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Understanding Unethical Decision-Making in Organizations and Proposals for Its Avoidance: The Contribution of Neuroscience

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Organizational Neuroethics

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Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to propose strategies for improving ethical decision-making in organizations by taking into consideration the contributions of neuroethics research. Our hypothesis is that results from research in neuroscience and cognitive science offer new insight and perspectives on ethical decision-making in organizations.

This chapter has three main parts. The first part is descriptive, and we present the main factors affecting unethical decision-making in organizations. Understanding why good people make or contribute to unethical decisions in organizations is a first step. In the second part, we discuss the contribution of neuroscience research to ethical decision-making. Finally, we propose strategies and actions that managers should take into account to develop a more consistent ethical decision-making model for individuals and organizations.

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Acknowledgements

This research is part of the Project FFI2016-76753-C2-1-P, financed by the Spanish Ministry for Science, Innovation and Universities; and is part of the Excelence Research Group PROMETEO/2018/121 by Generalitat Valenciana.

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Lozano, J.F. (2020). Understanding Unethical Decision-Making in Organizations and Proposals for Its Avoidance: The Contribution of Neuroscience. In: Martineau, J., Racine, E. (eds) Organizational Neuroethics. Advances in Neuroethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27177-0_11

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