ABSTRACT
The statistics are alarming in terms of ethical abuse related to fairness, safety, bullying, harassment, and our environment. However, enacting an honest portrayal involves more than being aware of these abuses or developing the ability to improve critical thinking regarding moral decision-making. Goodpaster describes the organizational tendency to approach organizational decision-making without consideration of ethical values as “teleopathy”. He defines teleopathy as “the unbalanced pursuit of purpose in either individuals or organizations.” Bisel turns to the story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” to illustrate research supporting our tendency to remain silent. This story depicts numerous adults who fear speaking the truth about the nakedness of the emperor. In contrast, synchronous monologues, through which one side attempts to persuade the other, will lead to negative unintended consequences because the interaction only reifies positions on both sides and escalates tensions and differences.
