Overview of Ethics

Ethics Training

Moral reasoning is the process in which an individual tries to determine what is right and what is wrong.

Moral reasoning is the process in which an individual tries to determine the difference between what is right and what is wrong in a personal situation by using logic. To make such an assessment, one must first know what an action is intended to accomplish and what its possible consequences will be on others. People use moral reasoning in an attempt to do the right thing.

People frequently face moral choices, such as whether to lie to avoid hurting someone's feelings or take an action that will benefit some while harming others. Such judgements are made by considering the objective and the likely consequences of an action. Moral reasoning is the consideration of the factors relevant to making these types of assessments.

According to consultant Lynn W. Swaner, moral behavior has four components:

• Moral sensitivity is seeing an ethical dilemma, including how our actions will affect others.
  
  
• Moral judgment is reasoning about what "ought" to be done in a specific situation.
  
  
• Moral motivation is a personal commitment to moral action, accepting responsibility for the outcome.
  
  
• Moral character is a courageous persistence despite fatigue or temptations to take the easy way out.

The ability to think through moral issues and dilemmas requires an awareness of a set of moral and ethical values; the capacity to think objectively and rationally about what may be an emotional issue; the willingness to take a stand for what is right, even in the face of opposition; and the fortitude and resilience to maintain one's ethical and moral standards.

Realizing good conduct, being an effective moral agent, and bringing values into one's work require skills and a moral inclination. Studies have uncovered four skill sets that are decisive in exercising moral expertise.

• Moral imagination is the ability to see the situation through the eyes of others. Moral imagination achieves a balance between becoming lost in the perspectives of others and failing to leave one's own perspective. Adam Smith terms this balance "proportionality," which we can achieve through empathy.
  
  
• Moral creativity is closely related to moral imagination but centers on the ability to frame a situation differently.
  
  
• Reasonableness balances openness to the views of others with a commitment to moral values and other important goals. A reasonable person is open, but not to the extent where he is willing to believe just anything and/or fails to keep fundamental commitments.
  
  
• Perseverance is the ability to decide on a moral plan of action and adapt to any barriers that arise to continue working toward that goal.

Example

William LeMesseur designed the Citicorp Building in New York. When a student identified a critical design flaw in the building during a routine class exercise, LeMesseur did not "shoot the messenger" but developed an intricate and effective plan to correct the problem before it resulted in drastic real-world consequences.

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Defining Ethics

Ethics are the set of moral principles that guide a person's behavior.

Ethics are the set of moral principles that guide a person's behavior. These morals are shaped by social norms, cultural practices, and religious influences. Ethics reflect beliefs about what is right, what is wrong, what is just, what is unjust, what is good, and what is bad regarding human behavior. They serve as a compass to direct how people should behave toward each other, understand and fulfill their obligations to society, and live their lives.

While ethical beliefs are held by individuals, they can also be reflected in the values, practices, and policies that shape the choices made by decision makers on behalf of their organizations. The phrases business ethics and corporate ethics are often used to describe the application of ethical values to business activities. Ethics applies to all aspects of conduct and is relevant to the actions of individuals, groups, and organizations.

In addition to individual ethics and corporate ethics, there are professional ethics. Managers, lawyers, and accountants exercise specialized knowledge and skills when providing services to customers or the public. By their profession, they have obligations to those they serve. For example, lawyers must hold client conversations confidential, and accountants must display the highest honesty and integrity in their record-keeping and financial analysis. Professional organizations, such as the American Medical Association, and licensing authorities, such as state governments, set and enforce ethical standards.

Example

The concept of corporate social responsibility emphasizes ethical behavior in that it requires organizations to understand, identify, and eliminate unethical economic, environmental, and social behaviors.

Blurring Ethical Lines

Ethical decisions involve judgments of facts and situations subject to interpretation and other influences.

Law and ethics are not the same things. Both exist to influence behavior, but complying with the law is mandatory while adhering to an ethical code is voluntary. Laws define what is permissible, while ethics speak to what is right, good, and just. Lawyers and judges are responsible for clarifying the meaning of law when there is ambiguity, or a matter is subject to interpretation. Where ethics are concerned, that responsibility lies with each individual. In organizations, employees can look to the code of ethics or the statement of values for guidance about handling ethical gray areas.

Even when an individual has a clear sense of right and wrong, or good and bad, it can be difficult to know what is ethical in a given situation. Ethical choices involve judgment because they involve weighing the potential consequences of one's actions for other people. One analyzes ethical issues by asking questions such as: What could happen? How likely is it to happen? What might the harm be? Who might be hurt? The answers are not always clear-cut.

