In reference to Niki Vaahedi‘s post on the topic of business fraud, she mentioned that the lure of this action is triggered by the mentality of “getting away”. However, this is not merely the cause to such business immortality. According to Business Insider, there is much more than just that. I found two approaches especially interesting:
1) Tunnel Vision: Single-minded focus on goal achievements can blind people to ethical concerns. Taking Enron for example, employees were offered bonuses when extra sales were achieved, which made them utterly blind to what were right or wrong. And the aftermath was the infamous Enron scandal.
2) Self-serving bias: Most people think they are smarter or more ethical than others. This idea perfectly aligns with the concept of “getting away”. When others have exceptional performances, it is not down to their capacity, but something else. Those feelings often promote unethical actions, and offenders are repeatedly deceived by self-overestimation.
While we can easily reason multiple psychological assumptions to analyze these actions, keep in mind that “what’s done is done.” Sophistry cannot varnish dishonesty. And remember, business ethics is the key to economic continuity.
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