Socialism and Conflicts of Interest

There was a time in my life when I might have embraced the cause of socialism, but that was many years ago, and today I proudly march under the banner of centrism. And the current flirtation with socialism in the U.S. has me worried—at least…

Wall Street and the Behavioral Science of Making Culture Ethical

Re-establishing trust, particularly at the organizational level, is essential in repairing the damage that we witnessed during and after the 2008 crisis. Before he became “The Wolf of Wall Street,” Jordan Belfort, when he arrived in…

The Paradox of Employee Surveillance

This piece was originally published in Behavioral Scientist magazine. For many people, the global financial crisis eroded trust in corporations and government. There was a double-digit decline in trust of large banks in particular, dropping…

Listen to Adam Grant Talk Leadership Science with Preet Bharara

It is safe to say that I am a podcast junkie. Whenever I find myself “ears-free”—while taking a shower, walking the dog, riding the subway—I listen to an episode. Usually it is intellectual fare—scientists or other sorts of scholars…

New Evidence in Favor of Active Internal Whistleblowing

Over two decades ago, two of the largest corporate bankruptcies in U.S. history sprung up one after another—first Enron, then WorldCom—after the companies became mired in accounting and financial fraud.  In 2002, in response to these…

How to Avoid Becoming the Next Wells Fargo

Last year, in September, CNN Business ran the headline, “The two-year Wells Fargo horror story just won’t end.”   By now, many have heard how it all began: In 2016 it was revealed that the bank fired over 5,300 employees for…

End of Year Letter, 2018, from Jon Haidt and Azish Filabi

Stop the World—I Want to Get Off. The title of that 1960s musical captures a timeless sentiment, but it seems more common in recent years, and is perhaps especially on the minds of leaders of organizations and their ethics-and-compliance…
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Behavioral sciences inform public policy in Australia

In Australia the public hearings at the Royal Commission into misconduct in the financial services industry came to an end last week. Over the past year there have been 68 hearing days and 138 witnesses called to give evidence to the inquiry.…
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SCHOLAR SPOTLIGHT: Todd Haugh offers insight on corporate governance

Todd Haugh, an assistant professor of business law and ethics at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, specializes in research on the connections between white collar and corporate crime and behavioral ethics.  Haugh’s…

Considering money: Dan Ariely argues there is more to life than money

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A year since Dan Ariely published “Dollars and Sense: How We Misthink Money and How to Spend Smarter,” the social scientist and Duke University professor, writes “I’ve learned a lot about the truly meaningful value of non-monetary rewards in engagement, motivation, habits, loyalty, wellness and more.” Here Ethical Systems’ editor reflects on culture and values against the backdrop of Ariely’s hypothesis.