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STAYING TRUE: WHEN SHOULD INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE VALUES EVOLVE?
ANDREW JOHN
ASSOCIATE DEAN | FACULTY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS
(andrew.john@mbs.edu)
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US Constitution, Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3
ANDREW JOHN ASSOCIATE DEAN | FACULTY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
ANDREW JOHN ASSOCIATE DEAN | FACULTY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
STAYING TRUE: WHEN SHOULD INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE VALUES EVOLVE? ANDREW JOHN ASSOCIATE DEAN | FACULTY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS (andrew.john@mbs.edu) US Constitution, Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 Representatives and direct Taxes
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US Constitution, Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons … three fifths of all other Persons.
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What were they thinking?
Slavery Stolen generations Racist attitudes Sexist attitudes Opposition to same‐sex marriage Opposition to LGBTI rights
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Evolving values
Our values clearly evolve
– Slavery was originally accepted – Then it was proscribed – Now we have learned that it is unethical
So how does this happen? Just as importantly, when should it happen?
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The arc of the moral universe bends towards justice
“I do not pretend to understand the moral universe, the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. But from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.” ‐Theodore Parker (1853) Well, maybe
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Your mission, should you choose to accept it
I have been set a major challenge
– When should our values and principles change? – When should you stay true to your own principles? – When do principles and values themselves stay true?
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When my information changes
“When my information changes, I alter my conclusions. What do you do, sir?” ‐ John Maynard Keynes (maybe)
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When my information changes
“When my information changes, I alter my conclusions. What do you do, sir?” ‐ John Maynard Keynes (maybe) What is the equivalent in the moral domain?
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The wisdom of crowds
In the field of decision‐making, we know there are occasions when it is beneficial to aggregate individual information
– Most particularly, if there are independent and unbiased errors
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The wisdom of crowds in a moral universe
How might we apply this idea to morality and ethics, to values and principles?
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Distributed moral experience
Look to the wisdom of others … if they bring independent judgment and new information
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Distributed moral experience
Look to the experience of others … if they bring independent judgment and new information
Liberal metropolitan elite Everyone else 1980s 1990s 2000s Today Older Americans, Southerners, African Americans Evangelical Protestants Republicans Everyone else Everyone else Alabamans Evangelical Protestants (Conservative) Republicans
Source: D. Baunach, Changing Same‐Sex Marriage Attitudes in America from 1988 through 2010, https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfs022; https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/support‐for‐same‐sex‐marriage‐isnt‐unanimous/
Support for and
- pposition to
same‐sex marriage in the U.S
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Distributed moral experience
Ask yourself: Does this person come with different life experiences from which I can learn?
– Seek out conversations with people who have been abused, people who have been homeless, people who have lived paycheck‐to‐paycheck, people who have been discriminated against, people from different countries, people who have lived different lives from yours, people who just see the world differently from the way you do
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The crowd within in a moral universe
Interrogate yourself
– Individual judgment may be aided by use of “the crowd within” – This applies to moral reasoning as well as trivia
– “If we reason best in interpersonal contexts of argumentation … we might be able to improve the reliability of private deliberation by thinking of it as a process
- f internal argumentation.”
– “Mercier and Sperber argue that an individual agent is more likely to be able to counter confirmation bias if they deliberate “proactively,” by imaginatively projecting themselves into a dialogical context.”
Source: C. Donovan, C. Fine, and J. Kennett, “Reliable and Unreliable Judgments About Reasons”
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Expertise and wisdom
In science, peer review has a de‐biasing role Peer review can likewise be de‐biasing for moral judgment But is there a moral equivalent to the scientific expert?
– “All of us who have lived long enough have fairly extensive experience in the moral domain” – “We suggest that expertise in the moral domain closely corresponds with what is more commonly called wisdom”
Source: C. Donovan, C. Fine, and J. Kennett, “Reliable and Unreliable Judgments About Reasons”
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(And what is wisdom?)
