Creating a Framework for Ethical Cases: Brief Background for Teaching in the Disciplines Charles E. Beck Associate Professor, Management and Communication Daniels Ethics Fellow October 3, 2012 Although faculty have training in the legal aspects of business and have an ingrained sense of right and wrong, the idea of teaching ethical cases may create a sense of anxiety: But I don t have a background in ethics! A short workshop instruction in a framework for ethics can help alleviate this anxiety. While not a full-blown course in ethics, the workshop clarifies some background issues that can help faculty become more comfortable in in presenting ethical cases: Core and Secondary Values Some underlying assumptions in social interaction Moral Development o Personal o Organizational Multiple Perspectives on Ethics o Consequences o Rights o Integrity/Virtue o Duty o Final Ends o Practicality Five Hallmarks of Ethical Behavior Positive Ethical Culture Structured ethical Decision-Making Practical Tips on Creating an Ethical Culture
Ethics Workshop Handout 1 Table 1: Core and Secondary Ethical Values Core Values Trustworthiness Respect, Caring Responsibility Justice, Fairness Civic Virtue Secondary Value Influences Religious Beliefs Professional Standards Business Standards Cultural Traditions Political Philosophy Individual Differences Source: Adapted from K Walker, Values, Ethics, & Ethical Decision-Making," Adult Learning 5:2 (1993). Values are stable often part of our unconscious assumptions. Core Values appear stable over most cultures. Secondary values also have a strong hold, but they are more conscious. Secondary values can change over time, but such change requires intense thought; not happen lightly or superficially. they do
Ethics Workshop Handout 2 Table 2: Models of Personal and Organizational Moral Development Personal Moral Development Physical consequences determine moral behavior. Avoidance of punishment and deference to power typify this stage. Individual pleasure needs are the primary concern and dictate attitudes toward behavior. The approval of others determines behavior. The good person is one who satisfies family, friends, and associates. Compliance with authority, upholding of the social order, and "doing one's duty" are primary concerns. Tolerance for rational dissent and acceptance of majority rule become primary ethical concerns. What is right and good is a matter of individual conscience and responsibly chosen commitments. Morality is based on principled personal conviction. Organizational Moral Development Social Darwinism: Fear of extinction and the urgency of financial survival dictate moral conduct. The direct use of force is the acceptable norm. Machiavellianism: Organizational gain guides actions. Successfully attaining goals justifies the use of any effective means, including individual manipulation. Cultural Conformity: A tradition of standard operating procedures and caring groups. Peer professional pressure to adhere to social norms dictates right or wrong behavior. Allegiance to Authority: Directions from legal authority determine moral standards. Right and wrong are based on the decisions of those with legitimate hierarchical power. Democratic Participation: Participation in decision making and reliance on majority rule become organizational moral standards. Participative management becomes institutionalized. Organizational Integrity: Justice and individual rights are the moral ideals. Balanced judgment among competing interests shapes organizational character which, in turn, determines the rightness or wrongness of behavior. Source: J. A. Petrick, R..A. Wagley, and T. J. Von der Embse, Structured Ethical Decision Making: Improving the Prospects of Managerial Success in Business, SAM Advanced Management Journal, Winter 1991, p. 30.
Ethics Workshop Handout 3 Table 3: Multiple Perspectives on Ethics Perspective Consequences Mill Theories Guiding Questions What action will do the most good and least harm? Rights Jefferson Which alternative best serves the rights of others, including shareholder s rights? Integrity/Virtue Aristotle What actions can I live with, consistent with my values and those of the organization? Duty Kant What duties should I follow? What if everyone acted this way in this situation? Final Ends Aquinas What consequences will follow as the result of my action? Practicality Machiavelli What action is feasible in the world as it is? Expanded from Joseph C. Badarocco, Jr., Business Ethics: Four Spheres of Executive Responsibility. California Management Review 34:4 (Spring 1992), 64-79. Table 4: Five Hallmark Behaviors of Ethics Hallmark Empathy Cooperation Reciprocity/Fairness Altruism Punishment of Cheaters (Free Riders) Psychological Correlate Theory of Mind Perceptions of Community Sensitivity to Fairness Kin selection, Virtual Kinship Punishment of Cheaters Baglini, Norman A.; K. A. Nelson; D. T Wargo. (2008). Individual and Institutional Impediments to Ethics: Making Ethical Decisions under Risk, Threat, and Stress. Forum on Public Policy: A Journal of the Oxford Roundtable (Spring) 1-52
Ethics Workshop Handout 4 Table 5: Positive Organizational Culture Meritocracy People share company's goals and purposes Open and candid communication, even heated or emotional Environment of subordinate autonomy High ethical standards pervading a company Source: Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr., and R. Ellsworth, Leadership, Integrity, and Conflict. Journal of Organizational Change Management 34:3 (Spring, 1991) p.46. Table 6: Practical Tips for Creating an Ethical Culture 1. Top management must personally commit, provide consistent leadership, demonstrate values, and appear credible within the organization. 2. The ethical values and commitments must be consistent and make sense; through in-depth training, all organizational members must understand these values. 3. Members at all organizational levels must become committed to ethical performance. 4. Company systems and structures must support, reinforce, and integrate the espoused values into the normal channels of management decision-making critical activities. 5. Managers at all levels must have the knowledge and competencies to make ethically sound decisions on a dayto-day basis. 6. The organization must foster a vigorous and continuously renewed process of implementing ethical behavior. 7. The organization must continually assess its results. Adapted from Beck, Charles E. (1999). Managerial Communication: Bridging Theory and Practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. classroom use as long as it is acknowledged to be the creative work of the author and the UCCS Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative. For publication or electronic posting, please contact the UCCS Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at 1-719-255-5168. (2013)
Ethics Workshop Handout 5 Table 7: Structured Ethical Decision-Making I. Context of Ethical Problem A. Extra-Organizational Factors B. Intra-Organizational Factors II. III. IV. Individual Ethical Problem Analysis A. Ethical Agents (Moral Character): B. Ethical Acts (Moral Means): C. Ethical Results (Moral Ends): Evaluation of Alternative Ethical Solutions A. Viable Alternative I: Advantages and Disadvantages B. Viable Alternative 2: Advantages and Disadvantages C. Viable Alternative 3: Advantages and Disadvantages Recommended Ethical Decision and Justification V. Implementation and Control of Decision Source: J. A. Petrick, R..A. Wagley, and T. J. Von der Embse, Structured Ethical Decision Making: Improving the Prospects of Managerial Success in Business, SAM Advanced Management Journal, Winter 1991, p. 32. classroom use as long as it is acknowledged to be the creative work of the author and the UCCS Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative. For publication or electronic posting, please contact the UCCS Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at 1-719-255-5168. (2013)
Ethics Workshop Handout 6
Ethics Workshop Handout 7