Paper Research
Taboo Scenarios
Author(s): Paul J.H. Schoemaker and Philip E. Tetlock
Reviewed work(s):
Source: California Management Review, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Winter 2012), pp. 5-24
Published by: University of California Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/cmr.2012.54.2.5 .
Accessed: 14/08/2012 17:58
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.
University of California Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
California Management Review.
http://www.jstor.org
Taboo Scenarios:
HOW TO THINK ABOUT
THE UNTHINKABLE
Paul J.H. Schoemaker
Philip E. Tetlock
Taboos are a universal feature of social systems. Even the most avowedly open-minded organizations place tacit constraints on what can be said and even thought. Business leaders ignore these constraints at their peril.
This article examines the role of the sacred, profane, and taboo in society, and links these phenomena to the psychology of moral outrage. In public debates, taboos are rarely as absolute as first assumed and can often be reframed as tragic choices. Leaders must perform a delicate balancing act if they are to prevent taboos from blinding managers to either threats or opportunities. On the one hand, leaders who let their intellectual curiosity get the better of them risk paying a steep career price. On the other, leaders who bury their heads in the sand risk even worse consequences. Navigating this dilemma brings into sharp tension the policy prescriptions of advocates of
Author(s): Paul J.H. Schoemaker and Philip E. Tetlock
Reviewed work(s):
Source: California Management Review, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Winter 2012), pp. 5-24
Published by: University of California Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/cmr.2012.54.2.5 .
Accessed: 14/08/2012 17:58
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp .
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.
.
University of California Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
California Management Review.
http://www.jstor.org
Taboo Scenarios:
HOW TO THINK ABOUT
THE UNTHINKABLE
Paul J.H. Schoemaker
Philip E. Tetlock
Taboos are a universal feature of social systems. Even the most avowedly open-minded organizations place tacit constraints on what can be said and even thought. Business leaders ignore these constraints at their peril.
This article examines the role of the sacred, profane, and taboo in society, and links these phenomena to the psychology of moral outrage. In public debates, taboos are rarely as absolute as first assumed and can often be reframed as tragic choices. Leaders must perform a delicate balancing act if they are to prevent taboos from blinding managers to either threats or opportunities. On the one hand, leaders who let their intellectual curiosity get the better of them risk paying a steep career price. On the other, leaders who bury their heads in the sand risk even worse consequences. Navigating this dilemma brings into sharp tension the policy prescriptions of advocates of