Transcript Causes and Cures of Personal Misconduct

Causes of Personal Misconduct
• Ignorance
– Of right and wrong
– Of whether something is right or wrong
• Weakness of Will
– Self-interest
• Desire for approval/ fear of disapproval
• Fear of consequences
• Desire for personal gain
Causes of Personal Misconduct
• Malice
– Much less common than ignorance or weakness
of will.
• Failures of empathy
– Blaming the victim, focus on self
– Too much focus on the near and dear
• Prisoner’s dilemma
Cures for Personal Misconduct
• Develop Awareness
– Of right and wrong
– Of whether something is right or wrong
• Commitment to Integrity
– Work to do the right thing even when it is hard.
• Recognize the sources of malice
– Failure to develop awareness and lack of
commitment to integrity
Cures for Personal Misconduct
• Develop your ability to empathize with
others.
• Educate yourself about what is going on in
your community.
• Take care of those near and dear but don’t
be indifferent to others.
• Reciprocity
Causes of Group Misconduct
• A few bad apples
• Banality of evil
• Narrow Focus
– Primary focus on insiders
– Primary focus on short term
• Failure of leadership
• Dilution of personal responsibility in groups
• Organizational process and structure
Causes of Group Misconduct
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Organizational Culture
Lack of Oversight
Misalignment of Incentives
Political Environment
Prisoner’s dilemma
Cures of Group Misconduct
• Isolate the bad apples
• Recognize our own role
• Broaden focus
– All stakeholders
– Long term
• Be a leader
• Take personal responsibility
• Reorganize: moral risk management
Cures of Group Misconduct
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Ethical Culture
Meaningful oversight
Realign incentives
Engage political process
Create a level playing field where doing the
right thing is encouraged.