On Being Ethical _Ch10

8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10

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10

o bci a eical maa

I has become dramaically clear ha he oundaion o corporae

s ps .

Su DPzz, CEO, PwusCps, 2003

Much o wha I have discussed hus ar perains o wha a manager

sud d s s p. Ap

role i a orgaizaio would ivolve cerai higs ha are

expeced rom ha role, wheher or oou lie doighem.Ma, probabl mos, emploees joi a orgaizaio o o

xpss ps vus bu u ss

heir role demands (and ge paid or doing so). Te employee may

( pbb ds) up jb sp v d

i would be exraordiaril luc or him i his persoal values

d w s ddd b s jb. s x

xps, ps ds s, bu , b

o circumsaces, joi a abaoir; aoher migh become a

xu, u s w d wud b

o sragle ad ill a huma beig. Tose who joi he armed

s s b s su: b, sd s

d up sds, u , usd

s , bu.


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Being Ethical 196

Tus, b d b ps

ud qu d s. A b ds

o he exe o which people could be drive b he rolexps s pvdd b us xps S

Milgram (Box 10.1). Perecly decen people resored o inicing

( s u) ubvb u subjs

sus xp, w d

demaded i. you are probabl amiliar wih he arociies

commied b he nazis i he coceraio camps, ma

o whom hough he were obeig orders, merel plaig

.

Bu here is always some dissonance when he values demanded

by roles clash wih personal value sysems. Some learn o suppress

ps vus; s v s w

w v d s p jb d s

sai or aemp suicide. I is impora o, hereore, clearl

udersad our value ssem, he demads rom he role ou

d up p, d pb. I wds,u d udsd u ss.

box 10.1

Human Propensity for Obedience: The Milgram

Experiments

These amous experiments on how ar human beings will go just

to be obedient were rst conducted in 1961 by Stanley Milgram,

a social psychologist rom Yale University. The objective was to

investigate the eects o authority and willingness or obedience.

The experiments were meant to probe into the extent to which

the atrocities conducted by Nazi prison guards on their prisoners


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could be explained simply by their psychological need to obey

orders rom some authority.

In this experiment, there was a subject who played the role o

a teacher, and a learner who, unknown to the subject, was the

researchers collaborator. The teacher and the learner were in

two separate rooms where they could communicate but not see

each other. The teacher was to teach some word pairs to the

learner, and test his response to questions. Whenever a question

was wrongly answered, the teacher was to administer an electric

shock to the learner as a punishment. There was actually noelectric shock, but the teacher did not know that; the learner

would cry out as i he was actually being subjected to an electric

shock. The teacher thought he was administering the shock as

he could hear the cries o the learner.

Progressively, the voltage at which the shocks were administered

was increased. The learner would act in a more and more

desperate and pained tone, and tape-recorded sounds o the

learner thumping on the door, begging the teacher to stop, etc.

were played. The teacher would eel distressed and would want

to stop the experiment, but the experimenter would urge him to

continue in the interest o science. Even when the voltage reached

450 volts, more than enough to kill a person, most o the teachers

did not stop; they merely obeyed the experimenter, although they

experienced great anguish. The experiment was terminated when

the voltage reached 450 volts, and the teacher was debrieed,

told this was an experiment and the learner was an accomplice

and had in act not been subjected to any distress.

What percentage o people do you think actually go to this

extent o causing pain and inficting a possibly atal punishment

on the learner? Would you do it? When this question was posed

to a group o people, less than 1 percent said that they would go

On Becoming an Ethical Manager 197


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Being Ethical 198

to the extent o administering the highest level o punishment.

But amazingly, about 65 percent o the subjects simply obeyed

the experimenter and went all the way in administering the ull

shock. In some cases, the learner pleaded that he had a heart

condition but even so the teachers continued, although they

elt deeply distressed. The teachers were perectly normal,

ordinary people, and were, by no stretch o imagination, sadists

or psychologically disturbed people. The experiments were

repeated with many types o people and in dierent countries

and the results were broadly similar.It would thus seem that being subjected to authority indeed

makes people submissive and makes them do things they would

not dream they would do. Their moral values can be subverted

so easily.

I this was the result with an experimenter and some subjects

over whom he had no real power, you can imagine what happens

when bosses wield huge real power.

