1. Doing Right Things: Ethics and Decision Making in Human Organizations
MPA 8002
The Structure and Theory
of Human Organization
Richard M. Jacobs, OSA, Ph.D.

2. THE CHALLENGE OF ETHICS
For generations, managers and leaders have wondered not only about what they might do when confronted by particularly troublesome dilemmas in their organizations. Sensing their responsibility to make things better, these women and men have also struggled to do what they believe and hope is the right thing to do.

3. the concept of ethics...
…assumes that there exist
norms
principles
values
...that have, are, and always will provide the foundation for a good life

4. these norms, principles, and values do not come from a religious, moral, political, or social source...
…but are the product of rational reflection upon human existence
…and exist independent of any religious, moral, political, or social system (i.e., are universally true)

5. these norms, principles, and values are normative for decision making...
…while they do not specify what the decision should be
…they do provide a principled framework to engage in making good decisions
…for which managers and leaders bear responsibility

6. Some basic ethical principles...
mutuality
generalizability
caring
respect
honesty

7. mutuality:
Are all parties operating under the same understanding of the rules of engagement?

8. generalizability:
Does a specific action follow a principle of conduct that is applicable to all comparable situations?

9. caring:
Does this action evidence authentic concern for the legitimate interests of others?

10. respect:
Does this action demonstrate due consideration for the dignity and rights of others?

11. honesty:
Is this decision and the process leading to it straight-forward and forthright?

12. Although these basic principles constitute the fundamental elements embedded in an ethical decision...
…these principles do not provide a comprehensive ethical framework...
…for use when managers and leaders engage in the decision-making process.

13. An executive ethical decision-making process (Barnard, 1968)...
1. Recognize that people come to organizations with personal motives.
2. Direct efforts to induce cooperation towards a common effort.
3. Uphold the organizational purpose.
4. Design impersonal goals that translate the organization’s purpose into meaningful projects.

14. Questions for ethical decision making (Lax & Sebenius, 1986)...
Are the rules understood and accepted?
…in poker, for example, bluffing is a defined part of the game

15. Is the decision defensible under tough scrutiny in the public forum?
…it is highly probable that an important decision will be “spun” in ways that distort what managers and leaders intend

16. Would you want someone to make the very same decision...
…if it impacted you?
…if it impacted members of your family?

17. Should everybody act this way?
…should children be trained to act this way?
…should people in organizations behave this way?
…should society be organized this way?

18. What are the alternatives?
…what are the pro’s and con’s associated with each alternative?
…can differences be negotiated so that the decision rests on a firmer ethical ground?

19. Ethics is “inquiry into the right thing” and acting conversant with it...
When managers and leaders endeavor to inquire into the right thing...
…“we are inquiring not in order to know what virtue is but in order to become good”
…neither “to fall under any art or precept… but to consider what is appropriate to the occasion” (Aristotle, Ethics II.2, p. 183)

20. A paradigm for ethical decision making (Aristotle, Ethics III.2-5)...
quantitative and qualitative factual data that describe “what is truly the case”
knowledge of the good
abstract, theoretical concepts identifying “the truly good”
For managers and leaders, the primary sources of knowledge are research and experience.

21. techniques that foster the good
technical skills
techniques that foster the good
repertoires honed through experience
For managers and leaders, techniques are learned in formal and informal apprenticeships where reflection on practice facilitates the development of expertise.

22. practice In light of what the good requires:
deliberation concerning the facts and ideas of this case
practice
deliberation concerning the techniques that will foster the good

23. Aristotle’s ethical decision-making paradigm...
ideas concerning what is good, proper, and just
knowledge
a practical judgment about what must be done in this situation, given what theory and best practice suggest
practice
discrete skills to achieve what is good, proper, and just
techniques

24. For Aristotle, ethical practice is not...
dictating to others what the good is and what they ought to do
mindlessly enacting routines inculcated in training programs

25. For Aristotle, ethical practice is...
being deliberate by integrating a rational principle with a proven technique through discursive thought (ratiocination)
responding:
to the right person
at the right time
to the right extent
in the right way

26. and, thus...
evidencing a virtuous character revealed in practical wisdom when making decisions
bearing responsibility for the choices made
inculcating virtue throughout the organization as a shared purpose

27. For Aristotle, then, it is not so much what managers or leaders do that is crucial for ethical decision making...
...what is crucial is why managers or leaders do what they do
...and the quality of character revealed in very practical decisions.

