Why Good People Do Bad Things

Transcription

1 Why Good People Do Bad Things The Psychology of Workplace Deviance Don Levonius, M.A. Principal Consultant Learning Objectives By the end of this webinar, you should be able to: Define workplace deviance Discuss the widespread and costly nature of employee theft and fraud Explain the complexity of ethical decision making Differentiate between moral and conditioned honesty Compare contrasting views of behavioral ethics Recognize rationalizations indicative of moral disengagement and deviance 2 Agenda Ethical crisis! Deviance defined Moral disengagement Scare conditioning Culture of integrity 3 1

2 Thieves from the outside can be guarded against, but how to handle the ones inside? Chinese Proverb 4 ETHICAL CRISIS! 5 Ethical Crisis 6 2

3 Ethical Crisis 7 Ethical Crisis 27% of employees believe their organization s leadership is unethical1 48% of employees admit to committing unethical or illegal acts at work2 76% of people believe the ethical compass of corporate America is pointed in the wrong direction3 1) SHRM, Williams (2011),,2) Jackson (2006), 3) Daft (2008) 8 Ethical Crisis Employee theft costs $50 Billion per year1 Incidents are increasing 3% annually2 Losses are increasing 10% annually3 1 in 30 employees stole at work last year4 30% - 40% of all business failures are caused by employee theft5 9 1) US Department of Commerce; 2, 3, 4) Jack L. Hayes International, Inc.; 5) US Small Business Administration 3

4 Ethical Crisis Psychological contract1 67% of employees are apathetic2 Norm of reciprocity3 25% show up just to get a check2 Reciprocal deviance4 20% sabotage their employers2 10 1) Greenhaus (2010), 2) Pfeffer (2008); Si, et al., (2010); 3) Pfeffer (2008); 4) Kemper (1966), Shore, et al. (2006) DEVIANCE DEFINED 11 What is Workplace Deviance? Organizational Production Deviance Property Deviance Leaving early Sabotaging equipment Taking excessive breaks Accepting kickbacks Intentionally working slowly Lying about hours worked Wasting resources Stealing from the company Minor Major Political Deviance Personal Aggression Showing favoritism Gossiping about coworkers Blaming coworkers Competing non-beneficially Robinson and Bennett, A Typology of Deviant Workplace Behaviors Interpersonal Sexual harassment Verbal abuse Stealing from coworkers Endangering coworkers 12 4

5 Decisions, Decisions What would you do if you found $120 cash in a wallet with ID? 13 Decisions, Decisions What would you do if you found $120 cash in a wallet with ID? $1,200 in small bills inside an envelope with no ID? 14 Decisions, Decisions What would you do if you found $120 cash in wallet with ID? $1,200 in small bills inside an envelope with no ID? $12,000 cold cash in a rubber band? 15 5

6 Understanding Honesty Moral Honesty Subconscious Developed during childhood Internal sense of responsibility 16 Fischer, R. and Green, G. (2003) Understanding Honesty Moral Honesty Subconscious Developed during childhood Internal sense of responsibility Conditioned Honesty Conscious decision Influenced by external forces Fear of being caught 17 Fischer, R. and Green, G. (2003) Understanding Honesty 18 6

7 Understanding Honesty 19 Understanding Honesty For some, the decision to do the right thing is greatly influenced by their perception of being caught 20 Research Says Nearly ½ of employees who steal do so to benefit themselves Greed To get even Financial need 21 Kessler, M. 7

8 Moral Philosophy Deontological Ethics Teleological Ethics 22 Moral Philosophy Deontological Ethics Evaluates decisions based on what is right Teleological Ethics Evaluates decisions based on outcomes Moral Absolutism Moral Relativism 23 Moral Philosophy Deontological Ethics Inner dialog: Q: Is this the right thing to do, despite the outcome? Teleological Ethics 24 8

