Ann E. Tenbrunsel - Böcker

This book, in honor of David Messick, is about social decisions and the role cooperation plays in social life. Noted contributors who worked with Dave over the years will discuss their work in social judgment, decision making and ethics which was so important to Dave.The book offers a unique and valuable contribution to the fields of social psychology and organizational behavior. Ethical decision making, a central focus of this volume, is highly relevant to current scholarship and research in both disciplines. The volume will be suitable for graduate level courses in organizational behavior, social psychology, business ethics, and sociology.

This book takes a look at how and why individuals display unethical behavior. It emphasizes the actual behavior of individuals rather than the specific business practices. It draws from work on psychology which is the scientific study of human behavior and thought processes. As Max Bazerman said, "efforts to improve ethical decision making are better aimed at understanding our psychological tendencies."

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 Baseman's 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.

The eighth volume on "Managing Groups in Teams" focuses on the forces that perpetuate or mitigate unethical behavior in groups. Group-based interactions, in comparison to individual interactions, pose unique challenges: the salient dimensions in the external environment can be different, within-group processes must be considered, and decision-making needs to be analyzed within a group-based context. The authors in this volume reflect on these forces and their role in unethical behavior. In the external environment, legal and ethical standards, sanctioning systems, the strategic fracturing of knowledge within organizations, and the communication medium used in virtual teams are identified as important influences on unethical behavior in group settings. Within the group, it is argued that certain processes such as social cohesion, group-level envy, and the intersection of self-interest and social identity are influential in ethical dilemmas. And, at the decision-making level, an examination of ethical decision-making within groups suggests that perspective taking by individual members, the felt pressure to avoid in-group favoritism by minorities, and intergenerational decisions must be taken into account. Together, these articles underscore the importance of considering the role that groups play in unethical behavior and are an essential source of information for those who wish to understand how unethical decisions are perpetuated within groups and organizations.

This book takes a look at how and why individuals display unethical behavior. It emphasizes the actual behavior of individuals rather than the specific business practices. It draws from work on psychology which is the scientific study of human behavior and thought processes. As Max Bazerman said, "efforts to improve ethical decision making are better aimed at understanding our psychological tendencies."