired on the basis of respondent´ s answers across the 24 pean countries (about 45 681 respondents). The ESS „source questionnaire“ developed by Euro-pean specialists includes about 400 questions centred on different areas**. The problem of eco-nomic morality has become the object of one of the rotating modules of the 2. Round ESS with the aim to value and compare the level of the economic morality in the European countries. It investi-gates the relationships not only between contractors together, but also between contractors and consumers, or more precisely citizens. It is possible to note, that the soundness in economics is strong affected by culture of the country and also by laws and social rules, hold for given country.
The selection of sample was realized by random sampling from basic set of all country citizen oldest then 15 years, whereby it was not allowable subject substitution, they were no possible to contact, or they refused to fill the questionnaire.
In our analysis we focused on international comparison in the next areas of economic moral-ity: a honesty by money obtaining, a protection of consumer interests, an acceptance of an unethi-cal conduct and an unethiunethi-cal conduct of citizen alone.
Items, which related to the first two areas, rated respondents at 5-pointed scale of agreement – disagreement: 1 – agree strongly, 2 – agree, 3 – neither agree nor disagree, 4 – disagree, 5 - dis-agree strongly.
In the area adjoining unethical conduct of citizen alone, the respondents answer by 5-pointed scale: 1 – never, 2 – once, 3 – twice, 4 – three times or four times, 5 – five times or more.
The area of the citizens acceptance of unethical conduct, in which respondents had to present, how many friends they could address for obtaining unauthorized benefits, was evaluated on scale: 1 – none, 2 – a few of them, 3 – quite a lot, 4 – most or all of them, 5 – I would never do it. 3. Results
Area of our analysis, on which we concentrated as the first, may be identified as a perception of rules and laws, valid in each country. Essentially, it went about reviewing of respondent´ s hon-esty behaviour by money obtaining. Concrete results of international comparison are shown in the next figure:
(1 – agree strongly, 5 – disagree strongly) 3,68 3,62 3,59 3,57 3,44 3,39 3,39 3,32 3,27 3,26 3,25 3,22 3,12 3,11 3,1 3,05 2,99 2,99 2,95 2,93 2,9 2,89 2,65 2,61 0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4 Portugal Norw ay Denmark Netherlands Sw eden Iceland Spain France Austria Czech Republic United Kingdom Finland Germany Slovakia Ireland Estonia Sw itzerland Slovenia Belgium Luxembourg Hungary Poland Greece Ukraine
on the ground of statistical method analysis of variance (Factorial Analysis) using the Tuky’s test for Post Hoc comparison. Obtained results allow specifying eight states, in which the respondents expressed medium agreement with that, it is not possible to behave always honesty, if we want to obtain money. Majority, include Slovakia, don’t agree (but in different rate) with honesty failure in a acting.
The level of a protection of consumer interests on the present was a point of second compari-son in this questions block. Results of analysis (see Figure 2) confirmed lower level of this protec-tion in states, they entered in EU later, or they are not a member of the Union. In term of formuli-zation viewed item it needs to be notice on the fact that except for Hungary and Ukraine, in all other countries was pronounced agreement with improvement of consumer position by the protec-tion of their interests. It stands to reason, that attenprotec-tion, which is devoted to this area of economic morality in Europe, is positive evaluated by respondents. Position of Slovakia (despite of medium agreement with these characteristics) is at the end this states, what is the signal of existing reserve in the assertion of principles consumer interests protection in our country. Individual state groups were once again set by statistical method analysis of variance (Factorial Analysis) using the Tuky´s test for Post Hoc comparison.
In the next analyzed area of economic morality, we focused on finding the degree of agree-ment with unethical respondents conduct, at which we analyse only one answer of the all possible answers, concrete answer: respondent could obtain no friend support for his unethical conduct. Results of analysis shows figure 3.
