Business and Hospitality Ethics

The “business” in business ethics refers to the local, national, and international economy and those industries that have a major impact on the economy.

From an academic perspective at NAU, business ethics includes subjects from The W. A. Franke College of Business, the School of Hotel and Restaurant Management, the Department of Business & Administration at NAU-Yuma, as well as the economic aspects of subjects taught in departments across campus, such as the College of Health and Human Services, the School of Music, the Department of Educational Leadership, the School of Communication, the Department of Politics and International Affairs, and many others.

People in leadership roles regularly deal with business ethics. Making good ethical decisions is not always easy. It can require that a person think beyond their comfort zone and look for potential ethical issues. It is key not only to understand the foundations of ethics, but also to have tools to help make decisions.

In The W. A. Franke College of Business, faculty developed a decision-making model based in managerial decision-making literature but with a focus on the ethical dimensions of a decision. This model, called the COVER model, has been used by students and alumni, as well as regional businesses and governmental agencies.

Because different organizations work differently, and people think differently, we also have collected several organization-developed decision-making models. Our page on organization models will link you to several different decision-making models that might fit your style. We selected these models because they incorporate several different ethical philosophies to help you gain a broad perspective of the implications of your decision.

Northern Arizona University’s School of Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) is home to the Isbell Hospitality Ethics Program. Professor Allen Reich and Chef Mark Molinaro serve as the current Isbell Hospitality Ethics Professors.

The goal of the Isbell Professorship is to improve the ethical climate in the hospitality and tourism industry by emphasizing and highlighting awareness for hospitality students and professionals. This goal is pursued through research, teaching, and professional workshops. Research literature supports that it is imperative to teach ethics to hospitality students.

As part of their role, these professors will work to organize a professional summit with a key topic focused on ethics. The summit is planned to take place in the spring or summer of the coming year, and will be geared toward hospitality professionals, with students invited and encouraged to attend.

Mackey, J.D., McAllister, C.P., Ellen, B.P. III, & Carson, J.E. (2021). A Meta-Analysis of Interpersonal and Organizational Workplace Deviance Research. Journal of Management, 47(3), 597-622;
Mackey, J.D., Ellen III, B.P., McAllister, C.P., & Alexander, K.C. (2021). The dark side of leadership: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis of destructive leadership research. Journal of Business Research, 132, 705-718;
Odom, C.L., & McAllister, C.P. (January 25, 2021). Getting representative sponsorship right in your organization. Sloan Management.
Mackey, J.D., McAllister, C.P., & Alexander, K.C. (2021). Insubordination: Validation of a measure and an examination of insubordinate response to unethical supervisory treatment. Journal of Business Ethics, 168(4), 755-775;
Mackey, J.D., McAllister, C.P., Maher, L.P., & Wang, G. (2019). Leaders and followers behaving badly: A meta-analytic examination of curvilinear relationships between destructive leadership and followers’ workplace behaviors. Personnel Psychology, 72(1), 3-47;
Mackey, J.D., Brees, J.R., McAllister, C.P., Zorn, M.L., Martinko, M.J., & Harvey, P. (2018). Victim or culprit? The effects of entitlement and felt accountability on workplace bullying. Journal of Business Ethics, 153(3), 659-673;
McAllister, C.P., & Perrewé, P.L. (2018). About to burst: How state self-regulation affects the enactment of bullying behaviors. Journal of Business Ethics, 153(3), 877-888.
Riech, A.Z., Respect: An Ethical Solution to Employee Motivation in the Hospitality Industry with HospitalityNet.
Reich, A. Z., & Dai, W., The Differential Impact of Monological and Dialogical Corporate Social Responsibility Communication Strategies on Brand Trust in the Credence Goods Market in the Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing & Logistics (an SSCI journal). This article was written with Wenbin Dai (Principal Investigator), Associate Professor in the College of Economics and Management at Tianjin University of Science and Technology (a former Chinese Scholar at NAU).
Reich, J. H., Reich, A. Z., & Dai, W. (2018) Understanding and Minimizing Bias in the Measurement and Assessment of Qualitative Performance Criteria in Human Resource Departments in Chinese and United States Hotels: An exploratory study of practices of excellent firms. US-China Cultural Exchange International Poster Fair (Conference). A study of the impact and effectiveness of the institutionalization of values and ethical practices of Chinese and U.S. firms.
Reich, A. Z., & Reich, J. H. (2017) Understanding and Minimizing Bias in the Measurement and Assessment of Human Resource Departmental Performance in Hospitality Firms: A Conceptual Review of Existing Research and Practices of Excellent Firms. Council for Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Educators (Conference). A study of the impact and effectiveness of the institutionalization of values and ethical practices of U.S. firms.
Reich, A. Z., Collins, G. R., & DeFranco, A. L. (2016). Is the Road to Effective Assessment of Learning Outcomes Paved with Good Intentions? Understanding the Roadblocks to Improving Hospitality Education. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure and Sports Education, 18, 21-32. A study of the impact of ethical decision-making in higher education.
Reich, A. Z., Xu, H. Y., & McCleary, K. W., (2010). The Influence of Consumer and Brand Social Responsibility on Brand Loyalty in Quick-Service Restaurants, FIU Review, 28(1), 20-51. A study of both consumer and corporate social responsibility—consumer and corporate ethics as applied to social responsibility.
Mitchell, J. and Yordy, E. (2010). COVER It: A Comprehensive Framework for Guiding Students Through Ethical Dilemmas, Journal of Legal Studies Education, 27(1), 35-60). This article outlines the theory and process behind the COVER model which can be found under Decision-Making resources on this site.
Yordy, E. (2021) Managing Change Ethically: Incorporating Change Management and Project Management Into the Business Ethics Discussion, Journal of Law, Business & Ethics, 28, 43-65