The Ethical Executive: Becoming Aware of the Root Causes of Unethical Behavior: 45 Psychological Traps That Every One of Us Falls Prey to

by Paul Hersey and Robert Hoyk

Book Overview

In this book, Hoyk and Hersey describe 45 "unethical traps" into which any one of us can fall. These traps, they say, can erupt in any organizational environment. Some of these traps distort our perception of right and wrong--so we actually believe our unethical behavior is right. Many of them are psychological in nature, and if we are not aware of them they are like illusions--webs of deception. In the authors' analysis, these traps significantly...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804771782
• ISBN13: 9780804771788
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: Stanford Business Books
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Reminder!

THE ETHICAL EXECUTIVE is an excellent review of all the "right" things we know or were taught at home, in school, at church, or that we simply know deep inside ourselves. What THE ETHICAL EXECUTIVE does is put all those ethical pointers in one place for us to remind ourselves. I've got a copy close beside me on my bookcase. I gave my daughter a copy, (she'll be starting an MBA program soon). I gave a copy to a business executive I know. This is the kind of book I want to keep close to my right elbow. I recommend it for everyone's bookshelf!! Linda Busby Parker

Read It If You're an Executive ... Read It If You're Not

I found this book relevant and helpful even though I don't sit in the corner office. I particularly like the way the authors discuss each "trap" in a straightforward, easily digestible format. They spend just a couple of pages on each one, yet each of the traps provides so much food for thought. You'll find yourself thinking about the examples for days. This book would make a great gift because it's so readable, timely, and thought-provoking. Definitely a must-read for anyone who works in an organization, whether corporate, academic, or non-profit.

Everyone Can Benefit

While this book is aimed at business readers, everyone can benefit from the insights it offers about our moral and ethical choices. Rooted in psychological research, THE ETHICAL EXECUTIVE helps the reader understand how susceptible he or she may be to authority (even when wrong), to conforming to group expectations, to blaming others, to becoming confused by conflicting loyalties, and to over forty other traps to which the naive person can easily fall prey. I felt personally enlightened by this humane and thorough treatment of a subject that is of importance in everyone's daily life. --Sena Jeter Naslund, author of AHAB'S WIFE, FOUR SPIRITS, and ABUNDANCE, A NOVEL OF MARIE ANTOINETTE

A Must Read for These Shaky Times

This is a timely title, given that many of our current problems were created by unethical behavior. Firmly grounded in science and practicality, and written in an accessible format, you'll find this a landmark primer on behavior in business.

The perfect book for the current times

What makes a person ethical and how do you stay ethical in a world full of difficult decisions? This book looks at exactly how easy it is to start down the slippery slope of unethical behavior and offers good strategies to avoiding "the traps" we can all fall prey to. It should be required reading for Presidential candidates and Wall Street CEOs.