An institutionalized normative system can be considered an
element of culture (Honigmann, 1959), although an organizational
culture is certainly more comprehensive, including, for
example, patterns of behavior, artifacts, ceremonies, and
special language (Smircich, 1983). Observers of organizational
ethical climate report only on those organizational norms concerning
practices and procedures with ethical consequences,
only a segment of their organizational culture (Ashforth,
1985). The climate questionnaire, then, is simply an instrument
to tap, through the perceptions of organizational participants,
the ethical dimensions of organizationacl ultur