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
audiobook 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.
