Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Wisdom and the Tragic Question: Moral Learning and Emotional Perception in Leadership and Organisations

  • Published:
Journal of Business Ethics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Wisdom is almost always associated with doing the right thing in the right way under right circumstances in order to achieve the common good. In this paper, however, we propose that wisdom is more associated with deciding between better and worse wrongs; a winless situation we define as tragic. We suggest that addressing the tragic question is something that leaders and managers generally avoid when focusing on business decisions and choices. Yet, raising and confronting the tragic question is important for three main reasons. Firstly, it emphasises that wisdom is about recognising that doing the ethically responsible thing can sometimes lead to acting in ways that violate different ethical norms and values. Secondly, it foregrounds the issue of emotional perception in ethical decision-making. We argue that emotions are salient in directing attention to the tragic question and recognising morally ambiguous situations. Thirdly, the tragic question has important consequences for moral learning, accepting moral culpability for wrongdoing and organisational commitment to righting the wrong. We illustrate our arguments by drawing on three mini-cases: Arjuna’s dilemma in the Mahabharata, Gioia’s deliberations about his role in the Ford Pinto fires and the production of the abortion pill by French company Roussel-Uclaf.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ardelt, M. (2000). Intellectual versus wisdom-related knowledge: The case for a different kind of learning in the later years of life. Educational Gerontology, 26(8), 771–789.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aristotle. (2002). Nicomachean ethics (S. Broadie & C. Rowe, Trans.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  • Badaracco, J. L. (1997). Defining moments: When managers must choose between right and right. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Badaracco, J. L. (2006). Questions of character: Illuminating the heart of leadership through literature. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baltes, P. B., & Staudinger, U. M. (2000). Wisdom: A metaheuristic (pragmatic) to orchestrate mind and virtue toward excellence. American Psychologist, 55(1), 122–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (2002). Selective moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Journal of Moral Education, 31(2), 101–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bird, F. B. (1996). The muted conscience: Moral silence and the practice of ethics in business. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bird, F. B., & Waters, J. A. (1987). The nature of managerial moral standards. Journal of Business Ethics, 6(1), 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bird, F. B., & Waters, J. A. (1989). The moral muteness of managers. California Management Review, 32(1), 73–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bird, F. B., Westley, F., & Waters, J. A. (1989). The uses of moral talk: Why do managers talk ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 8(1), 75–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birren, J. E., & Fisher, L. M. (1990). The elements of wisdom: Overview and integration. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Wisdom: Its nature, origins and development (pp. 317–332). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Blum, L. A. (1991). Moral perception and particularity. Ethics, 101(4), 701–725.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blum, L. A. (1994). Moral perception and particularity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bosk, C. L. (1979). Forgive and remember: Managing medical failure. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Broadie, S. (1991). Ethics with Aristotle. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, M. E., & Trevino, L. K. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 595–616.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butterfield, K. D., Trevino, L. K., & Weaver, G. R. (2000). Moral awareness in business organizations: Influences of issue-related and social context factors. Human Relations, 53(7), 981–1018.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clayton, V. P., & Birren, J. E. (1980). The development of wisdom across the life span: A reexamination of an ancient topic. In P. B. Baltes & O. G. Brim (Eds.), Life-span development and behavior (pp. 103–135). New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, R. (2001). Un-timely mediations: Questing thought. Ephemera, 1(4), 321–347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Rathunde, K. (1990). The psychology of wisdom: An evolutionary interpretation. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Wisdom: Its nature, origins and development (pp. 25–51). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Das, G. (2009). The difficulty of being good: On the subtle art of dharma. London: Allen Lane.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeLapp, K. M. (2012). Giving responsibility a guilt-trip: Virtue, tragedy, and privilege. Philosophica, 85(1), 35–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dreyfus, H. L. (1991). Being-in-the-world. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, R. W. (1929). The complete works of R. W. Emerson. New York: Wise.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gioia, D. A. (1992). Pinto fires and personal ethics: A script analysis of missed opportunities. Journal of Business Ethics, 11(5–6), 379–389.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gluck, J., Bischof, B., & Siebenhuner, L. (2012). “Knows what is good and bad”, “Can teach you things”, “Does lots of crosswords”: Children’s knowledge about wisdom. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 9(5), 582–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gluck, J., & Bluck, S. (2007). Looking back across the life span: A life story account of the reminiscence bump. Memory & Cognition, 35(8), 1928–1939.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gluck, J., & Bluck, S. (2011). Laypeople’s conceptions of wisdom and its development: Cognitive and integrative views. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 66(3), 321–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gluck, J., Bluck, S., Baron, J., & McAdams, D. P. (2005). The wisdom of experience: Autobiographical narratives across adulthood. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29(3), 197–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunia, B. C., Wang, L., Huang, L., Wang, J., & Murnighan, J. K. (2012). Contemplation and conversation: Subtle influences on moral decision making. Academy of Management Journal, 55(1), 13–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hearit, K. M. (2006). Crisis management by apology: Corporate responses to allegations of wrongdoing. