Perceived Certainty of Detection and Employee Theft: The Relationship Explored

Perceived Certainty of Detection and Employee Theft

Question

Perceived certainty of detection is directly related to employee theft for respondents in all industry sectors, that is the stronger the perception that theft would be detected, the more the likelihood that the employee would engage in deviant behavior.

Answers

Explanations

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A. B.

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The statement presented in the question is:

"Perceived certainty of detection is directly related to employee theft for respondents in all industry sectors, that is the stronger the perception that theft would be detected, the more the likelihood that the employee would engage in deviant behavior."

The question is asking whether this statement is true or false. Let's break down the statement to analyze its components and determine its accuracy:

"Perceived certainty of detection is directly related to employee theft for respondents in all industry sectors."

This part of the statement suggests that there is a direct relationship between the perceived certainty of detection and employee theft across all industry sectors. In other words, it implies that when employees believe that the likelihood of being caught for theft is high, they are more likely to engage in deviant behavior.

To evaluate the statement, we need to consider the psychological factors that may influence employee behavior in relation to theft. One such factor is the perception of detection. It is generally believed that individuals are less likely to engage in unethical or illegal behavior if they believe that there is a high probability of being caught.

Therefore, if employees perceive a high level of certainty that theft will be detected, it is reasonable to assume that they would be less likely to engage in theft. This is because the perceived risk of getting caught acts as a deterrent.

Conversely, if employees perceive a low level of certainty that theft will be detected, they may be more inclined to engage in deviant behavior, as they believe there is a lower risk of being caught. This is often referred to as the "opportunity theory," which suggests that the presence of suitable opportunities, coupled with a low perceived risk of detection, increases the likelihood of employee theft.

Based on these psychological dynamics, we can conclude that the statement is true. The stronger the perception that theft would be detected, the more likely it is that employees would refrain from engaging in deviant behavior, such as theft.