9 Moral Philosophy Deontological Ethics Inner dialog: Q: Is this the right thing to do, despite the outcome? Teleological Ethics Inner dialog: Q: Will this action produce a good outcome? 25 Research Says Two-thirds (66%) of people will steal or not steal depending on the circumstances involved Those who will NOT steal, no matter what Those who WILL steal, no matter what Those who can go either way, depending on circumstances 26 Longmore-Etheridge; Kessler, M. Employee Deviance When the organization as an entity, or in the person of the supervisor, has defaulted on the obligations of the organization to its members, reciprocal deviance can result. Theodore Kemper 27 Kemper, T.D. (1966) 9

10 Environmental Factors Reciprocal Deviance Employee retaliates for perceived injustices Objective is to get even with management 28 Kemper, T.D. (1966) Environmental Factors Parallel Deviance Employee emulates deviance by leadership Clients and other third parties are victimized 29 Kemper, T.D. (1966) MORAL DISENGAGEMENT 30 10

11 Moral Disengagement Moral justification I m a good parent with a family to feed Euphemistic labeling So I bent the rules a little Advantageous comparison It s not like I robbed a bank Displacement of responsibility Besides, I was just following orders Bandura, A., Caprara, G., & Zsolnai, L. (2000), Bandura, A. (2002) 31 Moral Disengagement Diffusion of responsibility Everyone does it Disregarding or distorting consequences It s not like anyone got physically hurt Dehumanization Those filthy-rich fat cats can afford it Attribution of blame If they paid me better I wouldn t have to help myself Bandura, A., Caprara, G., & Zsolnai, L. (2000), Bandura, A. (2002) 32 SCARE CONDITIONING 33 11

12 Mitigating Deviance Perception of Being Caught High Low Conditioned Honesty High 34 Mitigating Deviance Perception of Being Caught High Low Conditioned Honesty High 35 Mitigating Deviance Perception of Being Caught High Low Conditioned Honesty High 36 12

13 CULTURE OF INTEGRITY 37 Developing a Culture of Integrity Companies that foster open communication deliver 5% higher shareholder returns Managers who demonstrate ethical values report 12% higher employee performance 38 Brotherton,, P. (2011) Developing a Culture of Integrity Employees in high-integrity org cultures report 67% less major deviance at work1 Employees who believe their workplace is ethical are 6 times more likely to stay2 1) Brotherton,, P. (2011), 2) Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (

14 12 Steps to a Culture of Integrity 1. Set an ethical tone at the top 2. Establish a code of ethics 3. Carefully screen job applicants 4. Assign proper authority and responsibility 5. Mandate fraud and ethics training 6. Implement effective disciplinary action Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (2011) Steps to a Culture of Integrity 7. Implement a confidential hotline 8. Establish a whistleblower policy 9. Follow up on reports of misconduct 10. Promote effective internal controls 11. Prevent reprisals 12. Create a culture of doing what s right Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (2011) 41 Questions? Don Levonius, M.A. Principal Consultant Don@VictoryPerformanceConsulting.net 14

15 Thank You! Don Levonius, M.A. Principal Consultant ACFE Webinar The contents of this presentation may not be transmitted, re-published, modified, reproduced, distributed, copied or sold without the prior consent of the author. Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Certified Fraud Examiner, CFE, ACFE, and the ACFE Logo are trademarks owned by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Inc. 44 Notice of Copyright Protection All materials associated with this presentation are the intellectual property of Victory Performance Consulting. Copyright and other intellectual property laws protect these materials. Reproduction or retransmission of the materials, in whole or in part, in any manner, without the prior written consent of the copyright holder, is a violation of copyright law. The single copy of this presentation made available to you by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners is solely for your personal, noncommercial use. Individuals must preserve any copyright or other notices contained in or associated with them. Users may not distribute such copies to others, whether or not in electronic form, whether or not for a charge or other consideration, without prior written consent of the copyright holder. We never give written consent, so please don t ask