16 October 2012 - Language and culture, power, ethics and representation
Ethics & Power
Transcript of Ethics & Power
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E thics & Power
I nhibit ion, Rules, H ypocrisy,
and Sucking Up
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Inhibit ion
I n com municating with subordinates,powerf ul people tend to be uninhibited .
T heir messages are of ten too candid andpotent ially inappropr iate.
Keltner, D., Gruenfeld, D. H, &Anderson, C. (2003). Power, approach,and inhibition. Psychological Review,
110, 265-284.
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I mplications— T he powerful…
E xercise lit tle self cont ro l
Frequent emot ional outbursts and anger
Act selfishly
Take more than their share
V iolate social norms of conduct
E mbarrass themselves and/ or break the law
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So, how can we use this information about
inhibit ion and the powerf ul?
Client control.
H elp them be “ the best they can be”
Q uote them in a dip lom atic tone
Remind them about the consequences of leaks,false impressions, innuendos.
M ake sure they have loyal admins and assistants.Speak “ T ruth to Power.”
… O ther ideas and experiences?
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Rules
Powerful people use a different ethical
framework than powerless people.
W hen deciding right f rom wrong, powerful people
rely on rules/ policies/ codes.
In contrast, powerless people rely on consequences,outcom es, and results.
Lammers, J., & Stapel, D.A. (2009).How power influences moral thinking.Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 97, 279-289.
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Rules
Powerful people use a different ethical
framework than powerless people.
W hen deciding right f rom wrong, powerful people
rely on rules/ policies/ codes.
In contrast, powerless people rely on consequences,outcom es, and results.
Lammers, J., & Stapel, D.A. (2009).How power influences moral thinking.Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 97, 279-289.
I n ethics, both modes of
reasoning are legitimate
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I mplications –T he powerful…
See the prol if eration and ref inement of a code as agood tool in minimizing unethical behavior.
Find unconvincing those arguments that justi fy rule
vio lations with consequences. I gnore the strength of a consequent ialist argument .
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So, how can we use this information about
the powerf ul?H elp executives value consequent ialist justi f ications
for code/ rule violations.
E ncourage executives to listen to subordinatesexplanations and justi f ications.
Remind executives that consequentialistexplanations are compelling.
O ther ideas and experiences?
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H ypocrisy
Powerful people condemn other people’s cheatingwhile at the same tim e cheating themselves.
Lammers, J., Stapel, D. A., &Galinsky, A. D. 2010. Powerincreases hypocrisy. Psychological
Science, 21 (5): 737-744.
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I mplications— T he powerful
A re str ict with rule violators.
Feel ent it led to tell others how to behave
A re predisposed to judge others
A re lenient about whether they have to follow therules.
T end to be oblivious to their ow n rule vio lations
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So, how can we use this information about
the powerf ul?A lack of self-awareness is usually the core problem,
and this is not easily addressed.
Sharing the “ perceptions” of others (“ this is howwhat you are doing is seen” ).
Story telling about other executives’ hypocrisy.
O ther ideas and experiences?
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Sucking Up
T he powerf ul are heavily inf luenced by sucking upif it is done in a sophisticated way.
The study focused on what ingratiation tactics ledpeople to being nom inated as an outside director.
Simple sucking up did notwork, but sophisticatedsucking up did.
Stern, I., & Westphal, J. D. 2010. StealthyFootsteps to the Boardroom: Executives’Backgrounds, Sophisticated Interpersonal
Influence Behavior, and Board Appointments.Administrative Science Quarterly , 55, 278-319.
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D istinctions--
Sim ple sucking up
Flattery Perceived as insincere
Perceived as manipulative
Being a “ yes” man
Perceived as insincere
Perceived as manipulative
Sophisticated sucking up
Framing f lattery as likely to makethe target uncomfortable
Framing flattery as advice seekingCom pliment ing target to target’s
friend
Arguing prior to agreeing
Agreeing with target to a 3
rd
partyReferencing common social
af f iliations before sucking up
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So, how can we use this information about
the powerf ul? The powerful are vulnerable to sophisticated
sucking up.A lert ing the powerf ul when others are using sophis-
ticated sucking up m ay increase healthy skepticism.Using sophisticated sucking up to advance ethical
action may be justified.O ther ideas and experiences?
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So, how does power corrupt?
T he powerf ul are prone to:
Low self-control
Insensitivity toward good consequentialistreasoning
H ypocrisy
M anipulation by sophisticated brown-nosers.