Despite good intentions, organisations set themselves up for ethical catastrophes by creating environments in which people feel forced to make choices they could never have imagined. Here are five ways organisations needlessly provoke good people to make unethical choices. 1. It is psychologically unsafe to speak up: A manager’s reactions to an employee’s concerns sets the tone for whether or not people will raise future issues. If a leader reacts with even the slightest bit of annoyance, she is signalling she doesn’t really want to hear concerns. 2. There is excessive pressure to reach unrealistic performance targets: Research suggests unfettered goal setting can encourage people to make compromising choices to reach targets, especially if those targets seem unrealistic. Organisations must ensure people have the resources, timelines, skill and support they need to achieve targets they are given, especially ambitious stretch goals. 3. Conflicting goals provoke a sense of unfairness:...
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