Individual judgments can be influenced, even clouded, by several factors. A study by Professor Robert Prentice suggests that self-image can influence an individual's decision-making process, making him or her feel justified in taking shortcuts or doing things that could be seen as ethically questionable. In addition, there are times when people believe that the ends justify the means. In other words, if the result of an action is good, then it is okay if the action itself is unethical.

There is a saying that a good person does good deeds when no one is looking. The same goes for ethical decisions. Ethical people follow their beliefs even when they believe no one will discover what they have done. In many cases of ethical breaches in organizations, those who acted unethically likely believed they would not be discovered. Others may have thought that if the issues were discovered, the actions wouldn't be traced back to them. They had the opportunity to be ethical but chose not to be.

This way to ethics: Ethical decisions are not always clear-cut.

Example

American companies are often criticized for treating workers who produce their products in China. However, rules concerning workers' rights are much more relaxed in China than in the United States. Does an American company have the right to order factory owners in China to change their way of doing business? That is one example of an ethical gray area in today's globalized economy.

The Manager's Role in Ethical Conduct

Employees can more easily make ethical decisions that promote a company's values when their personal values match the company's norms.

Personal values provide an internal reference for what is good, beneficial, important, useful, beautiful, desirable, and constructive. Over time, the public expression of personal values has laid the foundations of law, custom, and tradition. Personal values, in this way, exist in relation to cultural values, either in agreement with or divergent from prevailing norms.

We develop our personal in different ways:

• The most important influence on our values comes from the families we grow up with. Families teach children what is right and wrong long before other influences. Thus, a child is a reflection of their parents.
  
  
• Teachers and classmates help shape children's values during the school years.
  
  
• Religion (or a lack thereof) also plays a role in teaching children values.

Personal values take on greater meaning in adulthood since they influence how we carry out our responsibilities to others. This is true in the workplace, especially for managers and leaders who oversee resources for the benefit of others. Because of their authority structures, social norms, and cultures, organizations can powerfully influence their employees. Employers do their best to hire individuals who match the organization's norms and values. In this way, they seek to promote their standards of ethical behavior.

Conversely, conflicts can occur between an individual's moral values and what they perceive to be those of others in their organization. Since moral judgments are based on analyzing the consequences of behavior, they involve interpretations and assessments. You might be asked to do something that violates a personal belief, but others consider appropriate. To make ethical and moral choices, we need to have a clear understanding of our personal values. Without that awareness, it can be difficult to justify a decision on ethical or moral grounds in a way others would find persuasive.

Example

If you value equal rights for all and work for an organization that treats its managers better than its workers, you may find the company is an unfair place to work. Consequently, you may not produce well and eventually leave the company. If the company had a more egalitarian policy, your attitude and behaviors would probably have been more positive.

Culture and Ethics

Culture reflects the moral values and ethical norms governing how people should behave and interact with others.

Culture describes a collective way of life or way of doing things. It is the sum of attitudes, values, goals, and practices shared by individuals in a group, organization, or society. Cultures vary over time periods, between countries and geographic regions, and among groups and organizations. Culture reflects moral and ethical beliefs and standards regarding how people should behave and interact with others.

Cultural Map of the World: This diagram attempts to plot countries according to their values. One axis represents traditional values to secular-rational values. The other axis accounts for survival values and self-expression values. Countries are grouped into categories, such as Catholic Europe, English-speaking, and ex-Communist.

Cultural norms are the shared, sanctioned, and integrated systems of beliefs and practices passed down through generations and characterized by a cultural group. Norms cultivate reliable guidelines for daily living and contribute to the health and well-being of a culture. They act as prescriptions for correct and moral behavior, lend meaning and coherence to life, and provide a means of achieving a sense of integrity, safety, and belonging. These normative beliefs, together with related cultural values and rituals, impose a sense of order and control on aspects of life that might otherwise appear chaotic or unpredictable.

This is where culture intersects with ethics. Since interpretations of what is moral are influenced by cultural norms, the possibility exists that what is ethical to one group will not be considered so by someone living in a different culture.

According to cultural relativists, there is no singular truth on which to base ethical or moral behavior for all time and geographic space, as our interpretations of truths are influenced by our culture. This approach contrasts with universalism, which holds that moral values are the same for everyone. Cultural relativists consider this an ethnocentric view, as the universal set of values proposed by universalists is based on their values. Cultural relativism is considered more tolerant than universalism because cultures have to be tolerant of each other if there is no basis for making moral judgments.

Example

The French and Americans have different views on whistle-blowing. American companies consider it to be a natural part of business. They even set up anonymous hotlines. The French tend to view whistle-blowing as undermining solidarity among coworkers.