Transcript Managerial and Leader Ethics PowerPoint Presentation II

Ethical Principles Utilitarianism,
Universalism, Rights, Justice,
Quick Tests, And DecisionMaking Guidelines
Adapted by
Jeffrey M. Wachtel, Ph. D.
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Chapter Topics
1.
2.
3.
Decision criteria for ethical reasoning
Ethical relativism: A self-interest approach
Utilitarianism: A consequentialist (results-based)
approach
4. Universalism: A deontological (duty-based)
approach
5. Rights: An entitlement-based approach
6.
Justice: Procedures, compensation, retribution
7. Immoral, amoral, and moral management
8. Four social responsibility roles
9. Individual ethical decision-making styles
10. Quick ethical tests
11. Concluding comments
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Decision Criteria for Ethical
Reasoning
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
According to your textbook,
what 3 criteria should be used
in ethical reasoning (p. 76)?
From our first weekend, what
are two additional criteria for
judging if an action is ethical or
moral?
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3 Decision Criteria for Ethical
Reasoning and a Question
 Moral reasoning logical
 Facts evidence used to support
your judgment must be
accurate, relevant, and
complete.
 Ethical standards used in your
reasoning should be
consistent
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Two Criteria for Fulfilling a
Minimum Conception of Morality
1.
2.
Reason: a moral decision must be
based on reasons acceptable to other
rational persons.
Impartiality: this criteria is fulfilled
when the interests of all those
affected by a moral decision are taken
into account.
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Ethical Reasoning Self Question
 A simple but powerful question:
What is my motivation for choosing
this course of action?
Did I make this decision because it
enhanced my self-interest or because it
was ethical/moral (i.e., considered my
self-interest and also other people’s
interest)?
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People are morally
responsible for the harmful
effects of their actions when:
1.
A person knew their action was morally wrong and hurtful
to others and acted anyway.
A person knew they could prevent a harmful act and did not.
2.
Morality Wrong Act: Physical or emotional harm is done to
another person. The degree of harm is considered.
Two conditions that eliminate a person’s moral responsibility for
causing harm are:
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Ignorance
Inability
Mitigating circumstances that excuse or lessen a person’s
moral responsibility include:
A low level of or lack of seriousness to cause harm
Uncertainty about knowledge of wrongdoing
The degree to which a harmful injury was caused or averted
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Ethical Relativism:
Barrier to Ethical Thinking
 Ethical relativism holds that no
universal standards or rules can be
used to guide or evaluate the
morality of an act.
 This view argues that people set
their own moral standards for
judging their actions.
 Individually: known as naïve
relativism or ethical subjectivism.
 Group/Culture: known as…cultural
relativism.
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Ethical Relativism:
A Self-Interest Approach

