Chapter Six:
Ethical Decision Making: Personal
and Professional Contexts
, A Decision- Making Process for Ethics
Ethical decision-making process: Requires a persuasive and rational justification for a decision. Rational justifications
are developed through a logical process of decision making that gives proper attention to such things as facts,
alternative perspectives, consequences to all stakeholders and ethical principles.
1. Determine the facts of the situation
Perceptual differences, surrounding how individuals experience and understand situations can
explain many ethical disagreements.
An ethical judgement made in light of a diligent determination of the facts is a more reasonable
ethical judgement than one made without regard for the facts.
A person who acts in a way that is based on careful consideration of the facts has acted in a more
ethically responsibility way than a person who acts without deliberation.
Consider – social science of anthropology and economics.
An ethical judgement made in light of a diligent determination of the facts is more reasonable
ethical judgement than one made without regard for the facts.
A person who acts in a ay that is based on a careful consideration of the facts has acted in amore
ethically responsible way than a person who acts without deliberation.
2. Identifying the ethical issues involved
Firstly, recognize that business or economic decisions and ethical decisions are not mutually
exclusive. Just because a decision made on economic grounds does not mean that it does not involve
ethical consideration as well.
Being sensitive to ethical issues is a vital characteristic that needs to be cultivated in ethically
responsible people.
- How our decisions will impact the wellbeing of the people involved – what are the
implications for stakeholders?
Ethical issues are concerned with the impartial promotion of human well-being. To the degree that
a decision affects the well-being – the happiness, health, dignity, integrity, freedom, respect – of
people involved, it is decision with ethical implications.
Normative myopia: the tendency to ignore, or lack the ability to recognize, ethical issues in decision
making.
Normative myopia in business occurs when people may be especially likely to focus on the technical
aspects of a task at hand and thus fail to recognize the ethical aspect.
Chugh and Bazerman – warn of inattentional blindness, which suggest results from focusing failures.
Inattentional blindness: If we happen to focus on or are told specifically to pay attention to a
particular element of a decision or event, we are likely to miss all of the surrounding details, no
matter how obvious.
The problem is that when we focus on the wrong thing, or fail to focus, we may fail to see key
information that will lead us to success or prevent unethical behaviour.
Chugh and Bazerman identify a third means by which ethical issues might go unnoticed: change
blindness – this omission occurs when decision makers fail to notice gradual changes over time.
Change Blindness: a decision making omission that occurs when decision makers fail to notice
gradual changes over time.
Ethical Decision Making: Personal
and Professional Contexts
, A Decision- Making Process for Ethics
Ethical decision-making process: Requires a persuasive and rational justification for a decision. Rational justifications
are developed through a logical process of decision making that gives proper attention to such things as facts,
alternative perspectives, consequences to all stakeholders and ethical principles.
1. Determine the facts of the situation
Perceptual differences, surrounding how individuals experience and understand situations can
explain many ethical disagreements.
An ethical judgement made in light of a diligent determination of the facts is a more reasonable
ethical judgement than one made without regard for the facts.
A person who acts in a way that is based on careful consideration of the facts has acted in a more
ethically responsibility way than a person who acts without deliberation.
Consider – social science of anthropology and economics.
An ethical judgement made in light of a diligent determination of the facts is more reasonable
ethical judgement than one made without regard for the facts.
A person who acts in a ay that is based on a careful consideration of the facts has acted in amore
ethically responsible way than a person who acts without deliberation.
2. Identifying the ethical issues involved
Firstly, recognize that business or economic decisions and ethical decisions are not mutually
exclusive. Just because a decision made on economic grounds does not mean that it does not involve
ethical consideration as well.
Being sensitive to ethical issues is a vital characteristic that needs to be cultivated in ethically
responsible people.
- How our decisions will impact the wellbeing of the people involved – what are the
implications for stakeholders?
Ethical issues are concerned with the impartial promotion of human well-being. To the degree that
a decision affects the well-being – the happiness, health, dignity, integrity, freedom, respect – of
people involved, it is decision with ethical implications.
Normative myopia: the tendency to ignore, or lack the ability to recognize, ethical issues in decision
making.
Normative myopia in business occurs when people may be especially likely to focus on the technical
aspects of a task at hand and thus fail to recognize the ethical aspect.
Chugh and Bazerman – warn of inattentional blindness, which suggest results from focusing failures.
Inattentional blindness: If we happen to focus on or are told specifically to pay attention to a
particular element of a decision or event, we are likely to miss all of the surrounding details, no
matter how obvious.
The problem is that when we focus on the wrong thing, or fail to focus, we may fail to see key
information that will lead us to success or prevent unethical behaviour.
Chugh and Bazerman identify a third means by which ethical issues might go unnoticed: change
blindness – this omission occurs when decision makers fail to notice gradual changes over time.
Change Blindness: a decision making omission that occurs when decision makers fail to notice
gradual changes over time.
