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ApRil 2011 reprint r1104C
Failure: understand it
op yo rP os t
HBR.ORG
No tC Ethical
Breakdowns
Do
Good people often let bad things happen. Why? by Max H. Bazerman and Ann E. Tenbrunsel
This document is authorized for use only by Raju Majumdar until January 2012. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617.783.7860.
op yo rP os t
Failure Understand it
Good people often let bad things happen. Why? by Max H.
Bazerman and Ann E. Tenbrunsel
This april 2011
2 Harvard Business reviewdocument is authorized for use only by Raju Majumdar until January 2012. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617.783.7860.
illustration: Daniel HoroWitz
Do
No tC ethical
Breakdowns
op yo rP os t
FoR aRticle RepRints call 800-988-0886 oR 617-783-7500, oR visit hBr.orG
Do
No tC T
the vast majority of managers mean to run ethical organizations, yet corporate corruption is widespread. Part of the problem, of course, is that some leaders are out-and-out crooks, and they direct the malfeasance from the top. But that is rare. Much more often, we believe, employees bend or break ethics rules because those in charge are blind to unethical behavior and may even unknowingly encourage it.
Consider an infamous case that, when it broke, had all the earmarks of conscious top-down corruption. The Ford Pinto, a compact car produced during the 1970s, became notorious for its tendency in rear-end collisions to leak fuel and explode into flames. More than two dozen people were killed or injured in Pinto fires before the company issued a recall to correct the problem. Scrutiny of the decision process behind the model’s launch revealed that under intense competition from Volkswagen and other small-car manufacturers, Ford had rushed the Pinto into production. Engineers had discovered the potential danger of ruptured
fuel
Failure: understand it
op yo rP os t
HBR.ORG
No tC Ethical
Breakdowns
Do
Good people often let bad things happen. Why? by Max H. Bazerman and Ann E. Tenbrunsel
This document is authorized for use only by Raju Majumdar until January 2012. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617.783.7860.
op yo rP os t
Failure Understand it
Good people often let bad things happen. Why? by Max H.
Bazerman and Ann E. Tenbrunsel
This april 2011
2 Harvard Business reviewdocument is authorized for use only by Raju Majumdar until January 2012. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617.783.7860.
illustration: Daniel HoroWitz
Do
No tC ethical
Breakdowns
op yo rP os t
FoR aRticle RepRints call 800-988-0886 oR 617-783-7500, oR visit hBr.orG
Do
No tC T
the vast majority of managers mean to run ethical organizations, yet corporate corruption is widespread. Part of the problem, of course, is that some leaders are out-and-out crooks, and they direct the malfeasance from the top. But that is rare. Much more often, we believe, employees bend or break ethics rules because those in charge are blind to unethical behavior and may even unknowingly encourage it.
Consider an infamous case that, when it broke, had all the earmarks of conscious top-down corruption. The Ford Pinto, a compact car produced during the 1970s, became notorious for its tendency in rear-end collisions to leak fuel and explode into flames. More than two dozen people were killed or injured in Pinto fires before the company issued a recall to correct the problem. Scrutiny of the decision process behind the model’s launch revealed that under intense competition from Volkswagen and other small-car manufacturers, Ford had rushed the Pinto into production. Engineers had discovered the potential danger of ruptured
fuel