Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
Lecture Notes
Chapter 7
Improving Group Ethical Performance
Organizational Ethics: A Practical Approach (3rd ed.)
Acting as a Morally Responsible Team Member
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•Individual behaviors have a signiticant impact on a team’s ethical
success or failure
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•Have a responsibility to:
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•Adopt a cooperative orientation
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•Do your fair share of the work
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•Be open and supportive
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•offer dissent
Adopting a Cooperative Orientation
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•Cooperative orientation: everyone does his or her part; work together
to reach shared goals
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•Individualistic orientation: rely on own effort to reach personal
agendas
Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
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•Competitive orientation: achieve personal objectives at the expense of
others
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•Cooperative groups have higher levels of achievement and productivity
than individualistic or competitive groups
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•How to foster cooperation
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•Put group success first
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•Engage in collaborative communication behaviors (concessions,
carrying through on promises, asking for help)
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•Pursue a joint product
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•Divide work fairly
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•Hold individuals accountable
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•Involve everyone in decision making
Engage in constructive conflict
Emphasize shared values
Doing Your Fair Share (Not Loa*ng)
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•Social loa*ng: reducing personal e1ort when working in a group
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•Combat social loa*ng by raising
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•Expectancy: expectation that individual e1ort will lead to high
group performance
Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
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•Instrumentality: the strength of the perceived relationship
between personal and group e1ort and group achievement
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•Valence: the desirability of the outcome for individual group
members
Displaying Openness and Supportiveness
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•Openness: willingness to surface and discuss issues and problems
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•Supportiveness: desire to help other succeed
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•Defensive vs. supportive behaviors
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•Control versus problem orientation
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•Strategy versus spontaneity
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•Neutrality versus empathy
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•Superiority versus equality
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•Certainty versus provisionalism
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•Psychological safety (the belief that individuals can speak up without
fear of being embarrassed or rejected) is a byproduct of open, supportive
communication
Being Willing to Stand Alone
Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
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•Minority opinion can signiticantly improve group performance
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•Encourages thought about the dilemma
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•Encourages divergent thinking
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•Minority opinion can lead the rest of the group to change its mind
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•Spark dissent by
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•Recruiting members from di1erent backgrounds
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•Protecting those who disagree
Responding to Ethical Danger Signs
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•Team interaction accounts for the ethical failure of many groups
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•Be alert to these signs that a group is in ethical danger
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•Groupthink
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•Mismanaged agreement
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•Escalating commitment
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•Excessive control
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•Moral exclusion
Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
Groupthink
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•Definition: when the team puts unanimous agreement ahead of
reasoned problem solving
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•Antecedents to groupthink
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•Highly cohesive team
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•Isolation
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•Operate without a decision making format when making choices
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•Highly directive leaders
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•Members close themselves o1 from outside information
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•Under stress
Groupthink Symptoms
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•Signs of Overcon*dence
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•The illusion of invulnerability
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•Belief in the inherent morality of the group
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•Signs of Closed-Mindedness
Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
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•Collective rationalization
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•Stereotypes of outside groups
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•Signs of Group Pressure
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•Pressure on dissenters
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•Self-censorship
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•The illusion of unanimity
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•Self-appointed mind-guards
Mismanaged Agreement
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•Definition: public support for decisions that are opposed in private
(the Abilene Paradox)
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•Mistaken belief that consensus exists
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•Causes of the Abilene Paradox
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•Action anxiety—fear of speaking up
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•Negative fantasies—imagined negative consequences for
speaking up
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•Real risk—getting fired, lost income, damaged relationships
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•Fear of separation—worry about being cut o1 from the rest of the
Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
team
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•Psychological reversal of risk and certainty—imagined fears lead
to real dangers
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•Breaking out of the Paradox
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•Recognize the symptoms
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•Speak up!
Escalation of Commitment
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•Definition: continuing along a failed course of action
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•Impact
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•Wastes resources and puts the organization at risk
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•Encourages unethical behaviors
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•To de-escalate commitment:
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•Be alert to red 5ags
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•Bring in new group members
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•Hire an outside auditor
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•Don’t be afraid to withhold further funding
Craig E. Johnson, Organizational Ethics, Third Edition
Instructor Resource
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•Isolate the project
Excessive Control
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•Concertive (unobtrusive) control = excessive control of team members