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heffernan, M. (2011). Wilful blindness: Why we ignore the obvious at our peril. New York: Walker Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and time. New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, J. C. (1996). An introduction to business ethics. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, T. M. (1991). Ethical decision-making by individuals in organizations: An issue-contingent model. Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 366–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, J., Brown, M. E., Trevino, L. K., & Finkelstein, S. (2013). Someone to look up to: Executive-follower ethical reasoning and perceptions of ethical leadership. Journal of Management, 39(3), 660–683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, E. H., & Bailey, J. R. (Eds.). (2007). Handbook of organizational and managerial wisdom. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koenig, S., Naschenweng, K., Redzanowski, U., Dorner, L., Strasser, I., & Gluck, J. (2010). Wisdom and life stories: How different types of life events foster the development of wisdom. Gerontologist, 50, 540.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohlberg, L. (1984). The psychology of moral development : The nature and validity of moral stages. San Francisco: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koneig, S., & Gluck, J. (2012). Situations in which I was wise: Autobiographical wisdom memories of children and adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22(3), 512–525.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, D. A. (1990). Conceptualizing wisdom: The primacy of affect–cognition relation. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Wisdom: Its nature, origins and development (pp. 279–316). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kramer, D. A. (2000). Wisdom as a classical source of human strength: Conceptualization and empirical inquiry. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19(1), 83–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Labouvie-Vief, G., & Hakim-Larson, J. (1989). Development shifts in adult thought. In S. Hunter & M. Sundel (Eds.), Midlife myths (pp. 69–96). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maclagan, P. (2003). Varieties of moral issue and dilemma: A framework for the analysis of case material in business ethics education. Journal of Business Ethics, 48(1), 21–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maitlis, S., Vogus, T. J., & Lawrence, T. B. (2013). Sensemaking and emotion in organizations. Organizational Psychology Review, 3(3), 222–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCabe, D. L., Trevino, L. K., & Butterfield, K. D. (1996). The influence of collegiate and corporate codes of conduct on ethics-related behavior in the workplace. Business Ethics Quarterly, 6(4), 461–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKenna, B., Rooney, D., & Boal, K. B. (2009). Wisdom principles as a meta-theoretical basis for evaluating leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 20(2), 177–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mecham, J. A. (1990). The loss of wisdom. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Wisdom: Its nature, origins and development (pp. 181–211). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Moberg, D. J. (2006). Ethics blind spots in organizations: How systematic errors in person perception undermine moral agency. Organization Studies, 27(3), 413–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moulton, H. K. E. (1978). Analytical Greek lexicon revised (rev ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagel, T. (1986). The view from nowhere. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Near, J. P., & Miceli, M. P. (1996). Whistle-blowing: Myth and reality. Journal of Management, 22(3), 507–526.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (2011). The wise leader. Harvard Business Review, 89(5), 59–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M. C. (1990). Love’s knowledge: Essays on philosophy and literature. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M. C. (2000). The costs of tragedy: Some moral limits of cost-benefit analysis. Journal of Legal Studies, 29(S2), 1005–1036.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M. C. (2001). The fragility of goodness: Luck and ethics in Greek tragedy and philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M. C. (2003). Upheavals of thought: The intelligence of emotions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palazzo, G., Krings, F., & Hoffrage, U. (2012). Ethical blindness. Journal of Business Ethics, 109(3), 323–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pascual-Leone, J. (1990). An essay on wisdom: Towards organismic processes that make it possible. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Wisdom: Its nature, origins and development (pp. 244–278). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pitesa, M., & Thau, S. (2013). Masters of the universe: How power and accountability influence self-serving decisions under moral hazard. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(3), 550–558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quinn, P. L. (1990). Agamemnon and Abraham: The tragic dilemma of Kierkegaard’s knight of faith. Journal of Literature and Theology, 4(2), 181–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Redzanowski, U., & Gluck, J. (2013). Who knows who is wise? Self and peer ratings of wisdom. Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 68(3), 391–394.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rest, J. R. (1986). Moral development: Advances in research and theory. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rest, J. R., & Narvaez, D. (1994). Moral development in the professions: Psychology and applied ethics. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, D. N. (1990). Wisdom through the ages. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Wisdom: Its nature, origins and development (pp. 13–24). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Rooney, D., & McKenna, B. (2007). Wisdom in organizations: Whence and whither. Social Epistemology, 21(2), 113–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719–727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. H. (2006). Best news yet on the six-factor model of well-being. Social Science Research, 35(4), 1103–1119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, M. S. (2002). A code of ethics for corporate code of ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 41(1–2), 27–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, N. (1989). The fabric of character: Aristotle’s theory of virtue. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sherman, N. (2000). Wise emotions. In W. S. Brown (Ed.), Understanding wisdom: Sources, science and society (pp. 319–338). Radnor: Templeton Foundation Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, J. A., & Weiner, E. S. (1989). The Oxford English dictionary (2nd ed./prepared by J. A. Simpson & E. S. C. Weiner, Eds.). Oxford: Clarendon.

