ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on prior research and argues that professional moral courage (PMC) is needed to supplement baseline compliance-driven practices. It argues that working to achieve ethical strength is a necessary and recommended way forward to address human vulnerabilities. Firms striving to supersede ethical compliance are largely stakeholder-driven, because they inculcate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into their organizational identity, which fuels operational strategies and performance goals. With the advent of Positive Psychology, new areas of research have emerged in Positive Organizational Scholarship and Positive Organizational Ethics to address strength-based approaches to achieve business success. While improvements have been implemented, a study conducted by the Ethics Resource Center (ERC) reflects that a staggering number of employees still observe misconduct at work and a disconcerting number of employees report feeling pressure to compromise their ethical standards to achieve their performance goals. Self-regulation employs personal governance, reflecting an ability to restrain the impulse to act, as well as to know when to proceed.
