As people in this world, and good citizens, we are concerned not only with what actions are morally right and morally wrong, but what makes actions morally right or morally wrong. The key is to understand the reasoning that we employ in ethical decision making so we can become more proficient. Ethical frameworks are perspectives useful for reasoning what course of action may provide the most moral outcome. In many cases, a person may not use a reasoning process but rather do what they simply feel is best at the time. Others may reflexively use a principle they learned from their family, peers, religious teachings or own experiences. The study of ethics has provided many principles that can aid in ethical decision making. Some of the most common are captured in the following 5 ethical frameworks:
The videos below provide a description of these. Please remember that these and other ethical frameworks are considered differently by people from diverse societies around the world including Asian, African, Native American and others. Virtue ethics : What is moral is what makes us the best person we could be. [CrashCourse]. (2016, December 5). Aristotle & Virtue Theory: Crash Course Philosophy #38 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrvtOWEXDIQ Deontology : What is moral is what follows from absolute moral duties. [CrashCourse]. (2016, November 14). Kant & Categorical Imperatives: Crash Course Philosophy #35. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bIys6JoEDw Utilitarianism : What is morally right is what generates the best outcome for the largest number of people. [CrashCourse]. (2016, November 21). Utilitarianism: Crash Course Philosophy #36. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a739VjqdSI Rights-based Ethics : What is moral is that which is in accord with everyone's rights. [CrashCourse]. (2016, November 28). Contractarianism: Crash Course Philosophy #37. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Co6pNvd9mc Care-based Ethics : What is moral is that which promotes healthy relationships and the well-being of individuals and their interdependence. [UvA ComScience Microlectures]. (2017, October 15). Alternative Paradigms: Care Ethics and Feminine Ethics. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iaCpAFypq8 Seven Steps to Ethical Decision Making Introduction
The decision making process described below has been carefully constructed to be:
Why do organizations need ethical decision making? See our special edition case study, #RespectAtWork, to find out.
First, explore the difference between what you expect and/or desire and the current reality. By defining the problem in terms of outcomes, you can clearly state the problem. Consider this example: Tenants at an older office building are complaining that their employees are getting angry and frustrated because there is always a long delay getting an elevator to the lobby at rush hour. Many possible solutions exist, and all are predicated on a particular understanding the problem:
The real-life decision makers defined the problem as "people complaining about having to wait." Their solution was to make the wait less frustrating by piping music into the elevator lobbies. The complaints stopped. There is no way that the eventual solution could have been reached if, for example, the problem had been defined as "too few elevators." How you define the problem determines where you go to look for alternatives/solutions-- so define the problem carefully. Step 2: Seek out relevant assistance, guidance and support Once the problem is defined, it is critical to search out resources that may be of assistance in making the decision. Resources can include people (i.e., a mentor, coworkers, external colleagues, or friends and family) as well professional guidelines and organizational policies and codes. Such resources are critical for determining parameters, generating solutions, clarifying priorities and providing support, both while implementing the solution and dealing with the repercussions of the solution. Step 3: Identify available alternative solutions to the problem Step 4: Evaluate the identified alternatives You should think through not just what results each alternative could yield, but the likelihood it is that such impact will occur. You will only have all the facts in simple cases. It is reasonable and usually even necessary to supplement the facts you have with realistic assumptions and informed beliefs. Nonetheless, keep in mind that the more the evaluation is fact-based, the more confident you can be that the expected outcome will occur. Knowing the ratio of fact-based evaluation versus non-fact-based evaluation allows you to gauge how confident you can be in the proposed impact of each alternative. Step 5: Make the decision Step 6: Implement the decision Step 7: Evaluate the decision Ethics FiltersThe ethical component of the decision making process takes the form of a set of "filters." Their purpose is to surface the ethics considerations and implications of the decision at hand. When decisions are classified as being "business" decisions (rather than "ethics" issues), values can quickly be left out of consideration and ethical lapses can occur. At key steps in the process, you should stop and work through these filters, ensuring that the ethics issues imbedded in the decision are given consideration. We group the considerations into the mnemonic PLUS.
The PLUS filters work as an integral part of steps 1, 4 and 7 of the decision-making process. The decision maker applies the four PLUS filters to determine if the ethical component(s) of the decision are being surfaced/addressed/satisfied.
The PLUS filters do not guarantee an ethically-sound decision. They merely ensure that the ethics components of the situation will be surfaced so that they might be considered. How Organizations Can Support Ethical Decision-Making
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