Ethical Decision Making

Steps in Ethical Decision Making

Step 1

Clearly define the issue:

· Identifying and clarifying the problem presented

· Examining what values are in conflict

Step 2

Determine the facts of the situation:

· This can be accomplished by gathering data

· Data gathering can occur by speaking with other people who may have information about the situation or by reviewing relevant records

Step 3

Determine who the stakeholders are, the value at stake, and the obligations and interest of each stakeholders.

· Is the decision maker the victim of the problem?

· Are there more parties involved?

· Should the relationship between stakeholders be explored to avoid potential biases?

Step 4

Determine what options are available and evaluate them.

· Examined options thoroughly for both short-term and long-term outcomes and their impact upon everyone involved.

· Each option can be compared against an ethical theory for guidance in decision making

· By linking an ethical theory with each option, the decision maker clarifies the basis supporting each one.

Step 5

Decide what should be done.

· After weighing each options, the decision maker must reach a decision and act upon it.

· Use guidance questions for ethical decision making as presented in Chapter 4.

Step 6

Justify the decision made by identifying reasons that support the decision.

Step 7

Implement the decision

Step 8

Evaluate the outcome of the decision

· Compare the actual outcome against the predicted outcome

· If the actual outcome is unforeseen, the decision maker can evaluate what she may have missed in the data-gathering or option-generation stages.