According to Tiberius and Swartwood, it comprises
– Deep understanding – Reflective capacities – Problem‐solving capacities – Motivation to choose well and to help
- thers choose well
Source: C. Donovan, C. Fine, and J. Kennett, “Reliable and Unreliable Judgments About Reasons”; Photo: https://www.tcd.ie/Philosophy/
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Combining these ideas: “select crowds”
Look to the experience of others … if they bring independent judgment and new information … and are wise
– Again, there is related research in social psychology: averaging the
- pinions of the knowledgeable is better than the wisdom of crowds or a
single expert
Source: A. Mannes, J. Soll and R. Larrick, The Wisdom of Select Crowds, DOI: 10.1037/a0036677
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To summarise
Research in social psychology and decision‐making tells us that
– We can use the wisdom of crowds (distributed knowledge) – Even better: look to a select crowd with particular knowledge or skill – A similar idea can be applied within an individual (the “crowd within”)
Meanwhile, work in moral philosophy suggests parallels in the moral sphere
– We can use the experiences of others (distributed moral experience) – Even better: look to the opinions of those with wisdom – Interrogate yourself
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But…
There are likewise many occasions when crowd decisions do not lead to better outcomes
Photo: Chris Booth, Northern Echo
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The folly of crowds
Herding Conformity/groupthink Strategically linked decisions
Photo: Chris Booth, Northern Echo
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The folly of crowds
When individual choices are linked in such ways, we enter a world of self‐fulfilling prophesy
– In the jargon of game theory, we can have multiple equilibria – Bank runs, speculative attacks, debt crises, bubbles, business cycles
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The folly of crowds
Again, there are parallels in the moral domain Be wary of looking to others’ values to inform your own when
– They don’t bring independent information – It is in your own self‐interest to follow others’ values
Photos: US Holocaust Memorial Museum
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Corporate values
Just as individual values change, so also do corporate values
– “The subversion of the class structure of 19th century England by making available to the working and lower‐middle classes, upper‐class quality at prices the working and lower‐middle classes could well afford.” – “M&S is a unique retailer with a great heritage. We operate Food, Clothing & Home and other retail businesses using the M&S own‐brand model, focused on delivering great value for money.”
- “To help 10 million people live happier, healthier lives”
- “To help transform 1,000 communities”
- “To become a zero‐waste business”
Source: https://www.economist.com/news/2009/06/02/mission‐statement; https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/annual‐report‐2018/mands_annualreport_2018.pdf
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Corporate values
Changing corporate values are particularly apparent when we consider the evolution of corporate social responsibility
Source: Google ngram viewer
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Corporate values
Changing corporate values are particularly apparent when we consider the evolution of corporate social responsibility
– Social and environmental goals are now expected, even required – CSR has become a cost of doing business
Much of this change is driven by evolving individual values
– Customers, employees, and other stakeholders take an interest in corporate values … but they don’t necessarily speak with one voice – Companies are increasingly taking a stand on social issues
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Corporate values
Similar principles apply to the selection and evolution of corporate values as to individual ones
– Benchmarking is good – Benchmarking against firms and organisations that bring different perspectives to your own is better – Be wary of groupthink in your industry
Source: https://www.economist.com/news/2009/06/02/mission‐statement; https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/annual‐report‐2018/mands_annualreport_2018.pdf
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The alignment of individual and corporate values
Individual values evolve; corporate values evolve These changes can cause or exacerbate misalignment of individual and corporate values
– As a company, you have to decide whether you have a right to police employee values – As an customer or supplier, you have to decide whether to engage with a company that doesn’t share your values – As an employee, you have to decide whether to stay with a company that doesn’t share your values
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Living your values in the workplace
Can you drive your organization’s values?
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Living your values in the workplace
Imagine that you researching a large pharmaceutical company with a major oncology division, and you learn that they are considering the following marketing initiative
“How about we make “How about we make a calendar with pictures of cancer patients on it?”
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Moments in Time
Matt Haus, the Medical Director at AstraZeneca South Africa, wanted to create a project to help cancer patients and
- ncologists
– He came up with the calendar idea
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Moments in Time
The project was launched in 2004
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Moments in Time
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Moments in Time
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Moments in Time
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Conclusion
We have a responsibility to keep examining our own values
– What have you truly changed your mind about?