Moral Disengagement
What is Moral Disengagement? Moral disengagement consists of thoughts and behaviors people use to justify their actions. These thoughts and behaviors can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. According to Sucher and Moore in the Harvard Business School Case Study, “Chris and Alison Weston (A)” (Sucher and Moore 2012), “doctors engage in moral disengagement when treating patients with aggressive or perhaps painful treatments in order to better their lives” – this is considered a positive effect of moral disengagement. On the other end of the spectrum, cults or mass murders engage in moral disengagement in the most negative of ways in the taking of another’s life.
Sucher and Moore’s discussion of moral disengagement describes eight different mechanisms people operate under using moral disengagement. The following four will be used to explain …show more content…
They could not keep enough people in jobs and could not find enough qualified applicants to hire. He states he was using several other firms to bring in the candidates and thought that by having his wife start the business and become another of those firms, it would be a help to the company, not just for Alison and him. Chris also hoped that allowing Alison to start this business and work with his company would be a step in giving her the opportunity to have a career again after having to put hers on hold for him.
Distortion of Consequences: Although both Chris and Alison speak of knowing on some level that what they were doing was in some way wrong, both of them dismissed the thought that it would lead to any serious ramifications. Chris specifically states, “It’s OK, if anything comes up, I’ll deal with it.” He felt that his position of authority would be enough to handle any moral issues that may arise from what they were doing and even believed the worst consequence would be getting
What is Moral Disengagement? Moral disengagement consists of thoughts and behaviors people use to justify their actions. These thoughts and behaviors can be either positive or negative, depending on the situation. According to Sucher and Moore in the Harvard Business School Case Study, “Chris and Alison Weston (A)” (Sucher and Moore 2012), “doctors engage in moral disengagement when treating patients with aggressive or perhaps painful treatments in order to better their lives” – this is considered a positive effect of moral disengagement. On the other end of the spectrum, cults or mass murders engage in moral disengagement in the most negative of ways in the taking of another’s life.
Sucher and Moore’s discussion of moral disengagement describes eight different mechanisms people operate under using moral disengagement. The following four will be used to explain …show more content…
They could not keep enough people in jobs and could not find enough qualified applicants to hire. He states he was using several other firms to bring in the candidates and thought that by having his wife start the business and become another of those firms, it would be a help to the company, not just for Alison and him. Chris also hoped that allowing Alison to start this business and work with his company would be a step in giving her the opportunity to have a career again after having to put hers on hold for him.
Distortion of Consequences: Although both Chris and Alison speak of knowing on some level that what they were doing was in some way wrong, both of them dismissed the thought that it would lead to any serious ramifications. Chris specifically states, “It’s OK, if anything comes up, I’ll deal with it.” He felt that his position of authority would be enough to handle any moral issues that may arise from what they were doing and even believed the worst consequence would be getting