Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

Ethical Leadership and the Psychology of Decision

Ethical Leadership and the Psychology of DecisionMaking

Most discussions of ethical conflict within a business organization are dominated by the assumption that executives are constantly faced with a tradeoff between ethics and profits. The discussions almost seem to assume that ethical behavior is unprofitable and that executives will always be torn between doing the ethical thing and the profitable thing.

The focus of this study is quite different. It is the contention here that most unethical behavior in organizations emerges from psychological tendencies. These psychological tendencies influence executive decisionmaking and lead to unethical behavior. The foundation article for this study is an article by Messick and Bazerman (1996) in which they contend that our theories about the world, other people, and ourselves shape our decisionmaking process. According to the authors, understanding our own personal belief systems in these areas can help us to make better, more ethical decisions.

The three different domains that Messick and Bazerman (1996) focus on are the world, other people, and ourselves. It is our theories about each one of these which comprise our belief system. People make decisions, including ethical decisions, based on their belief systems.

Theories about the world include an understanding of how the world operates, an understanding of consequences, the judgment of risk, the perception of causes, and a focus on people.

One of the major aspects of theories about the world that impact decisionmaking is the individual's belief about the causes of events. According to Messick and Bazerman (1996), most people tend to blame another person for causing a problem, and they tend to attribute more power to individuals to accomplish specific things. Blaming an individual is only one type of causation thinking, however. People can, and do, also attribute events and experiences to fate, luck, the gods...

Page 1 of 14 Next >

More on Ethical Leadership and the Psychology of Decision...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
Ethical Leadership and the Psychology of Decision. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 07:20, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1691967.html