The "Don't rock the boat" attitude is frequently seen as the virtuous road. Confrontation is messy-there are often hurt feelings. There are embarrassing revelations. There are destroyed careers. There are costs. Whether confrontation involves sexual misconduct by an assistant school principal or cooking the books by a manager or bond trader, the impact is the same.

Human nature flees from such situations. Further, there is within human nature that rationalization that avoiding confrontation is being "nice," and nice is associated with ethics.

There are also the harsh realities of confrontation. To confront the assistant school principal with allegations and carry through with a disciplinary process for the loss of a license to teach are time consuming and reflect on the school and administrators who hired him in the first place. There is exposure to liability.

A good employee evaluation means that the employee is happy, and there are no reviews, no messy discussions, and no allegations of discrimination. Not confronting a rogue trader means enjoying the ride of his performance and earnings and worrying about consequences at another time when perhaps something else will come along to counterbalance any of the harmful activities. Not insisting that a loan be written down carries with it the comfort of steady growth and earnings and a hope that future financial performance can make up for the loss when it eventually must be disclosed.

There is a great deal of rationalization that goes into the avoidance of confrontation. There is a comfort in maintaining status quo. There is at least a postponement of legal issues and liabilities. Often, avoiding confrontation is a painless road that carries with it the hope that whatever lies beneath does not break through and reveal its ugliness. Often, confrontation carries with it the hope that a problem will solve itself or become a moot issue....................

Discussion Questions
1. What are the consequences of the failure to raise an issue, whether legal or ethical, when it first arises?
2. What factors contribute to the failure to confront an issue?
3. What steps could a business take to encourage confrontation?