For an enactment o this experiment, see the ten-minute video

at www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6GxIuljT3w.

deveLoPment of A morAL sense

Are huma beigs bor wih a moral sese? Is a moral sese

inheren in human beings, or is i developed by he circumsances,

b v w bu up?

W s dub v su s w

u pd, d u p w u dd,

s u d, . d p sp u vus

as you grow up, here is a grea deal o evidence ha children have

an inherent sense o airness, jusice, and ehics. Tus when a small

group o childre are give cooies or pacaes o share, he


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ed o share hem equall. Some ieresig sudies o his

ss v Bx 10.2.

box 10.2

Development of Moral Sense

Do human beings have an inherent moral sense, a sense o

airness, or is it acquired? The economist James Harbaugh and

his colleagues conducted a series o experiments, one o which

was the so-called dictator game. In this game, there are two

participants, A and B. A has, say, a bundle o $1 notes, amounting

to $10 (the experiment has been conducted with dierent

amounts o money to be shared) and A can give whatever he

wants to B, who has to accept whatever is oered. The game is

fnished; it is a one-shot game, and this is made clear at the

beginning itsel. You would expect that since there is no next

round and no consequences (this is announced in advance), noone would oer anything to the other person. Yet, when the

game was played with many types o participants rom dierent

countries, races, income levels, and strangers versus known

people (or example, students in the same class), while many

oered nothing (as expected), a signicant number (around 50

percent) oered to share the amount equally with B.

In a small variation (called the ultimatum game), while A could

oer any amount to B, B has the option o taking that amount,

in which case A keeps the balance, or reuses it, in which case

both get nothing. Here two things happened. The number o

people who oered nothing reduced (more people oered

something) and interestingly, many who were oered $2 or less

reused to take it. Rationally they should not do this because by



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Being Ethical 200

their reusal, they stand to lose even the amount oered. Here,

the motive was more like hurting A or his unairness, even i that

meant that B hurt himsel in the process. There was thus more

satisaction in hurting A by depriving him o the larger share, than

the cost o hurting himsel by losing the smaller share oered.

There was a perceived moral outrage.

These two experiments indicate a built-in sense o airness in

humans, as opposed to a purely rational approach to maximize

gains. In the dictatorship situation, people shared something, in

act nearly hal, as it was fair to do so (even though they wereworse o as a result). In the ultimatum game, they tended to eel

hurt and retaliated when treated unairly.

These two experiments have been repeated among young

school going children (aged veseven). Surprisingly, the same

pattern was repeated, although children younger than fve tended

to be more selsh. Thus not only is there an inherent sense o

airness, but it develops quite early in lie. It seems that it is not

natural to be selsh and appropriate as much as you can. This

means that when you are orced to be unair, a dissonance is set

up; you eel uncomortable.

As d w d dvp vus s w, d

s s pvss. Bu s s ss

d u p, w s bs sw w d

p s. I s dsv js

ad graduall grow comorable wih i. Whe he are oug,

d sus p s; jus svs.

Bu soo, while plaig, while i school, ec., he sar

udsd s, w sud

s wud bu s ddd b . Tus v

junior classes, sudens appoined as moniors become conscious


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o heir power ad use hreas ad puishme agais oher

sudes. Laer o, he could assume oher roles such as

represenaives, suden leaders, ec., and hey learn o adap heirbvu s.

Bu i is whe he eer orgaizaios ha he rul

udsd dds . I ss d

b us d ds bv. I s

s xp u s. Hw d

s s s v u dvp, s

b up bu s dvp s pss w

ps d . Ms pp d dvp

sb vu ss d qu s

vs; vus d u dd qu , d

d s ss.

Over a period o ime, hey learn o reconcile hrough a process

similar o he learig process o experiecig, reecio,

qus xs bs, d z w s bs.

Ts s s w-w - d, v Fu 10.1.

Figure 10.1: Values Development Cycle

Experiencing

Formation o Refection and

a new set o belies internalization

Questioning o

existing belies



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Being Ethical 202

Values Development Cycle

T b puzd s p u ss, s

b s d 10.1: xp, dz, qus xs bs, d

w s bs. Ts b xpd bw.

