The James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University, Dan Ariely is also the best-selling author of ‘Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces that Shape Our Decisions’. His next book ‘Perfectly Irrational’ will be published next month.
There are ways this Fudge Factor can expand or compress. It compresses (and people cheat less) when you remind them about their commitment to honesty or ask them to recite the Ten Commandments. The Fudge Factor expands under other conditions. If people see others cheating, they grow more comfortable doing the same. If people are not cheating in cash, but in intangible things like stock options, then they tend to cheat more. Still, even in these cases where we see more cheating, we see a lot of people cheating to a limited degree.
(This story appears in the 04 June, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
Right examples are key: if the office assistant is sent to do odd jobs in the CEO's house or the CEO's personal secretary is seen performing his personal errands, then an employee lower down may think there is nothing wrong in taking the stapler or calculator away for home use...it takes incredible personal discipline to follow the right path....
on Jun 9, 2010Very interesting article on impact of 'conflict of interest'. We witness conflict of interest in our day-to-day life and just awareness of its impact will go a long way to minimize the overall negative impact.<br />
on May 25, 2010The 'Personal Fudge Factor' is very interesting. This article is a great lesson on the key difference between old accountability (which is 'assigned') and radical responsibility (which is 'taken') Thanks and regards, Geetha
on May 25, 2010