When confronted with an ethical dilemma, most of us like to think we
would stand up for our principles. But we are not as ethical as we think
we are. In Blind Spots, leading business ethicists Max Bazerman and
Ann Tenbrunsel examine the ways we overestimate our ability to do what
is right and how we act unethically without meaning to. From the
collapse of Enron and corruption in the tobacco industry, to sales of
the defective Ford Pinto, the downfall of Bernard Madoff, and the
Challenger space shuttle disaster, the authors investigate the nature of
ethical failures in the business world and beyond, and illustrate how we
can become more ethical, bridging the gap between who we are and who we
want to be.
Explaining why traditional approaches to ethics don't work, the book
considers how blind spots like ethical fading--the removal of ethics
from the decision--making process--have led to tragedies and scandals
such as the Challenger space shuttle disaster, steroid use in Major
League Baseball, the crash in the financial markets, and the energy
crisis. The authors demonstrate how ethical standards shift, how we
neglect to notice and act on the unethical behavior of others, and how
compliance initiatives can actually promote unethical behavior. They
argue that scandals will continue to emerge unless such approaches take
into account the psychology of individuals faced with ethical dilemmas.
Distinguishing our "should self" (the person who knows what is correct)
from our "want self" (the person who ends up making decisions), the
authors point out ethical sinkholes that create questionable actions.
Suggesting innovative individual and group tactics for improving human
judgment, Blind Spots shows us how to secure a place for ethics in our
workplaces, institutions, and daily lives.