Experiencing

Exp s d pp. I pp,

eves pass b wihou maig a impressio o he perso,u bjs s v . T p s

pssv. Bu w p bs active, interprets

he evens, and relates hem o his own previous experiences, aih

ad belies, ad value ssem, he become experieces.

Experiences hus creae meaningor he recipien. Because o his,

xps s u d d b

d p.

Refection and Internalization

Ts vvs sus v: w ppd,

w u w spsb s u, w d u

pvus xps, d w w vs u. Ts

ma ivolve prologed hiig, or ma be quic, almossubsus. yu , I su, w s k

As G d s udw

k w. ksu Msus, ud Msus E

Cp (w ws bd Ps), us

experiece he had ha rasormed his lie. He oce visied a

sawmill. He oud i o be absoluel ea ad clea, ad he

worers ully dedicaed o heir job. Wha impressed him he mos


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ws ws ppd b s d pp. T

sawmill was acually a par o a Zen Buddhis emple, and Masushia

d p udsd w s ws sd. H ws d ws bus ws w

w ws bu pups. Msus dd

s d sw s w . H ss

p wds dd s s ps s

ps, bu s s sv s,

d s Msus Psp (k,1997).

Wha Masushia did was o rasorm a eve io a

xp u pss . Bu dd sp

; w qus s xs bs s w, w s

S 3 .

Quetioning Exiting Belie

Belies are ormed over a period o ime, and are reinorced hroughsv xps. O d, dfu

modi, ad his is especiall so sice he perso gahers more

vd supp s bs, d js su

ha does no suppor hem. Tus a person who believes, say, ha

Muslims are violece proe ad Hidus have suered over

ceuries due o heir wea ad accommodaig aure, eeps

noe o every rio and he number o Hindus illed, bu convenienly

does o loo a he umber o Muslims illed. Ever ac o

errorism by some Muslim is used as evidence o bolser his belie,

ad acs o errorism or violece b Hidus is see as righul

. T s pp, us, Mus s w,

Os b Ld b p xp.

A d d s w jus s s bs, bu

which ca quesio hem. Reecio ivolves eepig a ope



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Being Ethical 204

mid. Masushia ep a ope mid ad go ew isighs.

Buddha, aer he waled ou o his palace, joied a group o

ss (d ss)w psd x uss dd bd p svs, bv s ws w

d u. H zd, s , s ws w

ad proceeded o discover his ow wa. His earlier ideas were

vd x d d d .

Ms v p d b sss. T dvp

sereoypes (as o course everyone does) o people, some noions

on wha wors and wha does no, and he bes way o do hings.

Tese are simpliig mechaisms i he mid o cope wih a

u px wd. Bu bd d

o he ehics o wha hey are doing. For example, a manager who

bvs ks p dsp d ss

he smalles preex will exaggerae even a minor error by a keralie

employee, wihou giving him a second chance. Even oday, cerain

cases ad ribes are cosidered crime proe ad are uairl

d w.

Modication o Exiting Belie

Someimes, o alwas, he ew evidece ad acs ha have

come o ligh may lead o he rening or revising o exising belies.

Obvus, bs d vus b vsd uus,

bu b ss w d b vsd. M

oen, exising belies and values are rened. Tese crysallize ino

sb vu ss, d ps s sd v dvpd

his ow characer. Jus as i plas ad ovels well-developed

s v d pdb bu d

v w , pp w dvp d

pdb bu . B ps

dvp su .


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Te ccle coiuesurher experieces modi belies

u. Bu , sp s vus d

u.

What should you, a an Ethical Manager, Do?

you eed o acivel udersad ad ierpre he experieces

ou go hrough. tae ime o reec o heir sigicace ad

undersand wha hey mean o you. Wha did his experience ell

u bu us d u vus? D u w b?D u bs d vus d ?

Gadhi is he bes example o a perso who emploed his

pp s . H d s bs vus s dd

rom seeig plas based o he Ramayana , Sravaa, ad

Hsd: vus u, sv s, d p

s wd. H s d bu d ws

he world, oabl Leo tolsos wor, which ispired him. Hisd xps ws d w bjv

o becomig a beer perso. no woder he amed his

ubp My Experiments with ruth. F , s w

was an experimen. I was always o discover wha lie is all abou,

udsd w pdus w su.

