Cheating: Ethics In Everyday Life

Product Description

Cheating is deeply embedded in everyday life The costs of the most common forms of cheating total close to a trillion dollars annually Part of the problem is that many individuals fail to see such behavior as a serious problem " Everyone does it" is a common rationalization & one that comes uncomfortably close to the truth That perception is also self-perpetuating The more that individuals believe that cheating is widespread the easier it becomes to justify Yet what is most notable about analysis of the problem is how little there is of it Whether or not Americans are cheating more they appear to be worrying about it less In Cheating eminent legal scholar Deborah Rhode offers the only recent comprehensive account of cheating in everyday life & the strategies necessary to address it Because cheating is highly situational Rhode drills down on its most common forms in sports organizations taxes academia copyright infringement marriage & insurance & mortgages Cheating also reviews strategies necessary to address the pervasiveness & persistence of cheating in these contexts We clearly need more cultural reinforcement of ethical conduct Efforts need to begin early with values education by parents teachers & other role models who can display & reinforce moral behaviors Organizations need to create ethical cultures in which informal norms formal policies & reward structures all promote integrity People also need more moral triggers that remind them of their own values Equally important are more effective enforcement structures including additional resources & stiffer sanctions Finally all of us need to take more responsibility for combatting cheating We need not only to subject our own conduct to more demanding standards but also to assume a greater obligation to prevent & report misconduct Sustaining a culture that actively discourages cheating is a collective responsibility & one in which we all have a substantial stake