Approaches to Ethics

Best-Ratio Approach
Pragmatic option sometimes referred to as situational ethics. People are
basically good, under certain conditions; people may be driven to unethical
behavior. Construction professionals should do everything possible to create
conditions that promote ethical behavior and try to maintain the highest possible
ratio of good choices to bad. When hard decisions must be made, the
appropriate choice is the one that does the most good for most people.
Black-and-White Approach
Right is right, wrong is wrong. Circumstances are irrelevant. Construction
professionals job is to make ethical decisions and carry them out and, in addition
to help employees choose the ethical route. When difficult decisions must be
made, construction professionals should make fair and impartial choices
regardless of outcomes.
Full-Potential Approach
Decisions are made based on how the outcomes affect the ability of individuals
to achieve their full potential. People are responsible for realizing their full
potential within the confines of morality. Choices that can achieve this goal
without infringing on the rights of others are considered ethical.
Models for Making Ethical Decisions
Categorical Imperative
Immanuel Kants categorical imperative is to act so that your action could
become a universal law. It embodies the quick test of universalizability
In the ethical system of Immanuel Kant, an unconditional moral law that applies
to all rational beings and is independent of anypersonal motive or desire.
Full Disclosure
Functional criterion. Requires thought about how it would feel to explain an
ethical decision to a wide audience, such as television viewers or newspaper
readers.
The need in business transactions to tell the "whole truth" about any matter
which the other party should know in deciding to buy orcontract. In real estate sal
es in many states there is a full disclosure form which must be filled out and sign
ed under penalty of perjury forknowingly falsifying or concealing any significant fa
ct.

Doctrine of Mean
Average between two extremes. Aristotles doctrine of the mean calls for virtue
through moderation. Avoid behavior that is excessive or deficient.
It is a text rich with symbolism and guidance to perfecting oneself. The mean is
also described as the ["unswerving pivot" = Ezra Pound] 'unwobbling pivot'
or zhongyong. Zhong means
bent
neither
one
way
or
another,
and yong represents unchanging
Golden Rule
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. A related principle is Kants
practical imperative requiring that others be treated as ends in themselves not as
means to selfish goals. Both embody the idea of a test of reversibility in which a
person places himself or herself in the shoes of the person affected by a
decision.
Ethic of reciprocity is a maxim, ethical code or morality that essentially states
either of the following: One should treat others as one would like others to treat
oneself (directive form).
Market Ethic
Any legal action that promotes profitability ethical
Basic principles and values that govern the business practices of those engaged
in promoting products or services to consumers. Sound marketing ethics are
typically those that result in or at least do not negatively impact consumer
satisfaction with
the goods
and
services being
promoted
or
with
the company producing them
Organization Ethic
It refers to the code of conduct of the individuals working in a particular
organization.
Loyalty to organization
Includes various guidelines and principles which decide the way individuals
should behave at the workplace.
Equal Freedom
Organization has freedom to behave. Herbert Spencers principle of equal
freedom is that each person may exercise liberties until the point where they
infringe on the liberties of others
It is the foundation of a just and peaceful society.
Proportionality Ethic
World is complex, decisions are not clear
It is inherited from medieval Catholic theology and applies to situations in which a
decision leads to both good and evil effects.

