When you're making a major decision for your company, it can be tempting to choose the easiest or most cost-effective course of action -- even if that option isn't the best from an ethical standpoint. The PLUS model, a set of questions designed to help you make a decision from an ethical point of view, can ensure you're doing the right thing.
Full Answer
Ethical decisions should be based on the perceived outcomes they will lead to, and alternatives evaluated based on whether they will maximize the good from the greatest number of people. Good can be defined in several ways.
“An ethical consequentialist must assert the necessary justification on two separate levels: The purpose of the conduct must be deemed necessary, and the specific conduct contemplated must be necessary to accomplish that purpose.”. Final thoughts: Use common sense, be kind to others. You know it's clearly wrong.
If a manager is making a decision that is based in China, the Chinese standards of ethics should apply. If a manager is making a decision in South Carolina, as opposed to Alaska, the South Carolina worldview would trump the decision making.
Every day we face ethical decisions. These decisions may not include the pulling of a trolley lever, but they do put our moral compass and values into question. The following are five universal approaches to consider when making those decisions:
Ethical decision-making is based on core character values like trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and good citizenship. Ethical decisions generate ethical behaviors and provide a foundation for good business practices. See a model for making ethical decisions.
Three of the important components of ethical decision making are individual factors, organizational relationships, and opportunity.
Five Approaches to Ethical Decision MakingUtilitarian Approach. What benefits and what harms will each course of action produce, and which alternative will lead to the best overall consequences? ... Rights Approach. ... Fairness/Justice Approach. ... Common Good Approach. ... Virtue Approach.
The Leader's Choice: Five Steps to Ethical Decision Making....Assessment: Make sure you have all the facts about the dilemma. ... Alternatives: Consider your choices. ... Analysis: Identify your candidate decision and test its validity. ... Application: Apply ethical principles to your candidate decision. ... Action: Make a decision.
A rudimentary framework for how managers engage in the decision making process contains four steps. Identify the problem. Generate alternatives. Decide on a course of action. Implement.
1 - GATHER THE FACTS. □ Don't jump to conclusions without the facts. ... 2 – DEFINE THE ETHICAL ISSUE(S) ... 3 – IDENTIFY THE AFFECTED PARTIES. ... 4 – IDENTIFY THE CONSEQUENCES. ... 5 – IDENTIFY THE RELEVANT PRINCIPLES,6 – CONSIDER YOUR CHARACTER &7 – THINK CREATIVELY ABOUT POTENTIAL.8 – CHECK YOUR GUT.More items...
Some suggest that the ethical action is the one that best protects and respects the moral rights of those affected. This approach starts from the belief that humans have a dignity based on their human nature per se or on their ability to choose freely what they do with their lives.
Ethical decisions are more sustainable, and less likely to have an adverse impact on the organisation – whether it's in terms of public perception, company morale, or falling foul of evolving legislation. A good business decision is both effective and ethical.
The utilitarianism principle basically holds that an action is morally right if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people. An action is morally right if the net benefits over costs are greatest for all affected compared with the net benefits of all other possible choices.
Step 1: Identify the decision. You realize that you need to make a decision. ... Step 2: Gather relevant information. ... Step 3: Identify the alternatives. ... Step 4: Weigh the evidence. ... Step 5: Choose among alternatives. ... Step 6: Take action. ... Step 7: Review your decision & its consequences.
An ethical decision-making model is a framework that leaders use to bring these principles to the company and ensure they are followed.
Leaders have to develop ethical standards that employees in their company will be required to adhere to. This can help move the conversation toward using a model to decide when someone is in violation of ethics. There are five sources of ethical standards: Utilitarian.
A virtue approach requires leaders to base ethical standards on universal virtues such as honesty, courage, compassion, tolerance, and many others. Principles that are chosen should cause people to strive to be their better selves and wonder if an inappropriate action will negatively impact their inherent desire to be kind to others.
Some initial analysis has to happen for leaders to truly understand where they need to bring in ethical principles. Leaders need to decide why an ethical decision needs to be made and the outcomes that are desired for the decision.
The intent is for people to be treated fairly and with dignity and not as a means to an end. Fairness.
This ethical standard puts a lot of emphasis on relationships, and how compassion for the fellow man should drive people to do good by others.
A general definition of business ethics is that it is a tool an organization uses to make sure that managers, employees, and senior leadership always act responsibly in the workplace with internal and external stakeholders.
If you need some guideposts to making an ethical decision, examine it in terms of the three-step decision-making model offered by the Josephson Institute of Ethics, a nonprofit organization “dedicated to the advancement of ethics and the development of individual character through its programs, workshops, and publications.”.
It suggests that you observe the Golden Rule as a first step to testing a decision’s ethical rating: ”Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”.
Step two of the JI model asserts, “Ethical values and principles always take precedence over unethical ones.” Although it sounds like an obvious statement, people’s choices are not always clearly definable in terms of ethical and unethical. People may sometimes have a conflict that they see “arising from the clash between what they want or ‘need’ and ethical principles that might deny them their desires. A rationalization process then kicks in, transforming self-interested, unethical motives into others-centered, ethical ones.”
You cannot defend it as a principle of good conduct.
Your decision may embarrass you or your company.
Of course, this is not always easy. Different stakeholders can be affected by the same decision in either a beneficial or detrimental way, and the Golden Rule does not tell us how to make a choice that is best for everyone. The JI model explains, “We cannot demonstrate equal love or caring to every person affected by our decisions. Sometimes we must prioritize certain interests over others and advance the well-being of some people, even at a cost to others.”
Using a step-by-step approach is an efficient way to make thoughtful, informed decisions that have a positive impact on your organization’s short- and long-term goals.
Decision making is a vital skill in the business workplace, particularly for managers and those in leadership positions. Following a logical procedure like the one outlined here, along with being aware of common challenges, can help ensure both thoughtful decision making and positive results.
Overconfidence in the outcome. Even if you follow the steps of the decision making process, there is still a chance that the outcome won’t be exactly what you had in mind. That’s why it’s so important to identify a valid option that is plausible and achievable. Being overconfident in an unlikely outcome can lead to adverse results.
The business decision making process is commonly divided into seven steps. Managers may utilize many of these steps without realizing it, but gaining a clearer understanding of best practices can improve the effectiveness of your decisions.
In addition, relying on one single source of information can lead to bias and misinformation, which can have disastrous effects down the line.