MAKING AN ETHICAL DECISION
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Most ethical choices in the organizational setting are clear-cut enough such that the decision between right and wrong is an easy one. The assumption is that anyone who finds themselves in such a position has only good intentions for the organization, and that they want to make decisions that are ethically right. The decision to embezzle corporate funds for instance, cannot be a tough dilemma because that translates to theft, which is wrong. However, there are times when things can get murky, such that there will be a conflict between two or more important rights, values or responsibilities. This places the decision maker in a position where they will have
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One good set of theories that can be used is the consequentialist theories. Treviño & Nelson (2004) explain that these theories focus their attention on results of the decision or the action, when confronting an ethical dilemma. Utilitarianism is one perfect descriptive of consequentialism. Based on the principle of utility, ethical decisions are meant to maximize the benefits to the overall society and reduce the harms. The most important thing is to strike a balance of good consequences over bad ones for the society in general. With the utilitarian approach, the decision made would methodically identify the stakeholders first, and other actions with their benefits and harms. Any person with a stake in the matter at hand qualifies to be a stakeholder. In this case study, the stakeholders are Jill, Henry, Porter and the organizational workforce. The consequentialist approach requires a mental analysis of all the harms and benefits associated with each stake holder. The decision that best benefits the society would be the best ethical decision. If more people would end up being hurt than being helped, should Jill chose to negatively recommend Henry to his father, then a utilitarian approach suggests that Jill would rather not inform on Henry. This approach mostly considers consequences that would befall the society and not simply …show more content…
Duty theories apply morality which is based on fundamental principles of obligation (Fieser, 2016). The theories are non-consequentialist since principles applied are obligatory. The consequences that follow do not determine the ethicality of the decision to be made. For instance, one cannot neglect his children to achieve a benefit such as financial saving. One approach to duties can be the Samuel Pufendorf’s approach which categorizes duties as either as duties to God, self and others (Fieser, 2016). The rights theory can be another approach whereby a right is any claim that can be befitting against another person’s conduct. This creates an inter relationship between rights and duties, such that one person’s rights imply another person’s duties called the correlativity of rights and duties (Simmons, 1992). In this case study, it was the duty of Henry not to sexually harass Jill, based on the rights that protect her from sexual harassment. Based on the rights theory, the most ethical decision for Jill would be to inform on Henry, since she has a claim on him against his personal conduct of prepositioning. The two ethical theories form a great basis for decision making. In this case my decision would be inclined to the duties theory and that Jill should not recommend Henry for the position based on his non-professional conduct. Everyone has rights and they should be respected. No matter what position another person
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.
We have one resident in the long-term facility who has stage four cancer of spinal cord and he has been suffering from intense pain. Every time when I enter his room, he cries and implore to the god that he can minimize his suffering. He has prescription of hydromorphone 8 mg every 4 hourly PRN , oxycodone 5 mg every 6 hourly and 50 mcg of fentanyl path change every 3rd day. After giving all scheduled and PRN medicine his pain level remains same as before. When I see that patients I feel like to give highest dose of medicine as well as alternative pain management therapy so that he can have some comfort but ethically I have no right to do that. He is hospice but he has no comfort at all. Following are the nine steps of Uustal ethical decision making model.
Ethical decision-making is the responsibility of everyone, regardless of position or level within an organization. Interestingly, the importance of stressing employee awareness, improving decisions, and coming to an ethical resolution are the greatest benefits to most companies in today’s world (Weber, 2015).
Throughout your life, you’ll face tough decisions where you'll have to decide possibly against your ethical beliefs. Ethics don’t necessarily always have to involve law abiding. It’s rather about trusting your moral path and doing the right thing. Dori Meinert is the author of “Creating an Ethical Workplace” she explains the thought behind the never black or white decision making when it comes to businesses. Can businesses truly trust those individuals hired to steer their companies? It was mentioned that last year 41 percent of U.S. workers said they observed unethical or illegal misconduct on the job, according to the Ethics Resource Center's 2013 National Business Ethics Survey. Meinert’s article was not only eye-opening but very truthful since we’ve all been faced or witnessed unethical decision making. Once employees see individuals breaking the rules and regulations others will then think it's okay, which could result in employees leaving or major hoops for companies to jump through. When we tolerate misconduct we lower productivity and diminish the reputation of a company. Meinert mentioned that if
All three ethical paradigms have great principles to apply; however, the situation can be preferably designed to fall into the duty theory because there are certain laws and obligation that can not be disobeyed. Emotions and the concern for others mustn't interfere with one's job.