Professional Ethic
Principle of peer review
Encompass the personal, organizational and corporate standards of behavior
expected of professionals. Professionals and those working in acknowledged
professions, exercise specialist knowledge and skill.
Partnering Alliances
Internal Partnering
The purpose of internal partnering is to harness the full potential of the
workforce and focus it on the continuous improvement of quality. Internal
partnering is also called employee involvement and employee
empowerment.
It operates on three levels: management-to-employees, team-to-team
partnerships, and employee-to-employee partnerships.
Successful internal partnering requires a supportive environment,
structured mechanisms, and mutually supportive alliances.
o Supportive environment If the environment is conducive to internal
partnering, then it is encouraged and even rewarded
o Structured Mechanisms There needs to be systems in place for
employees to funnels improvement ideas, and HR considerations for
meetings
o Mutually Supportive Alliances Internal partnering alliances must support
each other and NOT be building individual fiefdoms. They must always be
for the improvement of the organization.
Partnering with Suppliers
It is to create and maintain loyal, trusting relationships that will allow both
partners to win while promoting the continuous improvement of quality,
productivity, and competitiveness. The requirements for success in supplier
partnerships include the following: supplier personnel should interact with
employees who actually use their products, the price-only criteria in the buyersupplier relationship should be eliminated, the quality of products delivered
should be guaranteed by the supplier, the supplier should be proficient in JIT, and
both parties should be capable of sharing information electronically.
Supplier partnerships typically develop in the following stages: uncertainty and
tentativeness, short-term pressure, realization of the need for new approaches,
adoption of new paradigms, awareness of potential, adoption of new values, and
mature partnering.
True supplier partnering requires an understanding of each partys needs and
capabilities to establish a clear vision for focusing the efforts of people who work
for buyer and supplier. Purchasing Magazine has called partnerships with

suppliers a major trend in business today and indicated that most companies are
seeking these relationships in their key buying categories.
A partnership is defined as an on-going, mutually beneficial relationship between
a buyer and a seller. Both stand to win if the relationship is successful, and both
stand to lose if it fails. Most of the time, the understandings are formalized in a
contract; but the partners may prefer an informal agreement. Cooperation and
commitment are critical to the relationship. Partnering encourages the parties to
share information, risks and even profits. This means that a partner accepts
some responsibility for the others success.
Partnering with Customers
Customer is the end user of the product in question

The rationale for forming partnership with customers is:

a. It is the best way to ensure customer satisfaction. The best way to ensure
customer satisfaction is to involve customers as partners in the product
development process.
b. It is best way to be competitive. Customer-defined quality is a fundamental
aspect of total quality.
Any organization that produces a product can benefit from observing how it
is used by customer.
The key to success in partnering with customers is to get them involved
early in the product development cycle
Surveys by mail and telephone- widely used strategy for customer
satisfaction measurement
Partnering with Competitors
Rational is competitiveness.
In our line of work we often work with other companies as partners on some jobs,
and then compete against them on other jobs. So they are partners and
competitors. Is there a good term for this, along the lines of "frenemies".
In formulating business strategy, managers must consider the strategies of the
firm's competitors. While in highly fragmented commodity industries the moves of
any single competitor may be less important, in concentrated
industries competitor analysis becomes a vital part of strategic planning.
The most widely practiced type of partnership among small & midsized
enterprise (SMEs):
a. Manufacturing Network - it is a group of individual SMEs that
cooperate in ways that improve quality, productivity and resultant
competitiveness

b. Network Activities the joint activities in which networks participate

vary a great deal, depending on local objectives
c. Production networked SMEs are able to pursue production contracts
larger than any individual member company could undertake alone
d. Education and Training by partnering, SMEs can solve the problem
of Education & training through economy scale
e. Marketing it is the most widely practiced joint among manufacturing
networks of SMEs
f. Product Development when the cost of developing new product can
be divided among network member, product development becomes a
more feasible concept
g. Purchasing it is one of the most productive application of the
economy of scale gained from networking
Global Partnering
The partnering concepts, like all contemporary concepts has a global
aspect
Companies that market to customers worldwide should examine the
possibility of partnering with suppliers worldwide
Partnership with New entrance
A new partner may be admitted either by purchasing the interest of one or more
existing partners or investing assets in the partnership. The former affects only
the capital accounts of the partners who are parties to the transaction. The latter
increases both net assets and total capital of the partnership. The admission of a
new partner results in the legal dissolution of the existing partnership and the
beginning of a new one. From an economic standpoint, however, the admission
of a new partner (or partners) may be of minor significance in the continuity of the
business.