Models of ethical decisionmaking

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Stages in ethical decisionmaking

Ethical decision-making process
Recognise moral issue Make moral judgement Establish moral intent Engage in moral behaviour

Source: Derived from Rest (1986), as depicted in Jones (1991).

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Relationship with normative theory

The role of normative theory in the stages of ethical decision-making is primarily in relation to moral judgement.
Moral judgements can be made according to considerations of rights, duty, consequences, etc.

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However, the issue of whether and how normative theory is used by an individual decision-maker depends on a range of different factors that influence the decision-making 2 H i g h e r Eprocess d u c a t i o n

Influences on ethical decision-making

Two broad categories: individual and situational (Ford and Richardson 1994) Individual factors.The unique characteristics of the individual actually making the relevant decision. birth factors acquired by experience and socialisation Situational factors. The particular features of the context that influence whether the individual will make an ethical or unethical decision. the issue itself (such as the intensity of the moral issue) 2 Higher Education Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved. of the issue. the ethical framing

Framework for understanding ethical decision-making

Individual factors

Recognise moral issue

Make moral judgement

Establish moral intent

Engage in moral behaviour

Situational factors

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Limitations of ethical decision-making models

Useful for structuring our discussion and seeing the different elements that come into play but
Not always particularly straightforward (or sensible) to break down various elements into discrete units Various stages related or interdependent National or cultural bias

Must be aware that the model is intended not as a definitive representation of ethical decision-making, but as a relatively simple way to a 2 present H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved. complex process

Individual influences on ethical decision-making

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Individual influences on ethical decision-making

Factor Age and gender

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National and cultural characteristics

People from different cultural backgrounds likely to have different beliefs about right and wrong, different values, etc. and this will inevitably lead to variations in ethical decision-making across nations, religions and cultures Hofstede (1980; 1994) influential in shaping our understanding of these differences our mental programming
Individualism/collectivism Power distance Uncertainty avoidance Masculinity/femininity

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Psychological factors
Cognitive moral development (CMD) refers to the different levels of reasoning that an individual can apply to ethical issues and problems
Criticisms of CMD
Gender bias Implicit value judgements Invariance of stages

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An individuals locus of control determines the extent to which they believe that they have control over the events in their life 2 Higher Education

Psychological factors Stages of cognitive moral development

Level
I

Stage

Explanation

Illustration

1 Obedience and Prepunishment conventional

II

Conventional

Individuals define right and wrong Whilst this type of moral reasoning is according to expected rewards and usually punishments from authority figures associated with small children, we can also see that businesspeople frequently make unethical decisions because they think their company would Instrumental Individuals are concerned with An employee might cover the absence of a either reward it or let for it go unpunished (see purpose and their co Gellerman 1986). Exchange own immediate interests and define worker so that their own absences might right according to whether there subsequently be covered for in return a is you fairness in the exchanges or deals scratch my back, Ill scratch yours they make to achieve those reciprocity Interpersonal Individuals An employee decide interests. live up to what is (Trevio and might Nelson 1999). that using company accord, expected of them by their resources such as the telephone, the internet conformity and immediate peers and those close to and Mutual them email for personal use whilst at work is Expectations acceptable because everyone else in their office does it. Social accord and system maintenance Individuals consideration of the A factory manager may decide to provide expectations of others broadens to employee benefits and salaries above the social accord more generally, industry rather minimum in order to ensure that employees than just the specific people receive wages and conditions deemed around acceptable by consumers, pressure groups and them. other social groups.

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Level III Post-

Psychological factors Stages of cognitive moral development (cont) Illustration Stage Explanation
5 Social contract and 6 Individual Universal rights Ethical principles Individuals go beyond The public affairs manager of a food identifying with others manufacturer may decide to reveal expectations , and make which of the firm s products contain Individuals will A purchasing manager may decide that assesses genetically modified ingredients decisions autonomously it would be wrong to continue to out buy right and wrong according of respect for consumers rights to based on self-chosen products or ingredients that were to the upholding , even though they are not Universal ethicalof basic know tested rights , values and obliged to by law, and have not this been principles , on animals because he believes contracts pressurised into by consumers or such as justice, equality, doesnt respect animal rights to be of anyone else. andsociety rights. , which they free believe everyone should from suffering. follow.

Conventional

Source: Adapted from Ferrell et al. (2002); Kohlberg (1969); Trevino and Nelson (1999) 2 Higher Education
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Personal integrity & moral imagination

Personal integrity
Integrity is defined as an adherence to moral principles or values

Moral imagination
Concerned with whether one has a sense of the variety of possibilities and moral consequences of their decisions, the ability to imagine a wide H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n range of

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Situational influences on decision-making

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Situational influences on ethical decision-making

Type of factor Issue-related

2

Facto

Mora
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Moral Intensity
Jones (1991:374-8) proposes that the intensity of an issue will vary according to six factors:
Magnitude of consequences Social consensus Probability of effect Temporal immediacy Proximity Concentration of effect
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Moral framing
The same problem or dilemma can be perceived very differently according to the way that the issue is framed
Language important aspect of moral framing

Moral muteness (Bird & Walters 1989) because of:

Harmony Efficiency 2 Higher Education Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved. Image of power and effectiveness

Systems of reward
Adherence to ethical principles and standards stands less chance of being repeated and spread throughout a company when it goes unnoticed and unrewarded
What is right in the corporation is not what is right in a mans home or in his church. What is right in the corporation is what the guy above you wants from you. Thats what morality is in the corporation 2 Higher Education (Jackall, 1988:6) Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.

A u th o ri ty a n d B u re a u cra cy

Authority

Bureaucracy

People do what they are told to do or what they think theyre being told to do

Bauman (1989, 1993) and ten Bos (1997) argue bureaucracy has a number of effects on ethical decision-making
Suppression of moral autonomy Instrumental morality Distancing H i g h e r E d u c a t i o Denial of moral

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Work roles and organisational norms & culture

Work roles

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Work roles can encapsulate a whole set of expectations about what to value, how to relate to others, and how to behave

Organisational norms and culture

the group norms which delineate acceptable standards of behaviour within the work community 2 Higher Education

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This differs from individuals national and cultural characteristics Instead of looking at the nationality of the individual making the decision; now we are considering the nation in which the decision is actually taking place, regardless of the decisionmakers nationality Different cultures still to some extent maintain different views of what is right and wrong 2 Higher Education

National and cultural context