The March 23, 2011 seminar was led by Francesca Gino, Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. She presented her paper "Bringing Ethics into Focus: How Regulatory Focus and Risk Preferences influence (un)Ethical Behavior," co-authored with Joshua Margolis. Francesca opened the seminar by reviewing some of the models (economic, psychological, social) that attempt to explain why honest people act dishonestly. She then went on to describe the studies from her paper, which demonstrate how regulatory focus can impact cheating behavior, with promotion focused individuals more likely to act unethically than prevention focused individuals.
Seminar participants had several specific questions about the studies, as well as more general reflections about the real-world implications of the results. One participant called into question the researcher's interpretation of the results, noting that it is difficult to know what the baseline is that the subjects are deviating from in their behavior. Without that information, it may be difficult to know whether what organizations need is a properly worded code of ethics, or simply ethical people. Gino responded that individual differences seem to matter less than we think, and that situational factors are often what drive people's behavior.
Another participant wondered about the methodology for interpreting the rules of an organization, particularly when the behavior of certain individuals appears to be favorably received, but that behavior bears no relation to the official rules of the organization. Others questioned whether there are contexts in which it is possible to point to changes in the structure of an institution that might suggest a self-conscious re-arranging in an attempt to promote either more or less ethical behavior. One participant noted the implicit promotion of certain illegal drugs and activities in some professions, and asked whether this might be a way encourage employees to engage in a culture of permissiveness, which then promotes other unethical behaviors. They also noted the possibility that such cultural markers in an industry may say something about the ethical salience of that industry.
In conclusion, seminar participants considered research demonstrating that promotion focused individuals are more likely to act unethically than prevention focused individuals. They considered various interpretations of these results, and made suggestions for future areas of inquiry.