Blind Spots

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When faced with ethical dilemmas, many believe they would uphold their principles, yet we often overestimate our ethical capabilities. The authors, both prominent business ethicists, explore how we inadvertently act unethically. They analyze notable failures in the business realm—such as Enron's collapse, tobacco industry corruption, the Ford Pinto scandal, and Bernard Madoff's downfall—to reveal the underlying nature of these ethical failures and how we can align our actions with our values. Traditional ethics approaches often fall short; the authors highlight blind spots like ethical fading, which removes ethics from decision-making, leading to disasters such as the Challenger shuttle tragedy, steroid use in baseball, and financial market crashes. They illustrate how ethical standards can shift and how we often overlook the unethical actions of others. Compliance initiatives may inadvertently encourage unethical behavior. By distinguishing our "should self" (the ethical decision-maker) from our "want self" (the one making choices), the authors identify ethical pitfalls that lead to questionable actions. They propose innovative strategies for individuals and groups to enhance ethical judgment, aiming to embed ethics in workplaces, institutions, and everyday life.