Basic Ethics

Is it Ethical Hire a recent College Graduate and then tell them due to financial constraints that no longer needed? Monitor employees use on the internet? To tell/not tell food purchasers about the product other than basic ingredients in product labeling (GMO, How animals were raised, irradiated, etc).

Ethics is concerned with these issues. Notice: All of these are legal. Ethics goes beyond legal issues. Many of the cases in the book are legal issues. Clearly unethical. But ethics is much more than corporate wrong doing. Individual ethical decision making and corporate wrong doing are related but very different issues. Whistleblowing. What do you do when others are doing immoral things with corporate misconduct?

Ethics A set of moral principles or values. Book suggests its has a relative or personal component. Ethics also has culturally appropriate absolute or widely shared values.

My values may be different than your values. I may value community more than personal freedom. Both are concerned about ethics but sometimes very different kinds of ethical issues will be important to them.

examples Internet usage Ethical to buy drugs from Canada? Firms using child labor overseas where legal in that country.

Ethics and decision making. We make choices. We have the choice to do things. As we will find out pressure and politics abounds in many organizations. Do you chose to make As leaders You make choices. Can do so considering financial issues alone, ethics alone, or both in combination.

Example

Discussion about Process What did you consider in making your choice.

Decision Making Paradox Speed at which you make decision—less likely to consider ethical implications. As a manager often pressured to make decision quickly. How many people have had a supervisor promise or imply they would not do something and then do it anyhow?

Managing time urgency is important It takes time to consider ethical implications.

Decision Making process Most should have had course on Decision Making. Tell me the steps to ideal decision making in your own words. Depending on book no less than five steps.

Takes time to follow the process Ethical overlay. Gather the facts. Information and ethics are related. Hard to be ethical if going by hearsay from unreliable sources.

What kinds of facts would you like to get regarding Irwin’s Case.

Define the ethical issues and stakeholders Combine steps 2 and 3 Are there legal issues to consider?

Deontological concerns (doing the things right) Consequentialist concerns (making the right choice) Example with product recall problem.

Stakeholders List of people directly or indirectly influenced by choice. Direct are easier to identify. Indirect is also important. Identify concerns issues. Each may have and develop sympathy/empathy for those concerns. Even ones for whom you have little concern. Bucky Wolford and the mall. Very important for any ethical issue.

Other examples already raised. Hire a recent College Graduate and then tell them due to financial constraints that no longer needed? To tell/not tell food purchasers about the product other than basic ingredients in product labeling (GMO, How animals were raised, irradiated, etc).

To me this is most important step in ethical decision making. Firm bottom line is it. Anything that makes money is OK. Vs This choice influences many people. It may harm some of those people.

Identify the consequences of different alternatives Which stakeholders would likely be harmed by different alternatives. Linked to alternatives. Think “what would others say if what I did got to be publicly known”? Think long vs short term consequences Symbolic consequences Secrecy

Identify Obligations What types of commitments have been made/implied to different stakeholders. Implied is very difficult—but Need to be careful.

Consider your Character/Integrity Tough choices. Purist vs practical Is this an issue that is significant enough to influence your reputation, credibility, etc. If so then its very important that ethics be considered. If not, reputation is not important to you or something not relevant to reputation.

The real Rub Think creatively to find a win-win solution to manage the needs of different stakeholders. This is the hardest part. If not, win win then think would you be embarrassed if the choice became public knowledge? Would others disapprove of it.

Choices Some fast decision can be ethical However, the process takes time. Likely to compromise ethics to solve some tangible problem. Thus, choices. Lazy people are more prone to being unethical. In many cases You can get by. But what is your overall reputation? Will your leadership effectiveness by compromised?

At this point Ethical Extremes Don’t care about ethics. Don’t believe it matters. Its all about money and success. As long as its legal and makes money anything I do is OK. Effective Leaders by definition have to be ethical.

The course will influence you differently Depending on your attitudes towards these extremes.

Be prepared. Look at company code of ethics Corporate values towards ethics In practice, what are managerial values of others. What have others done in the past? Is there a standard practice. Ask questions. Do the practices differ from what you feel you need to do at a gut level (does it seem wrong to you).

Snap decisions Internal warning system—heed the call. Ask for time Are their policies? Solicit advice Would you be embarrassed choice became public (New York Times Test).

Lets go through the case again Follow the decision making process. How does this inform our choices. I expect you to apply this in every case. Identify stakeholders. Which stakeholders are at risk with different alternatives. Is there a win-win scenario. How do I soften negative consequences if I must choose one stakeholder over another.

Summary What did you learn about Ethics and decision making. What are your take home points? Lets develop a list. Partially for me and partially for you. What is vague or unclear?