4 pages writing for persentation essay

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SCH-MGMT 192T: TRANSITIONS: Big Ideas in Business

Frameworks for Ethical Decision-making

Making good ethical decisions requires a trained sensitivity to ethical issues. It also requires 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 essential. When practiced regularly, the method becomes so familiar that we work through it automatically without consulting the specific steps. This is one reason why we can sometimes say that we have a “moral intuition” about a certain situation, even when we have not consciously thought through the issue. We can be practiced at making ethical judgments, just as we can be practiced at playing the piano, in which case we can sit and play well “without thinking.” However, it's not always advisable to follow our immediate intuitions, especially in complicated or unfamiliar situations. Here our method for ethical decision-making should help us recognize these new and unfamiliar situations and act accordingly. The more novel and difficult the ethical choice we face, the more we must rely on discussion and dialogue with others about the dilemma. Only by careful exploration of the problem, aided by the insights and different perspectives of others, can we make good ethical choices in such situations.

Three Frameworks Below we discuss three broad frameworks to guide ethical decision-making: the Consequentialist Framework; the Duty Framework; and the Virtue Framework. While each of these frameworks is useful for making ethical decisions, none is perfect. Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of the frameworks will be helpful in deciding which is most useful in approach the particular situation with which we are presented. 1. The Consequentialist Framework In the Consequentialist Framework, we focus on the future effects of the possible courses of action, considering the people who will be directly or indirectly affected. We ask about what outcomes are desirable in a given situation and consider ethical conduct to be whatever will achieve the best consequences. The person using the Consequentialist Framework desires to produce the most good. Among the advantages of this ethical framework is that focusing on the results of an action is a pragmatic approach. It helps in situations involving many people, some of whom may benefit from the action, while others may not. Of course, it's not always possible to predict the consequences of an action, so some actions that are expected to produce good consequences might actually end up harming people. Additionally, people sometimes react negatively to the use of compromise—an inherent part of this approach—and recoil from the implication that the end justifies the means. The Consequentialist Framework also does not include a pronouncement that certain things are always wrong, as even the most heinous actions may result in a good outcome for some people. As a result, this framework allows for these actions to be considered "ethical," which some may find problematic.

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2. The Duty Framework In the Duty Framework, we focus on the duties and obligations that we have in a given situation and consider what ethical obligations we have and what things we should never do. Ethical conduct is defined by doing one’s duties and doing the right thing, and the goal is performing the correct action. This framework has the advantage of creating a system of rules that has consistent expectations of all people; if an action is ethically correct or a duty is required, it would apply to every person in a given situation. This even-handedness encourages treating everyone with equal dignity and respect. The Duty Framework also focuses on following moral rules or duty regardless of outcome, so it allows for the possibility that one might have acted ethically, even if there is a bad result. Therefore, this framework works best in situations where there is a sense of obligation or in those in which we need to consider why duty or obligation mandates or forbids certain courses of action. However, this framework also has its limitations. First, it can appear cold and impersonal, in that it might require actions that are known to produce harms, even though they are strictly in keeping with a particular moral rule. It also does not provide a way to determine which duty we should follow if we are presented with a situation where two or more duties conflict. Last, it can also be rigid in applying the notion of duty to everyone regardless of their personal situation (i.e., their ability to perform the duty). 3. The Virtue Framework In the Virtue Framework, we try to identify the character traits (either positive or negative) that might motivate us in a given situation. We are concerned with what kind of person we should be and what our actions indicate about our character. We define ethical behavior as whatever a "virtuous person" would do in the situation, and we seek to develop similar virtues. Obviously, this framework is useful in situations that ask what sort of person one should be. As a way of making sense of the world, it allows for a wide range of behaviors to be called ethical, as there might be many different types of good character and many paths to developing it. As a result, it considers all parts of human experience and their role in ethical deliberation, as it believes that all of one’s experiences, emotions, and thoughts can influence the development of one’s character. Although the Virtue Framework takes into account a variety of human experience, it also makes it more difficult to resolve disputes, as there can often be more disagreement about virtuous traits than ethical actions. Also, because the framework looks at character, it's not particularly good at helping someone to decide what actions to take in a given situation or determine the rules that would guide one’s actions. Last, because it emphasizes the importance of role models and education to ethical behavior, it can sometimes merely reinforce current cultural norms as the standard of ethical behavior.

