How do we make ethical decisions? Each of us are faced with this question at some point in our lives. Often, an individual will act impulsively, and without thinking, in regards to their decisions. Rae (2009) has devised a seven step model in regards to moral decision making. This model allows and individual to use their own moral rules to come to a justly option in regards to their ethical dilemma. This model works with any religious or world viewpoint, Rae states that “given the ethnic and religious diversity of our society, the model used for making ethical decisions should be able to accommodate a variety of different moral and ethical perspectives” (p.105). Therefore, regardless of ethnicity or religious backgrounds anyone can be comfortable …show more content…
The remaining alternatives should be reexamined for both positive and negative impacts and consequences. Rae states that “in addition, one should try to estimate how beneficial are the positive consequences and how severe are the negative ones, since some consequences will be clearly more substantial than others” (p.108). This step is basically a tie breaker in regards to the final decision and which is the one that morally will make the most sense. The final step involves making a decision. After all of the deliberation that takes place throughout the previous steps it is now time to choose a course of action. Rae states that “frequently, the decision that is made is one that involves the least number of problems or negative consequences, not one that is entirely devoid of them” (p.108). Often ethical decisions are not easy, and often a person will still feel bad about their difficult decision. I believe that Rae’s model offers a supportive way for individuals to reflect on hard decisions. We often will rush into a situation and make a choice without any forethought. This model allows a person to take the time to visually see their problems and options. This model still requires a person to really think about ethical choices, and is not a quick fix to a problem. Our ethical choices and decisions are connected to our “big picture”
At times in a person’s life, they might come across a few situations that leave them with a major decision between two or more options that challenge what they believe or what they might think is wrong or right. These are known as ethical dilemmas. Be it seeing a friend steal something and choosing between being honest and speaking up or letting it go. It can also be getting paid more than you earned and deciding if you’re going to be greedy and keep the money or return it. We run into these situations in our lives, some bigger and more influential on our destiny’s while others are small with no real consequences.
Step 3: Take into consideration factors that relate to the situation and generate alternatives for resolving the dilemma.
How a person makes decisions can be based on multiple different things. A lot can be based on a person’s values and morals. These morals and values can be very different from person to person and culture to culture. Culture is the learned portion of human behavior, it is the basis many values and morals are built on. Just because a person has different ideas from you does not make them wrong. Ethical decisions must be made by looking at and accepting different viewpoints. The Ethical Lens Inventory (ELI) is a tool to help determine how one makes decisions. To begin to understand the ELI, one must understand the four core values of autonomy, sensibility, rationality, and equality. Autonomy is defined by dictionary.com as “the independence
Sometimes in life there are instances in which and individual must make a decision that will question their moral fiber. These instances could vary from whether or not to help others in need, decide whether an action is right or wrong or even when deciding who should live and who must die. How does one logically reason to an ethnical conclusion to these situations?
In this step, you draw on your information and emotions to imagine what it would be like if you carried out each of the alternatives to the end. You must evaluate whether the need identified in Step 1 would be helped or solved through the use of each alternative. In going through this difficult internal process, you begin to favor certain alternatives which appear to have higher potential for reaching your goal. Eventually you are able to place the alternatives in priority order, based upon your own value system. I believe this is where I lost my way. I compromised my value system and became a “yes
The Ethical Decision Making Model is an ethical guideline that is useful in ethical dilemmas and what course of action to take. It’s a framework that allows professionals to analyze and make ethical decisions to the best of their ability. It gives counselors a protocol to determine the appropriate course of action when faced difficult challenge. These decisions are taking into account; reflect a concern for the interests and the well-being of all clients concerns. Counselors should keep in mind the Golden Rule: “Do onto others as you would want onto you”.
James Rachels expresses his thoughts on what a satisfactory moral theory would be like. Rachels says a “satisfactory theory would be realistic about where human beings fit in the grand scheme of things” (Rachels, 173). Even though there is an existing theory on how humans came into this world there is not enough evidence to prove the theory to be correct. In addition to his belief of knowing how our existence came into play, he also has a view on the way we treat people and the consequences of our actions. My idea of a satisfactory moral theory would be treating people the way we wish to be treated, thinking of what results from our doings, as well as living according to the best plan.
