Publications

February 2007 (Revised March 2007)
Module Note

The Sweet Hereafter Summary: Reasoning from Personal Perspective

By: Sandra J. Sucher

A summary of the major themes discussed in the sixth class of The Moral Leader (EC curriculum). View Details

Keywords: Perspective; Cognition and Thinking

June 1990 (Revised October 1991)
Case

Lake Pleasant Bodies Case (A)

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

Presents a classic dilemma in legal ethics--the conflict between an attorney's obligations as an attorney, in this case to protect a client's confidentiality, and his or her own moral obligations as a person. An attorney must decide how to respond to the father of a... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Moral Sensibility; Questionnaires; Attorney and Client Relationships; Social Psychology; Conflict Management; Legal Services Industry

November 2002
Compilation

Four Principles of Biomedical Ethics: Definitions and Examples

By: Sandra J. Sucher

Introduces four principles of biomedical ethics, excerpted from Principles of Biomedical Ethics, Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress (Oxford University Press, 2001). The principles provide a conceptual framework for the analysis and resolution of moral problems... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Moral Sensibility; Health Care and Treatment; Distribution; Problems and Challenges; Research; Emotions; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry

16 Aug 2019
News

When Businesses Violate the Public’s Trust

August 2004 (Revised June 2008)
Case

Debating the Expropriation of Mexican Oil

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and R. Daniel Wadhwani

In 1938, the Mexican government expropriated the assets of foreign oil companies. Explores the legal and moral arguments in favor of and against expropriation. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Globalized Firms and Management; Government and Politics; Business History; Lawfulness; Business and Government Relations; Energy Industry; Mexico

June 1990 (Revised October 1991)
Supplement

Lake Pleasant Bodies Case (B)

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

Describes how the attorney resolved the dilemma he faced, the reasons for his decision, and the consequences he suffered. Displays vividly the personal toll that moral conflicts can create for professionals with role obligations. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Moral Sensibility; Managerial Roles; Outcome or Result; Problems and Challenges

December 2010
Article

Markets, Morals, and Practices of Trade: Jurisdictional Disputes in the U.S. Commerce in Cadavers

By: Michel Anteby

This study examines the U.S. commerce in human cadavers for medical education and research to explore variation in legitimacy in trades involving similar goods. It draws on archival, interview, and observational data mainly from New York state to analyze market... View Details

Keywords: Education; Goods and Commodities; Trade; Lawfulness; Moral Sensibility; Market Participation; Management Practices and Processes; New York (state, US)

Article

Origins of the Belief in Good True Selves

By: Julian De Freitas, Mina Cikara, Igor Grossman and Rebecca Schlegel

Despite differences in beliefs about the self across cultures and relevant individual differences, recent evidence suggests that people universally believe in a ‘true self’ that is morally good. We propose that this belief arises from a general tendency: psychological... View Details

Keywords: Self; True Self; Psychological Essentialism; Values and Beliefs; Moral Sensibility

Find at Harvard

08 Jan 2020
Video

Dr. Manu Chandaria

Manu Chandaria, Chair of the... View Details

2011
Working Paper

Memory Lane and Morality: How Childhood Memories Promote Prosocial Behavior

By: Francesca Gino and Sreedhari D. Desai

Four experiments demonstrated that recalling memories from one's own childhood lead people to experience feelings of moral purity and to behave prosocially. In Experiment 1, participants instructed to recall memories from their childhood were more likely to help the... View Details

Keywords: Judgments; Moral Sensibility; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Organizational Culture; Behavior; Emotions; Personal Characteristics; Welfare

Time management is a group endeavor. Harvard Business School Professor Leslie Perlow shares how the payoff goes far beyond morale and retention. View Details

September 2001
Background Note

Financial Reporting Environment, The

By: Paul M. Healy, Amy P. Hutton, Robert S. Kaplan and Krishna G. Palepu

Provides a framework for understanding the role of financial reporting and various intermediaries as mechanisms for reducing both adverse selection and moral hazard problems in capital markets. Financial reports reduce adverse selection by providing basic information... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Capital Markets; Venture Capital; Corporate Disclosure; Conflict of Interests

09 Feb 2015
News

Professional Networking Makes People Feel Dirty

July 1982 (Revised April 1984)
Background Note

Some Avenues for Ethical Analysis in General Management

Provides a general framework for the analysis of ethics-related case studies in business policy, drawing upon categories from the discipline of moral philosophy. View Details

Keywords: Management; Analysis; Ethics

2022
Working Paper

Values as Luxury Goods and Political Polarization

By: Benjamin Enke, Mattias Polborn and Alex A Wu

Motivated by novel survey evidence, this paper develops a theory of political behavior in which values are a luxury good: the relative weight voters place on values rather than material considerations increases in income. The model predicts (i) voters who are... View Details

Keywords: Political Polarization; Government and Politics; Moral Sensibility; Luxury; Values and Beliefs; Voting

February 2012
Case

Kent Chemical: Organizing for International Growth

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Laura Winig

In July 2008, Luis Morales, president of Kent Chemical International, is proposing a third reorganization effort after two failed attempts to better align his business with its U.S.-based parent company. With a global expansion strategy placing increasing demands on... View Details

Keywords: International Business; Organizational Change; Multinational Corporations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Design; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Global Strategy; Chemical Industry; United States