Prisoner Dilemmas and Social Contract as a Foundation for Ethics YunTech Prisoner Dilemmas and Social Contract as a Foundation for Ethics

Conditions of Prisoner Dilemma Consequences for self or organization depends on behavior, actions, choices of others Worse off by all pursuing perceived self-interest

X/Y Game Strategies Free Rider (X/ Y) Cooperation/ Morality /Social Contract (Y/Y) State of Nature (X/X) Sucker (Y/X)

Prisoner Dilemma Key Points Minimalist assumptions of human (self-interest and rationality) still lead to cooperative strategies as better for self Paradox -- Worse off pursuing self-interest; better to do what is not in one’s self-interest Morality -- rules of social cooperation/ social contract

Lessons from Prisoner Dilemma Exercises (and Leadership Implications) Goal clarity/ ambiguity Insure that there is clarity on mission and goals Strategy (short-term gain/risk vs. long-term cooperation) Focus on long-term perspective (as well as short-term) Limited communication Take responsibility to maximize communication Communication  Agreement/ understanding Develop Social Contract with input from all Necessity of trust Build and maintain culture of trust

Hobbes’ Conditions of Nature Equality of Needs Scarcity Equality of Power Limited Altruism

Hobbes’ Facts of Nature Equality of Need Scarcity Equality of Power Limited Altruism Cooperation Competition State of Nature “war of all against all” “solitary, poor, brutish, short” Social Contract Fundamental Rules and Basic Elements? 1st Law: “seek peace” but “defend ourselves” 2nd Law: “lay down right to all things”

Hobbes: The Self As Starting Point Life is Solitary, Poor, Nasty, Brutish and Short Self-Preservation: A War of All Against All

An Alternative View of Human Nature (Adam Smith) Theory of moral sentiment Natural sympathy Empathy “Fellow feeling” “Of this kind is pity or compassion” “to feel much for others…constitutes the perfection of human nature”

Rules and Elements for a Social Contract If you were forming and joining a group, what would your first principles and elements of your social contract be? Such that all would agree to them. Morality as Social Contract Morality-- set of rules to enhance social living that rational people would choose for mutual benefit, on condition that all will follow same rules (James Rachels)

Social Contract as Basis of Individual and Corporate / Organizational Ethics Social Contract provides basis of individual responsibilities Are there personal responsibilities that go beyond the social contract? Commitment to personal core values and principles. Aristotle and virtue ethics Social Contract provides basis for corporate/ organizational responsibilities Are there social responsibilities that go beyond industry codes and other formal responsibilities? Commitment to corporate core values and principles. Corporate values-based leadership.

Basic Rules and Elements Do No Harm Keep Agreements Equality - Reciprocity Government/ Organization - Roles Processes Creation-Modification Monitoring-Enforcing Dispute Resolution

Organizational Social Contract What should be our basic rules of engagement? What are the minimum expectations of one another? What should be our core values guiding our interactions with one another? Fundamental Rules of Behavior

Process for Building Social Contract Across Cultures and Organizations Universal / Maximum participation Building from bottom up Written or verbal? Commitment – signatures? Process to deal with violations Process to revisit and revise