MAKING ETHICAL DECISIONS
Ethics is a set of values that define right and wrong.
Values are defined as principles or standards that a person
finds desirable.
Ethics is a set of principles that a person or society finds
desirable and help define right and wrong.
Morality is an individual’s, largely intuitive and emotional, sense
of how they should treat others.
Ethics, on the other hand, is a formalized set of principles that
claim to represent the truth about how people should behave.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190617-deep-ethics-the-long-term-quest-to-decide-right-from-wrong
Ethical decision-making refers to the process of evaluating
and choosing among alternatives in a manner consistent with
ethical principles.
Source: https://blink.ucsd.edu/finance/accountability/ethics/process.html
Commitment: The desire to do the right thing regardless
of the cost
Consciousness: The awareness to act consistently and
apply moral convictions to daily behavior
Competency: The ability to collect and evaluate
information, develop alternatives, and foresee potential
consequences and risks
Ethical decisions generate and sustain trust; demonstrate
respect, responsibility and fairness.
Effective decisions are effective if they accomplish what
we want accomplished and if they advance our purposes.
ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
Utilitarianism: A Consequentialist, “Ends Justifies
Means” Approach
Universalism: A Duty-Based Approach
Rights: A Moral and Legal Entitlement–Based Approach
Justice: Procedures, Compensation, and Retribution
Virtue Ethics
The Common Good
Ethical Relativism: A Self-Interest Approach
SUGGESTED MODELS
FOR MAKING ETHICAL DECISIONS
JOSEPHSON INSTITUTE OF ETHICS’ MODEL
1. Stop and think
2. Clarify goals
3. Determine facts
4. Develop options
5. Consider consequences
6. Choose
7. Monitor and modify
THE EIGHT STEPS TO ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
Step 1: Identify the problem.
Step 2: Identify the potential issues involved.
Step 3: Review relevant ethical guidelines
Step 4: Know relevant laws and regulations.
Step 5: Obtain consultation.
Step 6: Consider possible and probable courses of action.
Step 7: List the consequences of the probable courses of
action
Step 8: Decide on what appears to be the best course of
action.
THE TWELVE QUESTIONS MODEL
1. Have you defined the problem accurately?
2. How would you define the problem if you stood on the other side of the fence?
3. How did this situation occur in the first place?
4. To whom and what do you give your loyalties as a person and as a member of the company?
5. What is your intention in making this decision?
6. How does this intention compare with the likely results?
7. Whom could your decision or action injure?
8. Can you engage the affected parties in a discussion of the problem before you make your
decision?
9. Are you confident that your position will be as valid over a long period of time as it seems
now?
10. Could you disclose without qualms your decision or action to your boss, your family, or
society as a whole?
11. What is the symbolic potential of your action if understood? If misunderstood?
12. Under what conditions would you allow exceptions to your stand?
SUMMARY OF THE SUGGESTED
MODELS
The situation must be carefully analyzed.
Choose the one that offers the greater good or the lesser
evil.
Find alternative solutions
ASK YOURSELF:
Which option produces the most good and the least
harm?
Which option best respects the rights of all who are
affected?
Which option best treats people equally or fairly?
Which option best serves as a whole, the common good?
Which option leads me to act as the kind of person I
want to be, a virtuous person?
WHAT IS AN ETHICAL DILEMMA?
A problem in the decision-making process between two
possible options, neither of which is absolutely acceptable
from an ethical perspective.
PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
Marvin had several friends including Jonny and Eric.
Jonny has recently met and started dating a wonderful
lady named Claire. He is convinced this is a long term
relationship. Unknown to Jonny, Marvin saw them at a
restaurant several days ago and realized Claire is the
wife of his other friend Eric.
LIFE OR DEATH IMPACT
Consider a situation in which a group of people are
enjoying an outdoor adventure together. One person gets
stuck in the only way in or out of an enclosed space,
such as a cave. Water starts rising in the cave due to high
tide or heavy rainfall. Everyone will perish if the person
isn’t removed from the entrance. There is no way of
removing the person who is stuck so that the individual
will survive.
FOLLOWING THE RULES
One of the most important characteristics of an effective
leader is treating people equitably. This involves fairness
and consistency, including regards to applying the rules
to everyone equally. What should a coach do when a few
superstar players get caught breaking rules that should
lead to their suspension from the team immediately
before a big game that is very important to the team?
THE COST OF A CURE
Imagine you were in a situation where someone in your
family was extremely ill. Your relative’s doctor says that
there is an experimental medicine that might help your
loved one, expressing that it is the only thing that might
work. Your family has very limited financial means. The
medication costs 50,000 per month and health insurance
will not cover the cost. You try to borrow money to pay
for a course of treatment but are unable to do so.
DISADVANTAGING YOURSELF TO DO WHAT’S RIGHT
The reliance on digital communication in the business world
surely has created ethical dilemmas involving information
access and privacy. You could find yourself in a situation of
needing to get information from a coworker’s computer
when that person was out of the office. You know you’re not
supposed to access others computers, but this coworker is a
friend of yours and she has shared her password with you in
the past. When you login, you discover that your coworker
has been saving customer’s credit card data on the
computer, which is a violation of company policy.
IS CHARITY A DUTY?
CHARITY
Charity begins at home.
Charity is universal duty.
Humanitarian Organizations aid people who are
suffering, particularly victims of armed conflict,
famines, and natural disasters. Sometimes
these organizations are also called relief societies.
REFLECTIONS ON HOW TO GIVE
Giving from the heart
Giving to the neediest
Giving mindfully
Giving to heal and address injustices
Giving to overcome unjust policies
WHAT THE BUDDHA TAUGHT
WALPOLA RAHULA
But charity cannot be sectarian; it is neither Christian,
Buddhist, Hindu nor Moslem. The love of a mother for her
child is neither Buddhist nor Christian: it is mother love.
