Michael C. Jensen; Harvard Business School; Social Science Electronic Publishing (SSEP), Inc. November 29, 2009; Rotman Magazine: The Magazine of the Rotman School of Management, pp. 16-20, Fall 2009 Harvard Business School NOM Unit Working Paper No. 10-042; Barbados Group Working Paper No. 09-04
Abstract: This paper is an interview of Michael Jensen by Karen Christensen on the topic of integrity. There is confusion between integrity, morality and ethics. In our much longer paper on the topic (see “Integrity: A Positive Model that Incorporates the Normative Phenomena of Morality, Ethics and Legality” (available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=920625)) my co-authors, Werner Erhard and Steve Zaffron, distinguish integrity, from morality and ethics in the following way. Integrity in our model is honoring your word. As such integrity is a purely positive phenomenon. It has nothing to do with good vs. bad, right vs. wrong behavior. Like the law of gravity the law of integrity just is, and if you violate the law of integrity as we define it you get hurt just as if you try to violate the law of gravity with no safety device. The personal and organizational benefits of honoring one's word are huge — both for individuals and for organizations — and generally unappreciated.
Keywords: Values, Integrity, Morality, Ethics
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Phi Beta Iota: INTEGRITY is our core word.
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Reference: Integrity–Without it Nothing Works II
Reference: Integrity–Without It Nothing Works III
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2014: Year One for Intelligence with Integrity
