The Nuremberg Defense is a behavioral response to organizational attempts to eliminate excessive discretion with elaborate rules, thus, individuals are prompted to:

Question

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The Nuremberg Defense refers to a legal defense that essentially argues that a defendant was "just following orders" and is therefore not responsible for their actions, especially in the context of war crimes. This defense was notably used by German officials in the Nuremberg Trials after World War II when they were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In the context of organizational behavior, the term "Nuremberg Defense" can be metaphorically used to describe a situation where individuals within an organization deflect personal responsibility for their actions by claiming they were simply adhering to orders or following strict organizational rules and policies.
Given the options provided:
a) Deny their individual moral responsibility for their actions, saying "I was just following orders."
b) Discourage the critical reasoning that is demanded of morally sensitive conduct.
c) Use highly detailed policies as a shield for their deliberately unethical conduct.
The answer that best fits the description of the Nuremberg Defense in an organizational context is:
a) Deny their individual moral responsibility for their actions, saying "I was just following orders."
This is because the essence of the Nuremberg Defense is the abdication of personal moral responsibility by deferring to authority or orders from superiors. Options b) and c) may also occur in organizations, but they are not specific to the Nuremberg Defense. Therefore, the correct answer to the input question is:
 a) Deny their individual moral responsibility for their actions, saying "I was just following orders."

The Nuremberg Defense Is a Behavioral Response to Organizational Attempts