Are some people hard-wired to do unethical things around money? It is an interesting question that definitely carries the ring of truth. The website www.healthcanal.com posted a very interesting article entitled: “Study Shows Money Cues Can Trigger Unethical Behavior.”
The University of Utah, David Eccles School of Business recently conducted a series of tests where participants, were exposed to a number of cues involving money. The cues were intended to put them in a business frame of mind, that resulted in “causing them to think narrowly in terms of cost-benefit calculations and pursuing their own interests to the exclusion of moral considerations.” (My italics!)
The study involved what was described as “deception games” where more money could be made by being more dishonest than by being honest. There was a marked difference in ethical considerations between those students who were exposed to money cues before playing the game than those who were not exposed to the cues.
“We tested our hypotheses across different studies with different samples, using somewhat different materials so that we could infer that this is really happening,” Kristin Smith-Crowe, associate professor in the Department of Management at the David Eccles School of Business, said. “And we found that, yes; there really is an effect here.”
Monetary Stimuli
The study went on to show that all kinds of monetary stimuli can trigger reactions. It could be as simple as an advertisement for a bank or even images of currency. No matter the monetary image, it was likely to prompt more unethical behavior.
What is it about such stimuli that cause such behavior? I would maintain it is not so much the image of a dollar bill or the mere mention of an IPO, but what money has come to represent in our society.
Many people believe that money is the only way to keep score. We are taught this from an early age. We are exposed to sophomoric expressions such as “The person who dies with the most toys wins,” or “Go big or go home,” or even, as the movie Wall Street once proclaimed: “Greed is good.”
This blog frequently writes about ethical missteps committed by lawyers, stockbrokers, land developers, businesspeople, bankers, retailers and indeed, a broad spectrum of individuals across the fabric of life who have taken the quotes about money to heart. In virtually every case where money causes an unethical path to be taken, the path has led to a jail cell.
Is there an inherent consequence that implies that money will always lead us to greed or narrow-minded, unethical behavior? No, I cannot agree with that.
I have known people of great wealth, be they business people or professional athletes or scientists who went on to do great things with their lives. I have also known low level thieves and those who had just been scraping by who would do almost anything unethical to make a few more extra bucks. I have also seen the reverse, of course; the very wealthy who were overcome by greed, and the very poor who lived lives of magnificent dignity and contribution to society.
The issue, I believe, is one of balance. The motivation to make more, have more, gather more, needs to be balanced by a strong sense of ethics. If we are taught in our business schools that the accumulation of wealth, wealth management, investment and the like is a good thing, I believe equal emphasis must be placed on an ethical framework within which to accumulate and invest. If both considerations are equal, then I would submit the so-called “deception games” would be kept in check.
Temptations are real
When ethical considerations are tossed aside in pursuit of greed, the consequences can be dangerous. As long as we live in a society where profit is thought to be the ultimate measure, there must be a safeguard against a lack of checks and balances in pursuit of making that profit. No one, including the David Eccles School of Business said that making a profit is bad; they are not advocating we dispense of trying to well. But they are placing a certain warning in front of us. When profit is placed ahead of ethics, the damage can be catastrophic.
To go through life without an ethical compass will make for a very tough voyage.
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