文档介绍：Games students play: Incorporating the prisoner's dilemma in teaching business ethics
The next reading provides an overview of the application of work done by game theorists like Danielson (see previous readings) to business ethics. The term "the prisoner’s dilemma" in the title of this reading requires a brief explanation for those who have not previously encountered this term. As well, the term "game theory" needs explanation. As the author Kevin Gibson notes, game theory might better be described as "strategy theory." So game theory is really about the strategies that rational (self-interested and self-controlled) agents would use in structured interactions or "games."
The most famous of these games is the prisoner’s dilemma, which is described at the start of the reading. It is important to understand that the game is being considered from a strategic perspective. Given a choice of the two options (confession or silence), each prisoner asks which option will give me the least amount of time in prison? In the strategic world of the game, we are not to be concerned about whether either prisoner is guilty or what is in society’s best interest. We are also not to worry about the lack of loyalty or friendship between the two prisoners.
As you will see, the apparent dilemma turns out not to be a real dilemma. The only rational choice is to confess because that is the better