Decision Making in an Ethical Dilemma

Ethical Problem vs. Ethical Dilemma right versus wrong choices Dilemma: right versus right choices Ethical Problem- You're a partner in a business and see a great deal of profitability on the horizon. You don't believe that your partner deserves to profit from the business' future success, because you don't like his personality. You may wonder if you could simply take his name off the bank accounts, change the locks and continue without him. If you proceed with this course of action, you would likely be in violation of your ethical and legal obligation to act in good faith concerning your partner. The better course of action may be to simply buy out his interest in the business. Ethical dilemma- Michael had several friends including Roger and Daniel. Roger has recently met and started dating a wonderful lady named Phyllis. He is convinced this is a long term relationship. Unknown to Roger, Michael observed them at a restaurant several days ago and realized Phyllis is the wife of his other friend Daniel. Michael is deciding whether to tell Roger that Phyllis is married when he receives a call from Daniel. Daniel suspects his wife is having an affair and since they and Michael share many friends and contacts, he asks if Michael has heard anything regarding an affair. To whom does Michael owe greater friendship to in this situation? No matter who he tells, he is going to end up hurting one, if not both friends. Does he remain silent and hope his knowledge is never discovered?

“morality” and “ethics” Morality – refers to the standards of behavior in relation to others by which people are judged Ethics – encompasses the system of beliefs that supports a particular view of morality (Hosmer, 2003) Moral behavior – a person alone in the desert, isolated from everyone else, might act in a way that was immature, demeaning, or stupid, but he or she could not truly be said to have acted immorally since the behavior could have no impact upon others, unless it were to waste water or some other resource needed by travelers in the future. A trolley is running out of control down a track. In its path are five people who have been tied to the track by a mad philosopher. Fortunately, you could flip a switch, which will lead the trolley down a different track to safety. Unfortunately, there is a single person tied to that track. Should you flip the switch or do nothing? Ethics – If I believe that a person should not smoke in a crowded room, it is because I have accepted the research findings of most scientists and the published statements of the Surgeon General that tobacco smoke is harmful to health. My acceptance of those findings is my ethic for that particular situation. Hosmer, L. (2003). The ethics of management. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Comparison Chart Ethics Morals What are they? Where do they come from? The rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group or culture. Principles or habits with respect to right or wrong conduct. While morals also prescribe dos and don'ts, morality is ultimately a personal compass of right and wrong. Where do they come from? Social system - External Individual - Internal Why we do it? Because society says it is the right thing to do. Because we believe in something being right or wrong.

The Four Components of Moral Behavior (Rest & Narvaez, 1979) Moral sensitivity Moral judgment Moral motivation Moral character Moral sensitivity (interpreting the situation, role taking how various actions would affect the parties concerned, imagining cause-effect chains of event, and being aware that there is a moral problem when it exists)—Should Michael tell Daniel about Phyllis? Michael has to weigh out all the options and what harm will be done. Moral judgment (judging which action would be most justifiable in a moral sense) Which judgment could you justify if put in the situation where you needed to explain why you make the decision you did with Daniel? Moral motivation (the degree of commitment to taking the moral course of action, valuing moral values over other values, and taking personal responsibility for moral outcomes) Moral character (persisting in a moral task, having courage, overcoming fatigue and temptations, and implementing subroutines that serve a moral goal). Knowing what is right and doing it Morality consists of ALL of these components (capacities). If one is missing, the individual will not behave morally except by chance. Rest, J. R. & Narvaez, D. (1979). Development in judging moral issues. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Theory of Cognitive Disequilibrium (Piaget, 1965) We all have existing belief structures. When new truths challenge our belief structures we can: 1. assimilate (take in) new ideas of truth into our existing belief structures or 2. adapt our belief structures to accommodate the new ideas of truth. how people think changes with time and experience and that thought process always affect behavior. He believed that intellectual advancement occurs because humans seek cognitive equilibrium, which is a state of mental balance.  When a person is experiencing cognitive disequilibrium, a person is confused because a new experience is jarring and incomprehensible  Through accommodation, old ideas are restructured to include new ideas in order to achieve cognitive equilibrium An example of this would be a mother surprising her child by telling him that she is taking scuba diving lessons whereas, the child never knew his mother to be interested in water sports. Now his idea of his mother needs to incorporate scuba diving. If the child chose to assimilate instead, he would simply deny that she is taking on scuba diving. Piaget, J. (1965). The moral development of the child. New York: Free Press.

So how do we make decisions in situations involving ethical dilemmas? The same way we make decisions involving non-ethical matters. We look at the situation, assess alternative courses of action, evaluate outcomes and probabilities, and choose the best course of action.

How do we EVALUATE alternatives? Steps in making a judgment How do we EVALUATE alternatives? Problem recognition Identification of alternative courses of action Evaluation of alternative courses of action Estimation of outcome probabilities Calculation of expected values Justification of course of action chosen