Blind Spots examines the ways we overestimate our ability to do what is right and how we act unethically without meaning to. This book suggests innovative individual and group tactics for improving human judgment.
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 sale of the defective Ford Pinto and the downfall of Bernard Madoff, 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 sports 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. 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.
ENDORSEMENTS:
"When we think of unethical behavior, the images that often come to mind are those of robbers, thieves, the executives at Enron, or Bernie Madoff. Blind Spots is not just about these criminal, but about a much larger problem – the dishonest actions that we all take while still thinking of ourselves as wonderfully moral people. In this important book, Bazerman and Tenbrunsel show us how we fail to see our own immoral actions in an objective light, and the trouble that this biased view gets us into." – Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational
"Bazerman and Tenbrunsel weave together solid scientific evidence, stories from the press, and reports from their own experiences to convincingly demonstrate that the actions of people and organizations often do not live up to their stated ethical standards. Addressing, in insightful ways, how this gap might be closed, this important book is a must-read for business leaders, government officials, and students of behavioral ethics." – Arthur P. Brief, University of Utah
"This terrific book summarizes the rapid advances made in the field of behavioral ethics and brings them to the attention of the thoughtful practitioner. With good examples and lucid writing, this book makes a reliable reference for people interested in building ethical organizations and institutions." – Madan Pillutla, London Business School
Blind Spots Attributes
| Author: | Max H. Bazerman and Ann E. Tenbrunsel |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press (2011) |