Putting the Frameworks Together By framing the situation or choice you are facing in one of the ways presented above, specific features will be brought into focus more clearly. However, it should be noted that each framework has its limits: by focusing our attention on one set of features, other important features may be obscured. Hence it's important to be familiar with all three frameworks and to understand how they relate to each other— where they may overlap, and where they may differ. The chart below is designed to highlight the main contrasts between the three frameworks:

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Feature Consequentialist Duty Virtue

Deliberative Process

What kind of outcomes should I produce (or try to produce)?

What are my obligations in this situation, and what are the things I should never do?

What kind of person should I be (or try to be), and what will my actions show about my character?

Focus Directs attention to the future effects of an action, for all people who will be directly or indirectly affected by the action.

Directs attention to the duties that exist prior to the situation and determines obligations.

Attempts to discern character traits (virtues and vices) that are, or could be, motivating the people involved in the situation.

Definition of Ethical Conduct

Ethical conduct is the action that will achieve the best consequences.

Ethical conduct involves always doing the right thing and never failing to do one's duty.

Ethical conduct is whatever a fully virtuous person would do in the circumstances.

Motivation Produce the most good. Perform the right action. Develop one’s character.

Because the answers to the three main types of ethical questions asked by each framework are not mutually exclusive, each framework can be used to make at least some progress in answering the questions posed by the other two. In many situations, all three frameworks will result in the same—or at least very similar—conclusions about what you should do, although they will typically give different reasons for reaching those conclusions. However, because the frameworks focus on different ethical features, the conclusions reached through one framework will occasionally differ from those reached through the others.

Applying the Frameworks to Cases When using the frameworks to make ethical judgments about specific cases, it will be useful to follow the process below. Recognize an Ethical Issue One of the most important things to do at the beginning of ethical deliberation is to locate, to the extent possible, the specifically ethical aspects of the issue at hand. Sometimes what appears to be an ethical dispute is really a dispute about facts or concepts. For example, some Utilitarians1 might argue that the death penalty is ethical because it deters crime and thus produces the greatest amount of good with the least harm. Other Utilitarians, however, might argue that the death penalty does not, in fact, deter crime, and thus produces more harm than good. The argument here is over which facts argue for the morality of a particular action, not simply over the morality of particular principles. All Utilitarians would abide by the principle of producing the most good with the least harm.

1 Utilitarians are a type of Consequentialist thinker who believe that one's actions should be deemed good or bad based solely upon the amount and degree of pleasure and/or pain they would produce.

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Consider the Parties Involved Another important aspect to reflect upon are the various individuals and groups who may be affected by your decision. Consider who might be harmed or who might benefit. Gather All of the Relevant Information Before taking action, it's a good idea to make sure that you've gathered all of the pertinent information, and that all potential sources of information have been consulted. Formulate Actions and Consider Alternatives Evaluate your decision-making options by asking the following questions:

• Which action will produce the most good and do the least harm? (Consequentialist approach)

• Which action is in line with my moral obligations to others? (Duty approach)

• Which action leads me to act as the sort of person I would like to be? (Virtue approach) Decide, Act, and Reflect After examining all of the potential actions, consider which best addresses the situation. Make a choice, and then ask yourself: How do I feel about it? Finally, act. Many ethical situations are uncomfortable because we can never have all of the information. Even so, in the end we must take action. Last, evaluate the results of your decision. What were the intended and unintended consequences? Would you change anything now that you have seen the consequences?

Conclusion Making ethical decisions requires sensitivity to the ethical implications of problems and situations. It also requires practice. Having a framework for ethical decision-making is essential. We hope that the information above is helpful in developing your own experience in making choices.

This reading was excerpted from "Making Choices: A Framework for Making Ethical Decisions," an artifact of the STS Program at Brown University. Its primary contributors include Sheila Bonde and Paul Firenze, with critical input from James Green, Margot Grinberg, Josephine Korijn, Emily Levoy, Alysha Naik, Laura Ucik and Liza Weisberg. It was last revised in May, 2013. The full article may be accessed here.