28. “…that is not for everyone, nor is it easy; wherefore goodness is both rare and laudable and noble.”
Aristotle, Ethics, II.9

29. Seven ethical virtues... anger courage liberality truth magnificence
indignation
pride

30. COURAGE
…the quality of being fearless or brave when facing and dealing with anything recognized as dangerous, difficult, or painful

31. LIBERALITY
…the noble quality whereby one is generous in thought and evidences the absence of prejudice and partiality when considering substantive matters

32. MAGNIFICENCE
…the condition or quality of grandeur, splendor, and glory uplifting the human spirit

33. PRIDE
…the quality, state, and behavior evidencing an accurate perception of one’s dignity and worth

34. ANGER
…the feeling engendered by a real or supposed injury for which one seeks satisfaction

35. TRUTH
…the quality or state of sincerity, genuineness, honesty, trustworthiness, and loyalty emerging when one acts in accord with verified experience, facts, or reality

36. INDIGNATION
…the contempt, disgust, and abhorrence caused by the disapproval of something mean, disgraceful, or unjust

37. Aristotle’s theory of the “Golden Mean”...
A virtue is a mean, delicate to achieve...
…found somewhere between an excess (a positive vice)
…and a deficiency (a negative vice)
…which reflects the true character of the person making the decision

38. Manager/Leader Virtue:
COURAGE
confidence
fear
as a vice:
a defect
as a virtue:
a “golden mean”
as a vice:
an excess

39. Courage, then, is virtuous when it is a practical judgment of the intellect wherein the defect of paralyzing fear and the excess of exuberant confidence are balanced as managers/leaders act rightly.

40. Manager/Leader Virtue:
LIBERALITY
prodigality
meanness
as a vice:
a defect
as a virtue:
a “golden mean”
as a vice:
an excess

41. Liberality, then, is virtuous when it is a practical judgment of the intellect wherein the defect of meanness and the excess of prodigality are balanced as managers/leaders act rightly.

42. Manager/Leader Virtue:
MAGNIFICENCE
vulgarity
niggardliness
as a vice:
a defect
as a virtue:
a “golden mean”
as a vice:
an excess

43. Magnificence, then, is virtuous when it is a practical judgment of the intellect wherein the defect of niggardliness and the excess of vulgarity are balanced as managers/leaders act rightly.

44. Manager/Leader Virtue:
PRIDE
vanity
humility
as a vice:
a defect
as a virtue:
a “golden mean”
as a vice:
an excess

45. Pride, then, is virtuous when it is a practical judgment of the intellect wherein the defect of humility and the excess of vanity are balanced as managers/leaders act rightly.

46. Manager/Leader Virtue:
ANGER
irascibility
equanimity
as a vice:
a defect
as a virtue:
a “golden mean”
as a vice:
an excess

47. Anger, then, is virtuous when it is a practical judgment of the intellect wherein the defect of equanimity and the excess of irascibility are balanced as managers/leaders act rightly.

48. Manager/Leader Virtue:
TRUTH
boasting
modesty
as a vice:
a defect
as a virtue:
a “golden mean”
as a vice:
an excess

49. Truth, then, is virtuous when it is a practical judgment of the intellect wherein the defect of modesty and the excess of envy are balanced as managers/leaders act rightly.

50. Manager/Leader Virtue:
INDIGNATION
envy
spite
as a vice:
a defect
as a virtue:
a “golden mean”
as a vice:
an excess

51. Indignation, then, is virtuous when it is a practical judgment of the intellect wherein the defect of spite and the excess of envy are balanced as managers/leaders act rightly.

52. A virtue-based process of ethical decision making...
Enables managers and leaders...
...to stand for something when people prefer that managers and leaders stand for everything
...to do right things when people prefer that managers and leaders do things right

53. Integrating reflective practice and ethical decision making...
Reflective practice and ethical decision making require intellectual exercise and discipline
…reflective practice focuses upon practice episodes to ascertain how one’s beliefs and assumptions as well as one’s background and experiences impact organizational functioning
...ethical decision making endeavors to promote the good amidst conflicting and contradictory choices

54. The concept... reflective practice
…the intellectual exercise through which managers and leaders focus upon events in order to ascertain how one’s beliefs and assumptions as well as one’s background and experiences impact organizational functioning
Reflective practice inculcates the intellectual discipline needed to discern “what is” in practice episodes as well as to engage in the self-growth necessary if one is to manage and lead others.

