Dirty Hands

Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

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Background Note | HBS Case Collection | May 1990 (Revised April 1991)

Dirty Hands

by Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

Abstract

A one-paragraph excerpt from a play by Jean-Paul Sartre. Describes in the words of one character, the ethical problem of "dirty hands": the problem that doing the morally superior thing in some circumstances inevitably involves doing some things that are morally wrong. This excerpt is for use as a supplement to cases in which the "dirty hands" problem arises.

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Management; Problems and Challenges; Personal Characteristics; Value;

Format: Print

1 pages

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Citation:

Badaracco, Joseph L., Jr. "Dirty Hands." Harvard Business School Background Note 390-213, May 1990. (Revised April 1991.)

About the Author

Joseph L. Badaracco

John Shad Professor of Business Ethics

General Management

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Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | February 1994 (Revised March 2019)

Analyst's Dilemma (A) & (B)

Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Jerry Useem

Teaching Note for HBS Nos. 394-056 and 394-057.

Citation:
Badaracco, Joseph L., Jr., and Jerry Useem. "Analyst's Dilemma (A) & (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 394-148, February 1994. (Revised March 2019.) View Details

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Module Note | November 2018 (Revised January 2019)

Responsibilities to Investors (Abridged)

Lena G. Goldberg and Joseph L. Badaracco

This note focuses on managers’ responsibilities—economic, legal, and ethical—to investors. In capitalist and some socialist economies, these responsibilities traditionally have been grounded in fiduciary duties and are typically part of the common law or statutory law or are incorporated in civil codes. But, as this note will show, fiduciary obligations are deeply intertwined with economic and ethical responsibilities.

Keywords: Responsibilities to Investors; investors; responsibility; Business and Shareholder Relations; Management; Ethics;

Citation:
Goldberg, Lena G., and Joseph L. Badaracco. "Responsibilities to Investors (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Module Note 319-066, November 2018. (Revised January 2019.) View Details

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Background Note | HBS Case Collection | September 2015 (Revised March 2018)

Note on Human Behavior: Situation versus Character

Nitin Nohria, Sandra J. Sucher, Joseph Badaracco and Bridget Gurtler

When we think of human behavior, especially from a moral perspective, we often rely on explanations based on character. We think that good decisions and responsible behavior require people with integrity and strong character and that immoral behavior originates within people with little integrity and weak character. However, important research in recent decades strongly suggests that situational factors often dominate character in ethical decision making—for leaders and for members of their organizations. This note summarizes the recent research, shows its implications for the basic steps in ethical decision making, and provides a basis for in-depth discussion of the character-versus-situation question.

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Behavior; Personal Characteristics; Power and Influence; Situation or Environment;

Citation:
Nohria, Nitin, Sandra J. Sucher, Joseph Badaracco, and Bridget Gurtler. "Note on Human Behavior: Situation versus Character." Harvard Business School Background Note 316-078, September 2015. (Revised March 2018.) View Details

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Dirty Hands

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