A x xp s pp b Gd s w

d v Su A (s Bx 10.3).

box 10.3

Gandhis Experiences with Apartheid in South Africa

Mahatma Gandhi, then merely M.K. Gandhi, landed in South

Arica in April 1893 to argue a case or an Indian businessman



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Being Ethical 206

settled there. Shortly ater reaching Durban, he needed to go to

Pretoria to meet his client. He purchased a rst-class ticket and

boarded the train.

When the train reached Pieter-Martizberg station in the middle

o the night, a white man came into the compartment and called

the train conductor to throw this coolie out o rst class. There

were no laws preventing a non-white rom travelling in frst class,

and Gandhi reused to get down and travel in the luggage van,

as ordered by the ticket conductor. He, along with his belongings,

was thrown out o the train onto the platorm and the train let.Gandhi shivered in the night in the waiting room (his overcoat

was in his luggage which was taken by the Railway authorities)

and then

I began to think o my duty. Should I ght or my rights or go back to

India, or should I go to Pretoria without minding the insults, and return

to India ater nishing my case? It would be cowardice to run back to

India without ulflling my obligation. The hardship to which I was

subjected was superfcialonly a symptom o the deep disease o

colour prejudice. I should try, i possible, to root out the disease and

suer hardships in the process. Redressal or wrongs I should seek

only to the extent that would be necessary or the removal o the

colour prejudice (Gandhi, 1927: 94).

Gandhi, in act, spent the night on the platorm reading the Holy

Quran (which his riend had given him at the commencement o

the journey) and tried to relate his experience with its teachings.

It was thus a truly purposeul refection and Gandhi understood

how to relate the concepts o orgiveness and standing up or

the weak to his lie and he ound a mission.

There were many such incidents in South Arica, such as his

being beaten up by white goons and being thrown on a sidewalk

by a white guard. In each case he reused to retaliate against his


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attackers, orgave them, and reinorced his belie that retaliation

achieves nothing; objectives are better achieved through truth

and non-violence. From these ideas emerged the idea o

satyagraha, which he used to great eect in South Arica and,

later, in India.

does PerCeIved fAIrness dePend on the

IntentIons?

Are acions judged purely on heir own meri, or do he inenionsbehid a acio aec he judgeme o he acio ad is

ss? I s u, s p v

only a decision or an acion, bu he inenions behind he acion.

I would seem ha i is ideed impora o mae clear he

s, d su w p ud bvs

sd s. Tus s s d

w s psd (s Bx 10.4).

box 10.4

Fairness, Justice, and Intentions

You know that when courts give judgement in criminal cases a

actor taken into account is the motive or the crime. In other

words, an action is judged not only by the consequences, but also

the motive behind it.

Surprisingly, even very young children seem to take into account

the intent when they judge an event. Thus studies carried out with

our-to-fve-year-olds reveal that they can distinguish between a

child turning on a hose to help her mother in watering the plants,

and to dissolve her younger brothers sand castle; between a



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Being Ethical 208

chimpanzee leaping rom a tree to injure another as against

accidentally alling rom a tree resulting in injuring another; and

other similar situations. This was proved through a number o

experiments conducted on children, through showing them clips o

flms that showed such dierent situations. The dierences in context

were not obvious because the children had to make out the context

and the intention purely rom the lm, with no explanations.

Even simple changes in words can alter the perceived intentions

and the judgement. Consider the ollowing scenario, outlined by

Marc Hauser (2006: 51):

The Vice President o a company goes to the CEO and says, We are

thinking o starting a new programme. It will help us increase prots,

and it will also harm the environment. The CEO answers, I dont care

at all about the environment. I just want to make as much prot as I

can. Let us start the programme. They start the programme. Sure

enough, it causes damage to the environment, as anticipated.

When asked how much blame the CEO deserves or what he did,

the overwhelming majority o respondents tend to say that the CEO

deserves the ull blame.