(1 – agree strongly, 5 – disagree strongly) 3,5 3,13 2,86 2,85 2,79 2,74 2,74 2,71 2,19 2,55 2,54 2,52 2,5 2,49 2,46 2,45 2,45 2,43 2,43 2,41 2,34 2,34 2,33 2,32 0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4 Hungary Ukraine Estonia Slovakia Czech Republic Iceland Poland Germany Portugal Slovenia Austria Sw eden Denmark United Kingdom Luxembourg Finland Sw itzerland Norw ay France Greece Ireland Spain Belgium Netherlands
24,10% 27,70% 27,80% 28,10% 28,30% 32,30% 32,80% 33,20% 33,70% 35,60% 37,20% 37,90% 39,90% 46,50% 46,50% 50,40% 55,60% 55,90% 57,70% 58,30% 58,30% 58,70% 65,20% 65,20% 0,00% 10,00% 20,00% 30,00% 40,00% 50,00% 60,00% 70,00% Poland Austria Portugal Estonia Slovakia Ukraine Iceland Spain Germany Slovenia Ireland Czech Republic Luxembourg Denmark Greece Finland Belgium Norway Hungary Switzerland Sweden United Kingdom France Netherlands
As it is possible to see, with unethical conduct most disagree respondents from Netherlands, France, United Kingdom a other, mostly Scandinavian countries. On the other hand, citizens from Poland, Austria, Portugal, Estonia and Slovakia disagree with this behaviour. Our results confirm, that country wealth allows high standard of living. Citizen has no need to obtain something more by unfair way. Government takes care of everything. The system of connected bowls works here: Were the economy and democracy is working, the corruption does not have chance to be present.
In the last analyzed area we target the unethical conduct of citizens alone. From 5-pointed scale of possible answers within question, if respondent offered inducement to public agent, we focused only on answer „never“. Results of analysis are shown in the next figure 5.
Our findings show evidence of, as noted previously, that degree of corruption in large rate mirror forwardness of country. The more country prosper, thereby is smaller need for inducements providing, or exercitation another forms of corruption for obtaining advantages by unfair way. Under unfair way we understand dishonest, lawless practises, but also practises different from usage regulars, which are in general considered to be fair. According to data from figure, Slovakia is situated together with Estonia, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Denmark and Portugal (even though in different rate) between countries, which degree withhold of inducement over the past 5 years does not go over 90 %.
66,60% 74,10% 78,80% 83,80% 86,90% 88,80% 88,90% 90,20% 91,90% 92,50% 93,70% 94,50% 95,90% 96,40% 96,60% 96,60% 97,10% 97,50% 97,80% 98,30% 99,20% 99,30% 99,50% 99,70% 0,00% 20,00% 40,00% 60,00% 80,00% 100,00% 120,00% Estonia Ukraine Poland Hungary Slovakia Denmark Portugal Greece Germany Czech Republic Austria Luxembourg Slovenia Ireland Spain Sweden Finland Belgium Switzerland Norway France Netherlands Iceland United Kingdom
4. Conclusion
Presented results indicate that economic morality stays in the centre of the attention of par-ticipated countries ´ Citizen. It is obvious, that this area of social life is changing in line with the changes in society and changes of rules of citizens´ life in society.
Our outcomes confirmed existing differences in perception of moral rules of economic life in society. In our opinion, they are connected with more extensive problem of asserting the democ-ratic principles in the interpersonal relationships.
Results point at existing differences in researched area between countries, that are creating democratic basements yet (Slovakia is one of them) and between countries that experience longer democratic evolution.
Bibliography
1. Inglehart, R. (1997): "Modernization and Postmodernization. Cultural, Economic and Political Change in 43 Societies". Princeton: Princeton University Press.
2. Karstedt, S. (1999): "Beutegesellschaft: Zur moralischen Oekonomie moderner Marktgesellschaften" (Predatory society: On the moral economy of modern market societies), Soziale Probleme, 10 (2): 99-115.
3. R Jowell and the Central Co-ordinating Team, European Social Survey 2004/2005: 4. Technical Report, London: Centre for Comparative Social Surveys, City University
(2005)
* príspevok je spracovaný v rámci riešenia grantového projektu . 1/3659/26 grantovej agentúry VEGA
** R. Jowell and the Central Co-ordinating Team, European Social Survey 2004/2005: Technical Report, London: Centre for Comparative Social Surveys, City University (2005)
Miroslav FRANKOVSKÝ –
Faculty of management, Prešov University, Prešov e-mail: franky@saske.sk
Anna TAKÁ OVÁ -
Institute of Social Sciences SAS Košice, e-mail: takac@saske.sk,
