Business Ethics Expert Paul Fiorelli Offers Insights at Farrell Lecture

Why do good people do bad things?

At the annual Farrell Lecture hosted by Seton Hill University’s School of Business and Technology, guest speaker Paul Fiorelli addressed students, faculty, and community members on the root causes of corporate misconduct and moral compromise in professional environments.

Fiorelli, a former Supreme Court fellow and emeritus professor of legal and ethical studies at Xavier University, structured his address around why well-meaning individuals make unethical choices. Emphasizing the gap between legal adherence and moral responsibility, Fiorelli cautioned: "Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do — the law — and what is right to do — ethics."

During his lecture “Why Good People Do Bad Things,” Fiorelli outlined eight central drivers of ethical failure, contrasting typical corporate reactions to misconduct with the teachings of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, the university’s namesake. Rather than asking punitive questions when things go wrong — such as "who did this" or "why didn't I find out sooner" — Fiorelli suggested leaders adopt questions aligned with Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s focus on supportive accountability and duty.

• Slippery Slope: To illustrate how small compromises build over time, Fiorelli cited Seton’s observation on "walking in a slippery path... by reason of temptations," noting that inexperienced individuals require strong moral support at every step to avoid gradual ethical decline.
• Ethics Beyond the Law: Highlighting the limits of basic legal compliance, he referenced the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic. While the vessel met the minimum maritime lifeboat requirements of its day, ignoring higher moral duties led to lost lives.
• Group Pressure and Conformity: Referencing classic social experiments alongside Seton’s call to "hold fast integrity in the midst of enemies," Fiorelli urged the audience to resist groupthink and authority pressure, choosing "the harder right over the easier wrong."
• Exploitation and Greed: Addressing white-collar crime and high-profile fraud schemes like Bernie Madoff's, Fiorelli drew on Saint Elizabeth’s condemnation of theft from the vulnerable.

During his visit to campus, Fiorelli also offered a lecture to students in Associate Professor of Marketing Rachel Kaplan’s Human Resources Management class and signed copies of his book, “Establishing Workplace Integrity: Six Lessons in Values Based Leadership,” for students, faculty and staff.

A recording of the Farrell Lecture is available on the Seton Hill Alumni Virtual Hub.