But i the word help replaces the word harm in the statement,

improves replaces causes damage and praise replaces blame, the

responses tend to be that the CEO deserves little praise or helping

the environment. While in the ormer case the harm is intentional, in

the latter case, the help is unintentional.

on beComIng An ethICAL mAnAger

T s sp wds b s s

s b d: w us d dsv u

rue values. For, leadership has ehics as a vial compoe. A

d s w ds pp some d bu

right d. T s w pp H d S


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u s dsp: d pp , bu ws

d? F dsv w d s, u

d w us. Hw w d u w us? Ts s b v qus, bu u d d s-

awareess is he excepio raher ha he rule. Wha are our

core srenghs and weanesses? Wha are he siuaions when you

b, d w u ub? Hw

s u vs, d w x u ppd

sd up ?

v sw s quss, u d

us pss sp. I s z pp

v s pp bu svs. yu d

s b us, vs

d d s.

T qus vb us w u w . Ts

s u vus. I s w u pss u s

your values become clear. When you are young, everyhing seems

aracive and desirable and you nd i difcul o mae consisens, wv . As u u, u pssv

b w s sus d ss s w s,

ad develop he courage o rejec some seemigl aracive

alernaives; you learn o ae a sand. Gradually oher people ge

b d w xp u, w s s

p dvp u .

When a person joins an organizaion, a conic in values begins.T s us z, bu s w

s p s uw, d s pd up w

du bs: Ts s w s d , d

Tis is how ou go up here. Tese develop io a paer o

behaviour, a rs in he organizaion, and laer, perhaps i pervades

u ps s w. s s v

ps, bu v d ps.



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Being Ethical 210

F xp, wv d us Rws,

dp qu s d uv

cause o he accide. Tis is he stated objective , bu eachucioal deparme ofcer is expeced o o d he real

us d, bu supp s dp, s,

ensure ha he responsibiliy is no xed on his deparmen. When

resposibili ges xed o oe deparme, his leads o

considerable pressure on he concerned ofcer o beer examine

vd; p vd s uw. T f

d s d dp w ws u d

upss ps.

Orgaizaios rouiel se objecives ha are viruall

ub d wud d sus. T , w

pss b , u bd su sus

ad ulimael lose corol over who does wha. People d i

pssb b d u su zs.

T v dp; , v v bu

qu. O, s bs s . Bu u, s ds bw u bs vus d

demands rom he organizaion, i would be beer or you o qui

ppu d d z w u

b .

to be able o ge ino such a sae o mind, you need o develop

a perspecive. I is hard o dene wha perspecive is, bu i is quie

eas o ell who does o have i. I is he abili o see adudersad ma issues ad heir implicaios all ogeher,

iegrae hem, ad ge a holisic picure. Tis comes hrough

experiece ad coscious broadeig o our mid. Readig

widely can give you glimpses o he dilemmas o lie and discussion

w s subsv ssus s w w bd

u d. d, ps x sus

up ps vw; u ud s bs d


17/24

discussion orums. Wha you do wih your ime ouside wor may

b p w u d du w.

Bu in odays hyper-compeiive world, how does one nd hesp ? Ts s p qus, bu s

quesion o wha you do wih he ime you have. An exraordinary

amou o ime is wased i paries, ge-ogehers, ad gossip

ssss v du w. I s z w u wud d

u v w u d w u b p

d d w.

Warren Bennis, he grea leadership hiner, has noed ha he

bes leaders alwas d ime o read a varie o boos ad

zs. T w v d, pu us f bu

sill d ime o read i a varie o was: durig ighs, o

wds d ds, w w , d s . I

s dw w u u v, bu w

u d w u v.

AnAtomy of fALL from grACe

On May 18, 2011, Mint carried an aricle on one o Indias greaes

achievers. He had esablished or himsel a sellar repuaion, rose

o head one o he mos respeced rms in he world, was involved

i a umber o philahropic aciviies, ad did a lo or Idia.

d, s ud ud s sus sdus, d

s d sp dw bsp bds s

presigious companies. Such charges were unhinable abou him,

s, v s .

I Ma 2011, he Chie o he Ieraioal Moear Fud

(IMF) ws usd p p d d ws

pu ps; d sp dw s ps IMF,

and his dreams o becoming he Presiden o France lay in aers.



