Behavioral economics

We’re Unethical at Work Because We Forget Our Misdeeds

It’s called “ethical amnesia.”

by

Francesca Gino

and

Maryam Kouchaki

by

Francesca Gino

and

Maryam Kouchaki

May 18, 2016

paul garbett FOR HBR

Just recently, Mitsubishi Motors, Japan’s sixth-largest automaker, admitted that for 25 years it had used methods to test the fuel economy of its vehicles that did not comply with Japanese government regulations. The company confessed that it repeatedly had manipulated test data for four of its domestic mini-vehicle models and conducted tests that did not comply with Japanese standards on many other models.

Francesca Gino is a behavioral scientist and the Tandon Family Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. She is the author of Rebel Talent and Sidetracked.
francescagino
Maryam Kouchaki is a professor of management and organizations at the Kellogg School of Management. Her research explores ethics, morality, and the complexity and challenges of managing ethnic and gender diversity for organizations.

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