Ethics Part 2 Ethical Decision Making

Ethics Part 2 Ethical Decision Making
© UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Main objectives for today
Once we recognise there is an ethical issue, what next Some of the approaches to ethical decision making How they may be applied using the decision making model Practical clues for solving ethical problems/ dilemmas © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

A sustainable society and a fulfilling life
In the tutes Discussion on Key Reading- Pfeffer, Jeffrey. (2013). Power, capriciousness, and consequences. Harvard Business Review, April, 36. Stakeholder theory Video clip Sikumi (On the ice), discussion Assignment 1 sources discussion- Triangulation © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Ethics in the textbook Chapter 3: The distribution of work Rule-based approach: ‘right’ to work Results-based approach: distribution, meritocracy Virtue, character approach: internal goods Ch 3 © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life ©UniSA 2007

Today’s lecture draws on
Pfeffer, Jeffrey. (2014). Power, capriciousness, and consequences. Harvard Business Review, April, 36. (E-Reading 5) Rachels, J. (1993). Challenge of cultural relativism, Elements of moral philosophy, 2 ed.: New York: McGraw-Hill.(E-Reading 1) Somerville, M. (2009). The ethical imagination: journeys of the human spirit. Montréal: McGill-Queen's University press. (E-Reading 26) Bazerman, M.H. & Tenbrunsel, A.E. (2011) Ethical breakdowns. Harvard Business Review, 89 (4), © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Ethics is something we all do
set of values conception of good daily life, business, government Something practical and not simply abstract Putting our values into practice Not a particular functional area Not something only for business, nor excluded from it © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Why does it matter? Can’t we all make our own choices?
Humans only flourish in community No community or trust could develop More than one coherent system is possible © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

How do we tell what is right....?
How can we know what is right, good, best, what leads to a flourishing life? Perfection is unattainable It is a plural world Well-tried, coherent ways to have a try The three main approaches... Rules based, results based and virtue based © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Three approaches: help to make an ethical choice
Ethics as right action Rules, doing the right thing deontological, Kantian Ethics as fairness Results, doing good, right outcomes utilitarian, consequentialist Ethics as virtue Virtue, being of good character, right relationships virtue ethics Punishment without trial Deceit... Child labour Favouritism in marking Triage in the ER Healthcare only for wealthy Torture Putting self before client Courage, speaking truth Being true to oneself eReading 22 John Boatright describes the three approaches © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Principal virtues Prudence, practical wisdom Courage, endure for the common good Justice Temperance, discipline Hope, having a project or vision Faith, having a place that you come from Love, commitment to another after Deirdre McCloskey, The Bourgeois Virtues 2006 Reproduced and communicated on behalf of the University of South Australia pursuant to Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) in reliance on s135ZME on 23/08/10. Any further reproduction or communication of this material by you may be the subject of copyright protection under the Act. Do not remove this notice. © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Three approaches: different paths to the summit

The classic case of Ford Pinto
In the 1970s © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Why good leaders let unethical things happen?
“The vast majority of managers mean to run ethical organisations, yet corporate corruption is widespread…some leaders may be crooks. But that is rare… …Much more often, employees bend or break ethics rules, because those in charge are applying to unethical behaviour and may even unknowingly encourage it”. (Bazerman and Tenbrunsel, 2011, p. 59) A sustainable society and a fulfilling life © UniSA 2016

Then Now The patterns evident in the Ford Pinto case, continue to recur in organisations. These patterns often result from the cognitive biases and the incentive systems they create. Together these continue to negatively skew behaviour. (Bazerman and Tenbrunsel, 2011, p. 60) © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

A phenomenon called “Ethical Fading” Cognitive biases distort ethical decision making. For example, most business schools’ curriculum advocates a formal cost benefit analysis for most decision making situations. Ethical dimensions are often not even a part of the equation. (Bazerman and Tenbrunsel, 2011, p. 59) © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Five Barriers to Ethical Organisations
1. ILL - conceived goals (what incentives are rewarded) 2. Motivated blindness (conflict of interests - e.g. auditors were – and still are – paid by companies they rate) 3. Indirect blindness (outsourcing) 4. The slippery slope (small infringements to larger) 5. Overvaluing outcomes (bad intentions versus bad outcomes) © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Cultural Relativism? Morality differs in every society, and is it a convenient term for socially approved habits (?) Ruth Benedict, Patterns of Culture (1934) Every standard is culture bound (?) We cannot merely conclude that because customs differ, and that there is a disagreement about values. There are some moral rules that all societies will have in common, because those rules are necessary for society to exist. © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Ethical dilemma & Ethical problem
Ethical dilemma- When the choice between alternatives of which each seems to involve doing what is wrong. Ethical problem- where the choice is between two alternatives where whichever you do will not be wrong Moral considerations will tell in favour of one rather than the other. Jackson (1996) © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