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Being Ethical 212

A b Ids p , w bu

Indias mos successul It companies, Sayam (ironically, he word

satyam s u Ss d Id us),was ivolved i a umber o philahropic aciviies, ad was

spsb s up 108 d sv, s j

January 2009 and in his case, he has conessed o one o he larges

uds Id p s d (s Bx 10.5).

box 10.5

The Scandalous Satyam

In 2008, Satyam was Indias ourth largest IT company, with clients

around the world. Its ounder and CEO, Ramalinga Raju, was well

known and respected, and had earned awards such as the Ernst

& Young Entrepreneur o the Year in 2008, and the Golden

Peacock Award or Corporate Governance and Compliance

in 2008.On December 17, 2008, Raju announced plans to acquire two

companies, Maytas Inra and Maytas Properties, both owned by

members o his amily. The rationale was to diversiy Satyams

business portolio to avoid being tied to the IT services market.

However, the stockholders strongly protested these acquisitions.

They believed that only Raju and his amily would benet rom

the acquisition but Satyam would not.

In December 2008, the stock price o Satyam started declining

due to some news items about diculties it was having with the

World Bank on ethical issues. Though the company denied it,

three major outside directors resigned rom Satyams board o

directors. The company was coming to a position where it was

seriously running out o cash, although its books showed a


19/24

comortable position. On January 7, 2009, Raju sent a letter to

the Satyam board o directors and Indias Securities and Exchange

Commission, admitting his involvement in overstating the amount

o cash held by Satyam in its balance sheet by about $1 billion.

Furthermore, Satyam had a liability or $253 million arranged or

his personal use, and he had overstated Satyams September 2008

quarterly revenues by 76 percent and its quarterly prots by 97

percent. This announcement sent shockwaves through corporate

India and through Indias stock market. Not only did Satyams

stock price suer greatly (78 percent decline) but the overallmarket decreased by 7.3 percent on the day o the announcement.

Sadly, Satyam stood now or anything but the truth. Raju was

arrested and charged, and the shareholders lost a great deal o

their wealth. The company was taken over by Tech Mahindra and

has been salvaged partially, but there is no doubt that corporate

governance in India has taken a big hit and its reputation has

been tarnished.

Su s spd pp, w

w sussu d d d du d

aciviies hey had or alleged o have indulged in, raises a quesion:

W ppd? W dd d ? C s pp

ws p d spd pp sudd

s w? A ps

u d vd?

I d u su ps w wud vd: ()

corruping inuence o power leading o (b) a sense o invincibiliy;

(c) ambiion wihou purpose; and (d) suppression o guil hrough

raionalizaion, so ha you sop believing you are doing anyhing

w .



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Being Ethical 214

Corrupting Infuence o Power

Lord Acos dicum ha power corrups, ad absolue powerups bsu ss w ub ss. As

hey ascend in hierarchy, people whose ehical sandards are under

no quesion gain in power. I hey are successul, hey sar believing

in he inallibiliy o hemselves. Tey ae greaer and greaer riss

wih heir ehical posiios, as, or example, i succumbig o

bb, d pv busss sd, d sd d.

Ma execuives, whe he become seior, sop liseig o

anybody and undersanding he implicaions o heir acion. Bala

Bd, spd pss k Busss

School and he ounder o he Grea Laes Insiue o Managemen,

Cheai, said i a ierview abou such a perso who ell

d w d sd:

yu , s w d u w b w s

w ? yu w u.

Feeling o Invincibilit and Inallibilit

Tis sae o mind, o being supremely sel-conden, unwilling o

lise o oher pois o view, ad code o hadlig a

siuaio ha ma arise, is bes described b he Gree word

ubs. Ts s pd , s s s, b

all. Ad he all, whe i comes, is seep ad heav, ad ashappeed i he case o Berard Mado, who ra a oorious

pozi scheme hrough his rm Berard L. Mado Ivesme

Sus LLC, d u j, d

ragicall, his so, Mar Mado, uable o ace he igomi,

d sud.


21/24

Ambition without Purpoe

Lds d sussu s usu pp w b. T s b dsssd w sus qu d

wish o improve i, wih hemselves beig he ages or

improveme. A impora compoe o his ambiio is

purpose: a larger purpose owards which he ambiion is direced.

Ts pups ds xd bd us; ds v

supd ss u w w p s

organizaion, communiy, and sociey. Tis way here is a consan

us s w u ud s u : Is

u u ss ds ddss ssus?