A disturbing thought about man’s ethical barometer is that most of the theories, categories and principles emanate from the point of man’s reason. There is a cause to shudder at the thought of man as the absolute authority of what is right and wrong; what is ethical and what is not. Born into a sinful nature, man will ultimately make decisions that will lead to a moral philosophy that is shaky at best. Even philosophers with the best of intentions fall short to God’s model for the order, organization, and meting out of ethical actions. Because of man’s finite vision of what should be done to improve the present situation, mankind will always be found lacking in making the best ethical decisions; not being able to see the long term outcome and the impact those decisions and actions would have on others in the world.
The ability to interpret the morally correct (morally good) resolution to a moral, when confronted by a moral dilemma, can be a very difficult task. Ethics is the search for universal objective principles for evaluating human behavior, good or bad. In societies, ethics are developed by their religious beliefs, government, and through experience. Social ethics serve as the premise for morality. Humans through ethics create morality, a personal or social code of conduct. The principles for one's morality are founded by the ethical standards of their society. Through experience, education, religion, and morality humans develop morals based on social and religious ethics. Morals give humans the ability to distinguish the morally right/good decision to make when confronted with a moral dilemma. However, in some instances we are confronted with a morally problematic situation in which it is difficult to distinguish the morally correct solution. For example, we'll consider the morally problematic situation faced by the Smith's. The Smith family is like any average, American, middle-class family of Catholic faith. One night Jim, the Smith's eldest son who had jus graduated from college, went out to a bar for a friend's birthday. Later, in the morning hours, Jim decides that he should go home. Jim decides to drive home even though he was very intoxicated. On his way home Jim runs a red light proceeding to smash into a car, instantly killing the driver. Jim leaves the scene, of which there were no witnesses, and hurries home. His parents tell him to stay at the house while they attempt to resolve and analyze the situation. The next day, a couple of police officers arrive at the house and ques...
Making good ethical decisions requires a trained sensitivity to ethical issues and a practiced method for exploring the ethical aspects of a decision and weighing the considerations that should impact our choice of a course of action. Having a method for ethical decision making is absolutely essential. When practiced regularly, the method becomes so familiar that we work through it automatically without consulting the specific steps.
For many years now, people have always wondered what ethical principle is the right one to follow. These individuals are all seeking the answer to the question that the ethical principles are trying to clarify: What defines moral behavior? The Divine Command Theory and the theories of cultural relativism are two principles of many out there that provide us with explanations on what our ethical decisions are based on and what we consider to be our moral compass in life. Even though these two theories make well-supported arguments on why they are the right principle to follow, it is hard to pinpoint which one should guide our choices because of the wide array of ethical systems. Therefore, what is morally right or wrong differs greatly depending
Ethics play a vital role in day-to-day living from work to home. The ability to recognize ethical dilemmas and apply ethical theories to resolve ethical dilemmas is essential part of an individual 's psychological, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. The purpose of this paper is to explore the strengths and weakness of the American Psychological Association (APA) code of ethics, apply and evaluate the eight-step ethical decision-making model, discuss the role of deontology in ethical reasoning, resolution, and multicultural issues in the case study.
When using this theory, decisions are made based on what's right or wrong. This theory does not focus on the conclusion. Rather, it is more concerned about what others would think about the action taken. Will they agree? As with any other theory there are questions that should be asked. Fisher and Lovell (2009), "If we take the place of one of those affected by my decision and plan, would I regard the act positively or negatively?" "Would it be a good thing or a bad thing if my decision and plan were to become applicable to a similar situation, even to myself?" (p. 139-140). If the answer to these questions results to a positive conclusion, this means that the decisions made, will be considered ethical.
The following five-step model can help employees make appropriate decisions when faced with an ethical dilemma. The first step is to recognize the issue. Knowing what is the root cause and the main issue can help determine what ethical issue is at hand. The next step is to get the facts of the situation. Eliminating bias opinions and knowing the information source can increase the chances of making a good decision.