Chapter 3 - The Dark Side of Personality

Abstract

In the early years of this century, scandals at Enron, Worldcom, and the world financial crisis led scholars, scientists, and journalists to pay increasing attention to the negative aspects of organizations and organizational life. These areas are often described using highly evocative adjectives—deviant, aberrant, toxic. Concern about unethical corporate behavior and bad actions by CEOs and other managers lead naturally to causal questions: what factors are involved in producing this kind of behavior? The recent rise of demagogic, populist, or authoritarian political leaders, especially in the United States and Europe, has only intensified this interest.