A Rad will perhaps o agree o such a approach:

ubsd ps pusu ss d dvdus s,

she will argue, is he purpose o lie. Bu whe his happes,

i becomes a wild pursui o urher persoal aggradizeme

(as disic rom achieveme): a perso havig hudreds o

s ds sps b b d dus u vs.

T s pp w s s s w

w have, s pd w w be. Ts s

ambiio, bu wihou purpose. Waig o be a billioaire is

b, bu b pups.

Guilt suppreion through Rationalization

Raioalizaio is a well-ow pschological mechaism o

suppress guil and coninue o do wha you now is wrong. While

reasoning proceeds rom argumens o a conclusion, raionalizaion

is jus he opposie: i sars rom a conclusion and nds argumens

o jusiy i. For example, bribe-aing may be raionalized by such



22/24

Being Ethical 216

argumes as everoe does i, he bribe is small, he perso

v d , d s . I u su u

are going o do a cerain hing, argumens are no difcul o comeb. Such raioalizaio is ivariabl buil o ims argumes

d bs ps.

T s bv pss jud. L p

w d bs b pd, u

realize i is oo lae i ou are uwillig o loo hoesl a he

ps u s.

Raioalizaio has a edec o escalae. Ma people

proceed on he slippery pah o ehical ransgression, commiing

a greaer rasgressio a each sep. Iiiall i is a mior

graicaio, he a greaer oe, ad so o ad each sage is

raionalized o suppress he sense o guil. Tis behaviour exends

all he way rom corrupion scandals o insider rading, raud, and

s s u.

What should you, an Ethical Manager, Do?

yu d b w ps ud bv. yu s

us quss su s:

1. Do I dare ae an ouside opinion? Am I courageous enough

p d up w ps?

2. How readily do my subordinaes agree o my posiions? Do

d?

3. Is m ambiio ol or msel? Does i have a larger

pups?

4. A I s sd us d

us z p-d us?


23/24

ConCLusIon

B s ss ps pss developme. Tis sars wih he process o udersadig

us, w u u bs d vus , d w u

reall wa o achieve i lie. Tis ivolves reecio ad

sz u vus u d u s us.

Tis aes place very dierenly in lie or dieren persons; in ac,

s pss ds p , d s ss,

i eve aes a egaive ur. A good wa o udersad his

pss s d M.k. Gds ubp, My Experiments

with ruth (1927), d s x v, Te Making of

the Mahatma (1996) b S B.

to wha exe ou wa o become a ehical maager, or

even wheher o become one a all, is a personal decision. I canno

b pusud u squs pp (s ppd

oursel): ou pursue ehics o because i is more proftable

(u dd b s) bu s simply the right thing to do.T s s u bu p . T

several was, ad ou eed o ae he pah ou are more

b w. Fu udsd u vu ss

ds d, , .

T pps sw d wu u v

realizig i. Each sep is advaced oe i sep a a ime, ad i

uus ss s wu u b sus . Ts s sdus pss d u z w

ud j ds . T s p

in lie unlie a slip due o lac o compeency, or, while compeence

slip-ups or errors in judgemen can be redeemed, ehical slip-ups do

s sus qu . T ps s s.

Tus s b ,

bu s .



24/24

Being Ethical 218

key tAkeAWAys

1. Besides acquired values, huma beigs have a iae ss. Ts ds b uud.

2. As a child grows older, he learns o reconcile dieren values

and ehical imperaives. He develops his own unique ehical

ps.

3. Te process is ai o he well-ow learig ccle,

namely, experience, reecion, re-examinaion o old values

d w s.

4. Trough his process, a perso should come o ow

s. A d d ws w

s.

5. Te all rom grace is easy, and he roo causes can be raced

o power ad is corrodig iuece, developme o

ubs d ss vb d b, s

b wu pups, d u suppsshrough raionalizaion. Managers would do well o pause

d w d b s s.

referenCes

B, S. (d.). 1996. Te Making of the Mahatma.

Gadhi, M.k. 1927.An Autobiography or the Story o My Experiments

with ruth. Adbd: vjv us.

k, J. 1997. Matsushita Leadership. w y: F Pss.

Hauser, M. 2006. Moral Minds: How Nature Designed Our Universal Sense

of Right and Wrong. w y: HpCs.

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On Being Ethical _Ch10

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