Topic > Video Document on Ethics: Conformity Biases and Fundamental Principles…

When considering business-related ethics, it is important to take into account ethics in general. Two such important subtopics within ethics are the dangers of conformity bias and the threats imposed by the fundamental attribution error. On the “Ethics Unwrapped” site, two videos, each relating to and titled one of the previously mentioned topics, are useful for gaining knowledge about what these two topics are about and the potential ethical dilemmas they create. I believe these two topics are important to discuss because everyone, especially those working in corporate environments, have fallen prey to these two concepts more often than other ethics-related subtopics. The first video, “Fundamental Attribution Error,” discusses the ethical issue of the same name. The fundamental attribution error (henceforth referred to as FAE) occurs when we attribute and emphasize the behaviors of others solely on character rather than on situational factors or their surrounding environment. However, according to the FAE, we believe that, in identical circumstances, we committed the same action for entirely personal reasons. Numerous examples are cited in the video. Let's say we have two people, you and Marty McFly (who happens to share the name of the protagonist from Back to the Future but is of no other relation). You find out that Marty cheated on his wife and you automatically assume it's because he's a terrible, horrible human being. However, you are also cheating on your wife, but you tell yourself it was because you had one or more drinks at the bar last night. You also find out that Marty has been "mixing up" or falsifying numbers and accounts at work and you believe it's because he's some kind of... middle of paper... fix. So I give it five out of five stars for importance and real-world relevance, and it's definitely a "must watch" video. The video on the fundamental attribution error is also important but not as important as the first one on CB. FAE will not necessarily lead to the death of others (although it can sometimes happen in extreme cases) and will mainly affect daily activities rather than national or international concerns, and really has more to do with "I can do it because I am a person extraordinary." while that other guy is probably a lunatic” and as such doesn't tend to do too much physical harm to others. Although this is a problem, it can be solved more easily than with the previous CB. I give it four out of five because, although it is important to consider in everyday activities and can also be applied in the real world, it does not have as serious consequences as CB.