Overcoming Ethical Bullying | Shaul Shalvi | TEDxBGU
Adults engage in "Ethical Bullying" by creating dilemmas compelling compliance through group belonging, using subtle pressure rather than explicit orders. This subtle coercion is exemplified when a boss repeatedly asks an accountant to "double check" numbers, implying they need to change without stating it. The primary defense against this is implementing *calibrated transparency* when setting organizational goals.
## Speakers & Context
- A speaker addressing an audience about bullying, distinguishing between explicit and implicit forms perpetrated by adults.
## Theses & Positions
- Bullying can occur among adults using subtle, sophisticated, and *implicit* methods rather than overt aggression.
- Implicit ethical bullying leverages the human desire for group belonging and loyalty, coercing compliance even to break rules or lie.
- The mechanism to counteract unethical bullying is establishing *calibrated transparency* by openly discussing facts.
- The ultimate goal for organizations is to create goals that are achievable and do not require members to bend ethics or lie.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Ethical Bullying:** A broad term for subtle bullying in adulthood.
- **Explicit Ethical Bullying:** Overt coercion where the leader directly tells the group to break rules (e.g., Lance Armstrong, Bernie Madoff).
- **Implicit Ethical Bullying:** Coercion that creates a dilemma ("Be a team member... or follow your own moral beliefs"), subtly pressuring compliance without explicit commands.
- **Calibrated Transparency:** The process where organizational goals are openly discussed and set based on verifiable facts, leading to goals that are feasible to achieve honestly.
## Examples & Cases
- **Explicit Bullying Example (Lance Armstrong):** Bullied team members into taking performance-enhancing drugs to win races.
- **Explicit Bullying Example (Bernie Madoff):** Bullied employees into executing financial tricks, such as backdating stock options, to boost company profits.
- **Implicit Bullying Example 1 (Accountant):** A boss asks an accountant, "Can you take another look at these numbers, please?" repeatedly, sending the message that the numbers should improve without explicitly saying "Change the numbers."
- **Implicit Bullying Example 2 (Cellular Company):** Managers set a target of selling 90 extended packages monthly, despite the team only gaining 70 new clients, which incentivized reps to sign existing clients into more expensive packages without the client knowing.
- **Dice Game Demonstration:** Participants, motivated by profit, repeatedly reported matching the highest profitable roll (6, 6), even when the opponent (A) was rolling low, demonstrating implicit pressure to maximize perceived gain.
- **Dice Game Solution:** The second player (B) signaled displeasure by reporting a '6' when 'A' rolled a '4', implicitly signaling that 'A' should aim higher, causing 'A' to improve in subsequent rounds.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Implicit Manipulation Cycle:** Uncalibrated goal + lack of transparency $\rightarrow$ Employees feel compelled to "solve the puzzle" to achieve the bonus $\rightarrow$ Actions that bend rules (e.g., overcharging existing clients).
- **Mechanism of Coercion:** Creating a binary choice: conform to the group/boss's desired outcome (even if unethical) or stand by one's ethics/the law.
- **Corrective Mechanism:** Implementing calibrated transparency—sitting down to openly discuss the facts (e.g., only 70 new clients) and adjusting the goal accordingly (e.g., sell to 80% of new clients).
## Named Entities
- **Lance Armstrong:** Figure cited as an example of explicit bullying in cycling.
- **Bernie Madoff:** Figure cited as an example of explicit bullying in finance.
- **Cellular company:** The type of organization used to illustrate goal manipulation.
## Numbers & Data
- Cellular company target: **90** extended packages per month.
- Cellular company new clients available: **70** new clients per month.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Dice:** Used in the laboratory demonstration for simulation.
- **Computer/Lab Setup:** Used to present the statistical results of the dice rolls.
## Methodology
- **Laboratory Study:** Bringing twenty participants into a lab, paired up (A and B), each given a dice.
- **Experiment Rules:** A rolls and reports outcome; B learns A's roll, then rolls and reports outcome. Reward: Both receive *value in euros* if rolls match; zero otherwise.
- **Data Comparison:** Comparing theoretical probability (where all outcomes are equally likely) against observed play patterns (clustering around doubles, especially 6, 6).
## Timeline & Sequence
- **General:** The talk contrasts overt (explicit) bullying with subtle (implicit) bullying.
- **Demonstration Sequence:** Lab setup $\rightarrow$ Plotting honest probability $\rightarrow$ Running 20 rounds of play $\rightarrow$ Identifying patterns (doubles) $\rightarrow$ Isolating the strategic signaling (B forcing A to improve).
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- The speaker acknowledges that adults often employ these methods because the underlying *feeling* of pressure to belong is so strong.
- The speaker notes that the ideal state is not just setting a lower goal, but reaching a *calibrated* one that is honest.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Organizations must prioritize *calibrated transparency* in goal-setting discussions.
- When setting goals, explicitly state the factual constraints (e.g., "There are only 70 new clients per month") to avoid incentivizing unethical behavior.
## Implications & Consequences
- Failure to establish calibrated transparency allows implicit bullying to flourish, potentially leading an organization to become corrupt through manipulated profit generation.
- The ethical mandate requires ensuring that team success is measured against feasible realities, not inflated targets.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"Could it be that adults bully as well? And if adults bully, could it be that they're using more implicit ways, more subtle and sophisticated ways to get others to do what they want?"*
- *"I call it 'Ethical Bullying'."*
- *"He told them - 'Break the rules.'"*
- *"sending an implicit massage that things can look better."*
- *"There are two problems with this goal: First, the goal was completely uncalibrated to reality, the other problem was that employees had no clue about these facts, so there was no transparency."*
- *"Statistics are not needed. What we see here are many more reports on the diagonal, doubles being reported, and especially the most profitable 6,6 option."*
- *"What could B do without saying anything explicitly, well he can report a 6, sending and implicit signal, you can do better than that."*
- *"The key term that I would like to use is calibrated transparency."*
- *"if you want to avoid our organizations from turning corrupt we should verify that we sit down, calibrate our goals to whatever is feasible, and talk about the facts in a transparent way."*