  • Sinnott-Armstrong, W. (1988). Moral dilemmas. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snell, R. S. (2000). Studying moral ethos using an adapted Kohlbergian model. Organization Studies, 21(1), 267–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snell, R. S. (2001). Moral foundations of the learning organization. Human Relations, 54(3), 319–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snell, R. S., & Tseng, C. S. (2002). Moral atmosphere and moral influence under China’s network capitalism. Organization Studies, 23(3), 449–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solansky, S. T. (2013). To fear foolishness for the sake of wisdom: A message to leaders. Journal of Business Ethics,. doi:10.1007/s10551-013-1752-9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonenshein, S. (2007). The role of construction, intuition, and justification in responding to ethical issues at work: The sensemaking-intuition model. Academy of Management Review, 32(4), 1022–1040.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Srivastava, S., & Cooperrider, D. L. (1998). Organizational wisdom and executive courage. San Francisco, CA: The New Lexington Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Staudinger, U. M., & Baltes, P. B. (1996). The psychology of wisdom. Psychologische Rundschau, 47(2), 57–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Staudinger, U. M., Dorner, J., & Miclker, C. (2005). Wisdom and personality. In R. J. Sternberg & J. Jordan (Eds.), A handbook of wisdom: Psychological perspectives (pp. 191–219). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Staudinger, U. M., & Gluck, J. (2011). Psychological wisdom research: Commonalities and differences in a growing field. Annual Review of Psychology, 62(62), 215–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Implicit theories of intelligence, creativity, and wisdom. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49(3), 607–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sternberg, R. J. (2003). WICS: A model of leadership in organizations. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2(4), 386–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sternberg, R. J. (2008). The WICS approach to leadership: Stories of leadership and the structures and processes that support them. Leadership Quarterly, 19(3), 360–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sykes, G. M., & Matza, D. (1957). Techniques of neutralization: A theory of delinquency. American Sociological Review, 22(6), 664–670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tavuchis, N. (1991). Mea culpa: A sociology of apology and reconciliation. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ten Bos, R., & Willmott, H. (2001). Towards a post-dualistic business ethics: Interweaving reason and emotion in working life. Journal of Management Studies, 38(6), 769–793.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tenbrunsel, A. E., Diekmann, K. A., Wade-Benzoni, K. A., & Bazerman, M. H. (2010). The ethical mirage: A temporal explanation as to why we are not as ethical as we think we are. Research in Organizational Behavior: An Annual Series of Analytical Essays and Critical Reviews, 30(30), 153–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tenbrunsel, A. E., & Smith-Crowe, K. (2008). Ethical decision-making: Where we’ve been and where we’re going. Academy of Management Annals, 2(1), 545–607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Umphress, E. E., & Bingham, J. B. (2011). When employees do bad things for good reasons: Examining unethical pro-organizational behaviors. Organization Science, 22(3), 621–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vaill, P. B. (1998). The unspeakable texture of process wisdom. In S. Srivastava & D. L. Cooperrider (Eds.), Organizational wisdom and executive courage (pp. 25–39). San Francisco: The New Lexington Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verhezen, P. (2010). Giving voice in a culture of silence: From a culture of compliance to a culture of integrity. Journal of Business Ethics, 96(2), 187–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waters, J. A., Bird, F. B., & Chant, P. D. (1986). Everyday moral issues experienced by managers. Journal of Business Ethics, 5(5), 373–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weick, K. E. (1998). The attitude of wisdom: Ambivalence as the optimal compromise. In S. Srivastava & D. L. Cooperrider (Eds.), Organizational wisdom and executive courage (pp. 40–64). San Francisco: The New Lexington Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Werhane, P. H. (2002). Moral imagination and systems thinking. Journal of Business Ethics, 38(1–2), 33–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilke, C. G., Grimm, C. L. W., & Thayer, J. H. (1886). A Greek–English lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittmer, D. (1992). Ethical sensitivity and managerial decisionmaking: An experiment. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 2(4), 443–462.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, S. Y. (2008). A process view of wisdom. Journal of Adult Development, 15(2), 62–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, S. Y. (2011). Wisdom displayed through leadership: Exploring leadership-related wisdom. Leadership Quarterly, 22(4), 616–632.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zacher, H., Pearce, L. K., Rooney, D., & McKenna, B. (2014). Leaders’ personal wisdom and leader–member exchange quality: The role of individualized consideration. Journal of Business Ethics, 121(2), 171–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Exeter Business School, Streatham Court, Rennes Drive, Exeter, EX4 4PU, UK

    Ajit Nayak

Authors
  1. Ajit Nayak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ajit Nayak.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nayak, A. Wisdom and the Tragic Question: Moral Learning and Emotional Perception in Leadership and Organisations. J Bus Ethics 137, 1–13 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2540-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2540-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation