In Ron Carucci’s article “Why Ethical People Make Unethical Decisions,” he discusses how organizations often don’t prioritise ethics within their companies and how because of this people are put into situations where their values are not respected, “Despite good intentions, organizations set themselves up for ethical catastrophes by creating environments in which people feel forced to make choices they could never have imagined” (Why Ethical People Make Unethical Decisions, pg.2). He claims organizations put people into situations they never wanted to be in by fostering disrupted environments with unethical decisions and forces being used by their leaders.

This article shows how ethical people can still make unethical decisions. This text reminds me how sometimes an ethical person can mistake what you want most for what you want in the moment. An example of this in my own life is when finishing my work at my internship before I go home. During the last part of work it is easy to rush through assignments to leave early, but the ethical thing to do is to uphold your companies values and my own of doing my best work.

While reading this article, it reminded me of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and how the lead character Huck originally wanted to betray Jim because he thought it was the right thing to do at the time because of his society. After creating a friendship with Jim, he realized that his situation was unethical and that he was going to try to help save Jim for it was the right thing to do.

Finally, this text reminds me of the CEO Enron’s scandal of encouraging his team and employees to act unethical and praise them when manipulating financial records and debt. This CEO did not foster a safe and ethical environment for his employees, got caught, and had to pay the price.