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6-6 Individual Factors in Business Ethics Of course, not everyone agrees on the roles of collective moral philosophies in ethical decision making within an organization. For example, it has been argued that intuition determines moral judgment. While intuitive decisions can be triggered by emotions, there are also cognitive processes that can determine moral reasoning. Therefore, individual moral decisions are much more complex than learning about different moral philosophies.

Individual values are not only the main driver of ethical behavior in business. This belief can be a stumbling block in assessing ethical risk and preventing misconduct in an organizational context. The moral values learned within the family and through religion and education are certainly key factors that influence decision making, but as indicated in the models in Chapter 5, these values are only one factor. A focus mainly on personal character or moral development suggests the notion that employees can control their work environments. Although a personal moral compass is important, it is not sufficient to prevent ethical misconduct in an organizational context. According to ethics consultant David Gebler, “Most unethical behavior is not done for personal gain, it’s done to meet performance goals.” The rewards for meeting performance goals and the corporate culture in general have been found to be the most important drivers of ethical decision making, especially for coworkers and managers.

The development of strong abilities in ethical reasoning will probably lead to more ethical business decisions in the future than individualized character education for each employee.

Equipping employees with intellectual skills that allow them to understand and resolve the complex ethical dilemmas they encounter in complex corporate cultures will help them make the right decisions. This approach will hopefully keep employees from being negatively influenced by peer pressure and lulled by unethical managers. The West Point model for character development focuses on the fact that competence and character must be developed simultaneously. This model assumes ethical reasoning has to be approached in the context of a specific profession. The military has been effective in teaching skills and developing principles and values that can be used in most of the situations a soldier encounters. In a similar manner, accountants, managers, and marketers need to develop ethical reasoning in the context of their jobs.

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