Winning by Staying in Bounds: Good Outcomes from Positive Ethics

Reading the business press can be discouraging, given the number of bad examples and ethical failures that readers encounter, from Ken Lay of Enron Corp to Bernie Ebbers of WorldCom Inc and more recently Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford. The authors believe they can and must do better, for themselve...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Organizational dynamics 2010-07, Vol.39 (3), p.248-257
Main Authors: Goolsby, John L, Mack, David A, Quick, James Campbell
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business ethics
Leadership
Learning
Organizations
Personality traits
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Reading the business press can be discouraging, given the number of bad examples and ethical failures that readers encounter, from Ken Lay of Enron Corp to Bernie Ebbers of WorldCom Inc and more recently Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford. The authors believe they can and must do better, for themselves and for the generations of business leaders to follow. They believe that they need to understand how to question themselves, as well as each other, about what is right and wrong, what is good and bad. They need to look to positive examples, even if there are only a few, as a basis for learning and then practicing. Positive examples and good outcomes, even when born of struggle and suffering, can be both instructive and inspirational. In addition, positive case examples can serve as the basis for scientific testing of what works best in practice to reduce or prevent the appalling spectacles that lead to moral outrage.
ISSN:0090-2616
1873-3530
DOI:10.1016/j.orgdyn.2010.03.007