Upload
random-house-india
View
220
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
1/24
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.
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
2/24
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
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
3/24
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
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
4/24
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
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
5/24
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
On Becoming an Ethical Manager 199
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
6/24
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
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
7/24
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
On Becoming an Ethical Manager 201
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
8/24
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
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
9/24
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
On Becoming an Ethical Manager 203
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
10/24
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 .
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
11/24
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
On Becoming an Ethical Manager 205
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
12/24
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
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
13/24
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
On Becoming an Ethical Manager 207
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
14/24
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
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
15/24
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.
On Becoming an Ethical Manager 209
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
16/24
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
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
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.
On Becoming an Ethical Manager 211
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
18/24
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
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
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 .
On Becoming an Ethical Manager 213
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
20/24
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.
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
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
On Becoming an Ethical Manager 215
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
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?
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
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 .
On Becoming an Ethical Manager 217
8/3/2019 On Being Ethical _Ch10
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.