Dec 28, 2015
I make decisions every day
Yes, but are they good?
What does a “good” decision entail?•Head
•Heart/gut
•Critical thinking/moral imagination
Aristotle’s Means of Persuasion
Logos
Pathos Ethos
Values
How (Un)ethical are you?
Implicit biases
Bounded Ethicality
Systematic constraints on our morality that favor our own self-interest
Your unfairness v. my unfairness•Resource distribution
Why we sometimes make not so great decisions.
Theories about Other People
Ethnocentrism
Stereotypes
Theories about the World
Cascade of consequences
-“You can never do just one thing.”
Judgment of risk
-Risk trade-offs and framing
Theories about Ourselves
Illusion of superiority•Favorability•Optimism•Control
Self-serving fairness biases
Overconfidence
Where would you place an X?
Compared to the other employees in my organization, I am …
the least an average the most
ethical employee employee ethical employee
While you might accept the fact that most people have inflated perceptions of their own ethicality, in all likelihood you remain skeptical
that this applies to you.
“Only the wisest and stupidest of [people] never change.” -Confucius
What is moral muteness?
Moral Immoral/Amoral
Moral
Amoral ??
(Bird & Waters, 1988)
BEHAVIORBEHAVIOR
SPEECSPEECHH
Moral Muteness
Moral Muteness: Causes
Threat to:•Harmony
•Efficiency
•Image of power and effectiveness
Moral Muteness: Consequences
Moral amnesia Narrowed conception of morality Moral stress Neglect of abuses Decreased authority of moral standards
T. L. Ceranic
Change Intervention
Open (yet structured) discussions Be patient Learn how to speak (write) ethics
“It is impossible to foster greater moral responsibility by business people and organizations without also facilitating more open and direct conversation about these issues by managers.”
Who comes to mind when you think of really successful companies?
Moral Imagination
Concerns over a lack of imagination in business have little to do with the overall
quantity of imagination and much more to do with the quality of imagination being exercised
regularly in the workplace.
What does moral imagination do?
Combats organization factors that corrupt judgment
Fosters creativity Offers new solutions Enters EACH stage of moral decision making
Rest: 4 stage model of EDM
Moral awareness
moral judgment
moral intent
moral behavior
Is this an ethical issue?
Ties to EDM stages
How to encourage moral imagination?
What kind of organizational context is necessary?
How could leaders encourage this type of thinking?