55. Reflective practice...
is constructed on the reality that professional knowledge is different from scientific knowledge
accounts for the fact that there are no infallibly efficacious theories or skills to manage and lead human organizations
Reflective practice requires managers and leaders to confront ill-defined, unique, and changing problems as managers and leaders decide on courses of action.

56. The reflective practice model...
antecedents
theories of practice
practice episodes
cultural milieu
mindscapes
intentions
theoretical knowledge
action platforms
actions
realities
craft knowledge
self knowledge
critical knowledge

57. ethical decision making
…the intellectual exercise through which managers and leaders render practical judgments of the intellect about what ought to be the case, given what is, so as to promote the good
Ethical decision making inculcates the virtues needed for managers and leaders to engage others in a collaborative toward attaining what ought to be the case.

58. Aristotle’s ethical decision-making paradigm...
ideas concerning what is good, proper, and just
knowledge
a practical judgment about what must be done in this situation, given what theory and best practice suggest
practice
discrete skills to achieve what is good, proper, and just
techniques

59. Reframing ethical decision making...
Reframing ethical decision making requires intellectual exercise and discipline
Reframing uses metaphors to focus upon organizations in order to ascertain how various beliefs and assumptions as well as backgrounds and experiences impact organizational functioning
Ethical decision making navigates a pathway toward the good amidst the conflicting and contradictory choices available

60. Reframing ethical decision making from a structural point of view...

61. Reframing ethical decision making from a human resources point of view...

62. Reframing ethical decision making from a political point of view...

63. Reframing ethical decision making from a symbolic/cultural point of view...

64. Using ethical decision making...
…virtuous
…reflective
effective managers and leaders are
…wise
…decisive
…“what ought to be” given “what is”
whose primary concerns are
…doing right things
…balancing the common and collective good

65. Abusing ethical decision making...
…implement ideas mindlessly
ineffective managers and leaders
…deny responsibility
…point the finger of blame at others
…doing things right
whose primary concerns are
…self-protection
…one’s desires and wishes

66. Ethical decision making...
…is not a learned behavior or lifestyle worn like a set of clothes, but...
seeking constantly to do what is right and necessary in the system
 a matter of focus:
devoting inordinate amounts of time to doing right things
 a matter of time:
putting one’s whole psyche, energy, and conviction into it
 a matter of feeling:

67. This module has focused on...
ethical decision making and how managers and leaders can utilize it in practice episodes...

68. ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
“By acting virtuously in our transactions with other human beings we become virtuous or unvirtuous. The states of character arise out of activity. It makes no small difference, then, whether we form habits of one kind or another from our very youth; it makes a great difference, or rather, all the difference.”
Aristotle, Ethics, II.1, p. 183

69. Although existing in a pluralistic and secular world, organizations cannot impose a particular religious, moral, political, or social ethical framework upon employees...
…managers and leaders, however, can and should make their purpose clear, hold subordinates accountable, and engage them in dialogue about the ethical choices that arise in practice.

70. The outcome of ethical practice is the gradual transformation of an impersonal workplace into a viable community of people...
...who respect and recognize in one another the virtues that make being human and contributing to a cooperative endeavor meaningful.
Work, then, is not simply “a job” but an opportunity to learn about and engage in living a truly good life.

71. The next module will focus on...
scenario building
for successful organizational change
...and how managers and leaders use frame analysis to forge a pathway that improves organizational functioning.

72. References
Aristotle. (1958). The Nicomachean ethics (W. D. Ross, Trans.). In J. D. Kaplan (Ed.), The pocket Aristotle (pp ). New York: Simon & Schuster.
Barnard, C. I. (1938/1968). The functions of the executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (1997). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice and leadership (2nd edition). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Etzioni, A. (1975). A comparative analysis of complex organizations. New York: Free Press.

73. References
Lax, D. A., & Sebenius, J. K. (1986). The manager as negotiator. New York: Free Press.
Sergiovanni, T. J. (1989). Informing professional practice in educational administration. Journal of Educational Administration, 27(2), p. 186.