On April 24th, 2014, one simple recording released by TMZ made Donald Sterling, owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, the most hated man in America. In this recording, Sterling ranted over the fact how he did not want V. Stiviano, his partner, to be affiliated with any African Americans. As a result of his racist statements, fans, athletes, and sports organizations/members, voiced their opinions on the matter, flourishing social media. Many star players such as LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and a majority the Clippers players acknowledged that something had to be done, and that the NBA is no place for racism. In the end, after team owners took a vote, NBA commissioner Adam Silver held a press conference enlightening the public
The ACA Ethics Committee members developed “A Practitioner 's Guide to Ethical Decision Making”, which address ethical questions in the workplace by identifying problems, deliberating potential
In the profession of Dental Hygiene, ethical dilemmas are nearly impossible to avoid, and most hygienists at some point in their professional life will have to face and answer ethical questions. Some ethical conflicts the dental hygienist may encounter can be quite complex and an obvious answer may not be readily available. In the article Ethical Decision Making, Phyllis Beemsterboer suggests an ethical decision-making model can aide the dental hygienist in making appropriate decisions when confronted with an ethical situation, and that the six-step model can serve dental hygienists in making the most advantageous ethical decision (2010).
The method of ethical decision making which was developed by Dr. Cathryn A. Baird presented two components contained in all ethical decisions which are; The Four ethical Lenses and the 4+1 Decision process. The Four Ethical Lenses issue claims that different ethical theories and the means in which we tend to approach the situations which form part of our ethical traditions are looked at in four different perspectives. From each perspective there are different values on which to decide whether the action taken is either ethical or not and each lens also lays emphasis on determining whether the decision made is of ethical requirement. In the 4+1 Decision Process, people who are responsible for making final decisions in an organization do it using four specific decision making steps and eventually will end up with one extra decision which gives a chance to reflect. The 4+1 decision process allows the decision makers to give solutions when faced with complicated ethical issues (John Muir Institute for Environmental Studies, 2000).
Some of the deficiencies in the way cultural relativism addresses moral problems, according to Holmes; are that they remain impractical, they are subject to change depending on where you live, and that people tolerate the different cultures. As a professional business person, I agree with Holmes analysis. Allowing others perceptions or beliefs to get away with our own personal beliefs would be contradicting ourselves. It is important to stand up for our beliefs, and help educate others on ethical issues. Over time we can make a difference in the world by modeling moral beliefs and ethics.
[2] An Ethical dilemma is defined as “a situation that arises when all alternative choices or behaviours have been deemed undesirable because of potentially negative ethical consequences, making it difficult to distinguish right from wrong” (Samson and Daft, 2005, p.158)
Think about prospective positive and negative consequences for affected parties by the decision i.e., Focus on primary stakeholders to simplify analysis until you become comfortable with the process.
Many businesses, employers, and employees are often faced with tough decision within the workplace that could forced them to make decision based on legal decision, moral decisions, and ethical decision. After reading the case study regarding compensation/discrimination at R&S Electronic Service Company, I have determined that all parties within this case scenario of stakeholders. Stakeholders are defined as any person with an interest or concern of a business. As we begin to identify the key stakeholders and their specific interest in the Family Business we must break down each individual and the role they play in the business. As mentioned, Jane just recently hired onto R&S electronics Services as the head of the Payroll Department. Under
Ethical theories are a way of finding solutions to ethical dilemmas using moral reasoning or moral character. The overall classification of ethical theories involves finding a resolution to ethical problems that are not necessarily answered by laws or principles already in place but that achieve justice and allow for individual rights. There are many different ethical theories and each takes a different approach as to the process in which they find a resolution. Ethical actions are those that increase prosperity, but ethics in business is not only focused on actions, it can also involve consequences of actions and a person’s own moral character.
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.