The latest from Work Matters
| The role of outcomes in assessing whether conduct is unethical |
| Ethical issues interest me, especially regarding how good people go bad. So I read with interest "Ethical Breakdowns," an article in the April issue of the Harvard Business Review . Max H. Bazerman and Ann E. Tenbrunsel tell readers that one way to stumble into unethical conduct is by overvaluing outcomes. They told Group A that a researcher, in submitting a drug application, included data points earlier tossed out on a technicality. The drug was approved, and people who took it died. In Group B, the researcher faked the data points, the drug was approved and was a success. Listen to what they found: "After participants read one or the other story, we asked them, 'How unethical do you view the researcher to be?' Those who read story A were much more critical than those who read story B, and felt that he should be punished more harshly. Yet as we see it, the researcher's behavior was more unethical in story B than story A. And that is how other study participants saw it when we removed (the outcome) from each story." Their conclusion: "Managers can make the same kind of judgment mistake, overlooking unethical behaviors when outcomes are good and unconsciously helping to undermine the ethicality of their organizations." So they suggest that managers should be aware of this bias, "examine the behaviors that drive good outcomes, and reward quality decisions, not just results." It is not just how people -- lawyers included -- get to where they want to be, but how they get there. The entire issue of the magazine deals with failure. I highly recommend it. |
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