DRAFT

EthicsandEthicalDecisionMakingWRD202x.ppt

Making Ethical Decisions

WRD 202x – AQ19

Marta Shcherbakova

Adopted from Josephson Institute of Ethics

What is Ethics

Ethics refers to principles that define behavior as right, good, and proper.

Such principles do not always dictate a single “moral” course of action, but provide a means of evaluating and deciding among competing interests.

The Six Pillars of Character

(Source: Josephson, Making Ethical Decisions)‏

3. Responsibility

4. Fairness

5. Caring

6. Citizenship

2. Respect

1. Trustworthiness

Making Effective Decisions

1. Recognizing important decisions

a. Could you or someone else suffer physical harm?

b. Could you or someone else suffer emotional pain?

c. Could the decision hurt your reputation, undermine your credibility, or damage important relationships?

d. Could the decision impede the achievement of any important goal?

Effective Decisions

2. Effective decision

a. Did it accomplish what I wanted?

b. Did it affect my quality of life in a positive way?

c. Is this the best I could have done given the circumstances?

3. Stakeholders – people involved/affected by the situation

Effective Decisions

Obstacles to Ethical Decisions

1. If it’s necessary, it’s ethical

2. The false necessity trap

3. If it’s legal and permissible, it’s proper

4. It’s just part of the job

5. It’s all for a good cause

Obstacles to Ethical Decisions

6. I was just doing it for you

7. I’m just fighting fire with fire

8. It doesn’t hurt anyone

9. Everyone’s doing it

10. It’s okay if I don’t gain personally

Let’s Practice

Let’s review a case and a sample Ethics Advisory Memo that responds to this case