Keywords
unintentional unethical decision-making, cognitive barriers, ideology, ethics, decision-making
Abstract
This paper brings together diverse research findings to suggest that there are several cognitive, ideological, and goal-pursuit barriers that often get in the way of ethical decision-making. The barriers lead managers to give little or no conscious attention to the ethical implications of their actions. The barriers that I categorize and describe are overconfidence, cognitively “filling-in” of missing information, social norm beliefs, ethical fixed mindsets, metaphors in-use, fairness and justice ideology, behavioral scripts, goal-fever (teleopathy), and goal framing. I describe the processes and mechanisms that underlie these barriers to increase awareness of them so that the willing manager may be better equipped to prevent unwanted effects. Most managers desire to do good work and behave ethically. Sometimes they make decisions and behave in ways that are unintentionally unethical. This paper helps to address that problem. Often, decisions involving more routine and less effortful consideration end up getting made without concern for the ethical implications. Throughout this paper the barriers are described and explained, business examples are provided, and suggestions for remedial steps are offered.
Recommended Citation
Bailey, J. J. (2023). Cognitive, Ideological, and Goal-Pursuit Barriers to Ethical Decision Making. Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology, 24(1), 40. Retrieved from https://openspaces.unk.edu/mpjbt/vol24/iss1/3
Date Accepted
2023-03-20
Date Submitted
2022-09-11
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Included in
Cognitive Psychology Commons, Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons
