The Psychodynamics of Ethical behavior in Organizations

There are many aspects of organizational life—ethics prominent among them—in which things, and particularly behavior, are not what they seem. A psychodynamic approach to these apparent paradoxes helps greatly in shedding light on these areas. Much as a psycho-dynamic approach to organizational analysis has helped us see many aspects of organizational life that were less visible, so too can this approach aid us in understanding what fosters ethical behavior in organizations—and also what does not. Thus, in this article, the authors seek to develop a psychodynamic understanding of ethical behavior in organizations.