How do you know your decision is right?
In many business and professional situations, one ethics approach will generally provide all the guidance needed in the time available for making a decision. © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

In case of ethical dilemma, it is helpful to use more than one ethical principle to increase the level of confidence in the rightness of the decision when: the situation is complicated the decision will make a significant difference to a person or organisation There are contrary points of view supported by what seem to be good reasons © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

The importance of reflection and judgement As in politics, it is important to be confident but never certain (Hamilton, 2009) © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Practical clues 1. How to tell if there is an ethical issue 2.How to tell who to take into account 3.Distinguishing between ethical problems 4. Narrative, stories, art 5. Recognising normative claims 6. Decision making process 7. Developing capability © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Practical clues: 1 How to tell if there is an ethical issue- Rules ...right action Are there rules that are obeyed or broken? honesty, fidelity, etc. Are there rights that are respected or violated? Results ...right outcomes Is there benefit or harm to someone or other? Is an act fair or unfair? Character right relationships Does someone show good or poor character? © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Principal virtues Prudence, practical wisdom Courage, endure for the common good Justice Temperance, discipline Hope, having a project or vision Faith, having a place that you come from Love, commitment to another after Deirdre McCloskey, The Bourgeois Virtues 2006 Reproduced and communicated on behalf of the University of South Australia pursuant to Part VB of the Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) in reliance on s135ZME on 23/08/10. Any further reproduction or communication of this material by you may be the subject of copyright protection under the Act. Do not remove this notice. © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Practical clues: 2 How to tell who to take into account The stakeholder concept ‘managers bear a fiduciary relationship to stakeholders …not to be treated as a means to an end’ Freeman , eReading 7 Helps us to work out why something is wrong, or unfair Helps us explain our concerns to others Helps to define the issue enterprise local community suppliers customers financiers employees managers © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Practical clues: 3 Distinguishing between ethical problems Problem of identification where it is hard to identify what’s right or best or not seeing the ethical issue Problem of compliance/ Weakness of will where we fail to do what we know is right or best ‘spirit is willing but the flesh is weak’ (Jennifer Jackson, 1996) © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Practical clues: 4 Reflection, narrative, stories, art the interesting questions have no easy answers context is important: stories help us to understand people’s intentions and values and how things change over time TV series, movies, novels, blogs cases help us to understand how ethical decisions are made Fairtrade, Unocal, Westpac, Sikumi, Exam case study) © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Practical clues: 5 Recognising normative claims Normative claims Ethical statements with a ‘you should’ element Descriptive statements describe actual behaviour or situations anthropology, survey results Cohen, eReading © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Practical clues: 6 Rest’s model: A 4-step decision making process: make moral judgement establish moral intent engage in moral behaviour recognise moral issue Evaluate Recognise a difficulty Commit Implement reason, intuition exemplar, heuristic © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life ©UniSA

Practical clues: 7 Developing capability Learning about moral action UniSA 2015 graduate qualities: 5.. A UniSA 2015 graduate is committed to ethical action and social responsibility as a professional Practice and example, narrative, stories, art, cases Reflection: turning things over in the mind exploring why something is causing us trouble helps us develop ethical capacity © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life

Practical clues lead to superior ethical expertise
recognise moral issue quickly and accurately read a moral situation, taking the perspectives of others, determining what role they might play. make moral judgement solve complex moral problems by reasoning about, for example, codes, duty, and consequences for a particular situation. establish moral intent ethical focus: revere life and deepen commitment. take moral action keep their ‘‘eye on the prize,’’ enabling them to stay on task and take the necessary steps to get the ethical job done. Moral complexity, Narvaez, 2010 © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life ©UniSA

Where to find out more Follow-up on ethics examples in the media; election, sport,... eReadings: #7 Ed Freeman: stakeholders #2 Stephen Cohen: normative/descriptive #1 James Rachels: shared values #22 John Boatright: Rules, virtue, results # Jennifer Jackson: types of problem MP3 material Guerilla Radio Show Peter Singer on human animals AV links on website © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life ©UniSA

Ethics: Summary something we all do putting our values and principles into action based on conceptions of good identifying ethical issues how should one live ? 3 approaches: rules, results, virtue practical clues recognising ethical issues: key words, approaches stakeholder theory dilemmas vs weakness of will narrative descriptive vs prescriptive ethical decision making Rest’s 4-step process © UniSA 2016 A sustainable society and a fulfilling life ©UniSA

Ethics Part 2 Ethical Decision Making

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