In commerce, many moral failures are due to narrow mindsets that preclude taking into account the moral dimensions of a decision or action. In turn, sometimes these mindsets are caused by failing to question managerial decisions from a moral point of view, because of a perceived authority of management. In the 1960s, Stanley Milgram conducted controversial experiments to investigate just how far obedience to an authority figure could subvert his subjects' moral beliefs. In this thought-provoking work, the authors examine the prevalence of narrow mental models and the phenomenon of obedience to an authority to analyse and understand the challenges which business professionals encounter in making ethical decisions. Obstacles to Ethical Decision-Making proposes processes – including collaborative input and critique – by which individuals may reduce or overcome these challenges. It provides decision-makers at all levels in an organisation with the means to place ethical considerations at the heart of managerial decision-making.

在商业中，许多道德上的失败是由于狭隘的思维模式导致无法考虑决策或行动的道德层面。反过来，有时这些心态是由于未能从道德的角度质疑管理决策而造成的，因为人们认为管理具有权威性。20世纪60年代，斯坦利·米尔格拉姆（Stanley Milgram）进行了有争议的实验，以调查服从权威人物会在多大程度上颠覆受试者的道德信仰。在这项发人深省的工作中，作者研究了狭隘思维模式的普遍性以及服从权威的现象，以分析和理解商业专业人员在做出道德决策时遇到的挑战。道德决策的障碍提出了个人可以减少或克服这些挑战的过程——包括合作投入和批评。它为组织中各级决策者提供了将道德考虑置于管理决策核心的方法。