ABSTRACT

This book expands the current discussion on ethics, addressing the gap between "headline" ethics cases, which are often extreme and taken from a business context, and the everyday ethical challenges that we all face in school, work, relationships, and communities. Case studies throughout demonstrate concepts and provide opportunities for readers to apply theory as they consider everyday issues such as the temptation to lie about an arrest on a job application, peer pressure to steal or drink, and the implications of "ratting out" a classmate who is cheating or a co-worker who is stealing. By including a broad array of ethical challenges, this book makes ethics more accessible to the reader. Drawing from several academic disciplines, including social psychology and organizational behavior, this book explores the personal and environmental factors that influence our ethical decision-making. The book is appropriate for ethics courses in an array of disciplines as well as anyone interested in ethical challenges.

part I|50 pages

Foundation for a Conversation on Ethics

chapter 1|11 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|21 pages

What Are Ethics?

chapter 3|16 pages

Why Do People Act Unethically?

part II|80 pages

Understanding Why and How We Do What We Do

chapter 5|25 pages

Psychological Processes and Mechanisms

chapter 6|17 pages

Justifications that Allow Immoral Behavior

“The Devil Made Me Do It” (CBS News, 1998, quoting Flip Wilson)

part III|35 pages

Recalibrating Your Moral Compass

chapter 8|14 pages

Expanding Your Lens

part IV|55 pages

Applying What You’ve Learned

chapter 10|53 pages

Guided Practice with Case Studies