The knowing-doing gap is present in virtually all so-called “best practices” in business and organizations. While often done with the best of intentions, many schemes designed to enhance organizational performance often fail. You have heard it said before — that may work in theory, but not in practice.
There is also a knowing-doing gap in business ethics. Quite often, managers “know” what the right thing is to do. They just have trouble “doing” the right thing. This may seem surprising when you consider that so many people think the problem in business ethics is figuring out what is the right thing to do. In the final analysis, however, it is frequently clear what is the best, correct, or ethical decision or course of action to take. The challenge becomes “doing” ethics.
If knowing what to do is frequently apparent, then why do managers, employees, and many of us so often have trouble “doing the right thing?” This is where the “knowing” versus “doing” gap in business ethics occurs. Let’s not minimize the challenge of “knowing ethics,” but “doing ethics,” is a more formidable task.
The essential challenge in doing what is right is two-fold: (1) getting ourselves, and (2) others for whom we have responsibility, to take the ethical course of action once it has been determined. The underlying issue is motivation. How do I motivate myself to be ethical and how do I motivate others to be ethical? Let’s just focus on self-motivation in this discussion.
One way of thinking about this is to recognize that there are at least three broad sources of motivation or influence to be ethical in organizations (and in life). One source includes influences “outside the individual,” but within the world, such as expectations from superiors, family, colleagues, organizational policies, law and order, culture, and so on. A second source includes those from “within the individual,” such as common-sense, use of one’s mind, logic or rationality, conscience, or other forms of internally generated motivation.
A third source might include those influences which are spiritual in nature, that is, they come from God or a higher power. This third category, of course, interacts with the second category, the individual, and it is not always easy to distinguish where the true motivation is coming from, except by virtue of one’s personal beliefs about that source of inspiration.
Another way of thinking about motivation to be ethical is in terms of a composite of many different values and influences that come to bear on us. Four major values that inspire us include religion, philosophy, culture and the law. Religion and morality are so intertwined that William Barclay, the great Scottish theologian, once argued that “ethics is the bit of religion that tells us how we ought to behave.” The biblical tradition of Judeo-Christian theology has formed a core for today. Other faiths have their pursuit of ethics as well.
Philosophy and philosophical systems certainly have been influential for centuries. Beginning with the preachments of the early Greeks, philosophers have claimed to demonstrate that “reason” can provide us with principles or morals to guide our behavior and decision making.
Culture, that broad synthesis of societal norms and values, emanates from everyday living, and greatly influences one’s motivations. Today, culture influences us primarily through social media, television, music and movies. This can be a sad commentary, but it is true.
The law has been and continues to be one of the most powerful forces motivating us to action. Or, perhaps, it would be more accurate to say, the penalties and consequences of violating the law weigh heavily on each of us as we go about our business, both within and outside of organizations or in life. Philosophers call this consequentialism, as we consider the outcomes of our actions to determine whether they are right or wrong. Aristotle once said, “know thyself.” Careful thought and introspection about what motivates each of us to be ethical might help bridge the gap between knowing and doing ethics in business and life.
Barclay, W. (1972). Ethics in a Permissive Society.
Carroll, A.B. (2009). Business Ethics: Brief Readings on Vital Topics.
Pfeffer, J. and Sutton, R. (2000). The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge into
Action.
Professor emeritus, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia, USA. Dr. Carroll received his three academic degrees in management (1965; 1966; 1972) from the College of Business, The Florida State University (Tallahassee, Florida USA). He is founding author and now co-author of BUSINESS & SOCIETY: ETHICS, SUSTAINABILITY & STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT (2023), 11th edition, with Jill A Brown; Co-author of CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY: THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE which won the 2014 BEST BOOK AWARD at the Academy of Management--Social Issues in Management Meeting; and Author of BUSINESS ETHICS: BRIEF READINGS ON VITAL TOPICS. Carroll won the first Lifetime Achievement Award in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from the Institute of Management, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Management, International Association for Business & Society, and the Southern Management Association. He has published over 100 articles, and his citations exceed 100,000 according to Google Scholar Citations.