Benefits include:
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Problems include:
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Ability to recognize the distinction
between individual and social values,
customs, and moral standards
Whose relativism is right?
May pay a price for using this theory
Just because some practices are
acceptable in certain cultures are they
ethical/moral?
What about cultural imperialism…does
cultural relativism provide an argument
against cultural imperialism?
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Utilitarianism: A
Consequentialist (ResultsBased) Approach
 The basic view holds that an
action is judged as right, good, or
wrong on the basis of its
consequences.
 Widely practiced by governments,
economists and business
professionals.
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Tenets of Utilitarianism
1. act morally right if ends are
greatest good for greatest number
of people.
2. act right if the net benefits over
costs are greatest for all affected
compared with the net benevits
ofall other possible choices
considered.
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Tenets of Utilitarianism:
(Continued)
3. An action is morally right if its
immediate and future direct and indirect
benefits are greatest for each individual
and if these benefits outweigh the cost
and benefits of the other alternatives.
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Utilitarianism: Bentham, 1832
and Mill, 1873
 Problems with utilitarianism include:
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No agreement exists about the definition
of the “good” to be maximized
No agreement exists about who decides
what is good for whom?
How are the costs and benefits of
nonmonetary stakes measured?
Does not consider the individual
Principles of individual rights and justice
are ignored
 Utilitarianism and stakeholder analysis
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Universalism: A Deontological
(Duty-Based) Approach: Kant,
1804
 Also known as deontological ethics
(Greek for “duty”) or
nonconsequentialist ethics and
holds that the means justify the
ends of an action, not the
consequences.
 Act responsibly and respectfully
toward all individuals in a
situation. Human welfare is a
primary stake in any decision.
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Universalism: Kant’s
Categorical Imperative
1.
2.
A person should chose to act if and
only if she or he would be willing to
have every person on earth, in that
same situation, act exactly that way.
A person should act in a way that
respects and treats all others involved
as ends as well as means to an end.
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Universalism: A Deontological
(Duty-Based) Approach
 Weaknesses of universalism and
Kant’s categorical imperative include:
 It is difficult to think of all humanity
each time one must make a decision.
 Hard to resolve conflicts when the theory
states that all individuals must be
treated equally.
 Does not allow for prioritizing one’s
duties towards others as in stakeholder
analysis.
 Universalism and stakeholder analysis.
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Rights: An EntitlementBased Approach
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Moral rights are based on legal rights and
the principle of duty.
Rights can override utilitarian principles.
The limitations of rights include:
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Can be used to disguise and manipulate
selfish, unjust political interests and
claims
Protection of rights can be at the expense
of others
Limits of rights come into question
Rights and stakeholder analysis.
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Justice: Procedures,
Compensation, Retribution
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The principle of justice deals with
fairness and equality.
Two recognized principles of fairness that
represent the principle of justice include:
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Equal rights compatible with similar liberties
for others
Social and economic inequality arrangement
Four types of justice include (p. 85):
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Compensatory
Retributive
Distributive
Procedural
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Justice: Procedures,
Compensation, Retribution
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Problems using the principle of justice
include:
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Justice, rights, and power are really
intertwined.
Two steps in transforming justice:
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Who decides who is right and who is wrong?
Who has moral authority to punish?
Can opportunities and burdens be fairly
distributed?
Be aware of your rights and power
Establish legitimate power for obtaining rights
Justice and stakeholder analysis.
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Immoral, Amoral, Or Moral
Management
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Immoral management means intentionally
going against ethical principles of justice and
of fair and equitable treatment of other
stakeholders.
Amoral management happens when others
are treated negligently without concern for
the consequences of actions or policies.
Moral management places value on
equitable, fair, and just concern of others
involved.
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Immoral Managers:
Managers whose decisions, actions and
behavior suggest an active opposition to
what is deemed to be right and ethical.
 These managers care only about their or
their organization’s profitability or
success.
 Legal issues are there to be
circumvented and loopholes in the law
actively sought.
 Strategy is to exploit opportunities for
personal or organizational gain at any
cost.
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Amoral Managers:
Amoral Managers are neither immoral nor
moral but are not sensitive to the fact
that their everyday business decisions
may have a deleterious effect on others.
 These managers may lack an ethical
perspective in their organizational lives.
 Typically their orientation is to the
‘letter of the law’ as their ethical guide.
 Sometimes we can have a sub category
- the unintentional amoral manager.
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Un-intentional Amoral
Manager:
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These managers are un-intentionally
amoral in their behavior. They tend to
see ethical issues are for their private
lives and for not their business lives,
where different rules apply.
They tend to believe that business
activity resides outside the sphere to
which moral judgments may apply.
Amoral managers may not consider a
role for ethics in business.
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The Moral Manager:
In moral management, ethical norms that adhere to a high
standard of right behavior are employed.

Moral managers not only conform to accepted and high
levels of professional conduct, they also lead on issues
of ethical behavior.

The law is seen as giving a minimal guide to ethical
behavior. The ‘spirit of the law’ in more important than
the ‘letter of the law’. The objective is to operate well
above what the law mandates the firm to do.

Moral managers want to be profitable and ethical.

Moral managers will use ethical principles to base their
judgments upon - justice, rights, the Golden Rule,
utilitarianism universalism, etc.

When ethical dilemmas arise, moral managers and
moral companies will tend to assume leadership in their
companies and industries.
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Individual Ethical
Decision-Making Styles
 Stanley Krolick developed a survey
that interprets individual primary and
secondary ethical decision-making
styles, that include:
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Individualism
Altruism
Pragmatism
Idealism
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Quick Ethical Tests
 Bentley College suggests six questions
to be asked before making a decision
(p. 95).
 Classical ethical tests (p. 95)
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The Intuition Ethic
The Means-End Ethic
Test of Common Sense
Test of One’s Best Self
Test of Ventilation
Test of Purified Idea
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Decision Criteria for Ethical
Reasoning: 12 Questions
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Problem Identified Correctly?
Identified as if by other party
Background of situation?
Your loyalty is to whom?
Intention in making decision?
Intention compared with
result?
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Decision Criteria for Ethical
Reasoning: 12 Questions p.2
 Who could decision injure?
 Can problem be discussed with
people affected?
 Decision valid over a long period?
 Can you tell all others decision?
 Symbolic potential if understood
or misunderstood?
 Under what would you allow
exceptions to your stand?
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