Transcript Oct. 4-11 Morale awareness

419 Individual #5
Morale awareness
• Recognition of an moral/ethical dilemma.
• If recognize awareness of ethical issues
more likely to act with a higher sense of
ethics. If not— just act expediently.
Purpose of the course is in part
• Increase moral awareness.
Within the past week
• Were you aware of an ethical choice you
needed to make. They can be major or
minor.
Factors the increase moral
awareness
• Peer influence
• If presented in a manner that warrants
ethical consideration. What words are
used to phrase. Concerned, integrity, etc.
• Serious harm/damage/legal concerns.
• Example from business, personal.
Moral Awareness and moral
Development
• Kohlberg suggests that our moral
awareness tends to increase as we age.
Especially during the earlier years of lives.
• Everyone has a sense of morale
awareness, just different levels of
awareness. Even a 4 year child has some
moral awareness.
Preconventional
• Actions influenced by consequences. Do
things based on the amount of good or
bad consequences happening to you.
Often linked to people in positions of
authority.
Can be
• Level 1. Punishment or obedience
orientation. Get caught orientation.
• Level 2. Instrumental or exchange
orientation. Need to do X in order to have
Y happen or not happen which good/bad.
• Just world and good things happen to
good people.
Conventional Level
• Typically more complex and often relevant
starting in the teens. Many of you are
sensitive to this type of morality.
Conformity to the social order
• “When in Rome do as
the Romans do”
• Reasons why we have speed limits. What
are they? For the good of the whole we
follow these rules. Not an issue of getting
caught (pre-conventional) unless you have
a radar detector.
Level 3
• Interpersonal concordance. Focus is on good
behavior that helps others. For example, not
mentioning the truth about a woman’s hair style.
Good example of values/Ethics.
• The person meant well or did not mean to act
badly. Infer if intentions were meant to help or
hurt others.
• Many wrong doers use this type of morality.
• Guided by guilt/social approval
Level 4
• Law and order.
• Rules are rules. Even if bad rules still follow the
rules. Maintaining the existing social order is
fine.
• Examples 1950’s in the South. Many people did
not like the segregation rules—but the rules
were the rules and abide by them.
• The typical “organizationally loyal employee”.
• Honor or duty.
Post-Coventional.
• Stage 5. Similar to stage 4 but law is the
idea of a social contract that can and
should be changed. Laws have purposes.
When purposes are not served, laws can
be changed. Outside of legal issues,
ethics entails volition. Giving people the
choice to follow their beliefs.
• Ethics is relativistic.
• Not many adults get to this stage.
Stage 6
• Universal Ethics/Principles.
• Kantian imperative—do the right thing
(Deontological perspective).
• Very individualistic—but still Guided by
inner judgment of right/wrong. Abortion
both sides Universal. Just different
Principles.
Thus Ethics based on orientation.
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Get caught
Expecting just rewards/punishments
Social approval/disapproval
Laws
Social contract/volition
Higher order ethics.
DIT.
Some implications
• First, Majority of adults are 3-4. They tend
to look around and see what the rules are.
• If everyone else is doing something it must
be OK.
• Does anyone see problems with this?
• Breaking the rules.
• Most people look around. It’s a warning.
• Ethical lapses in business.
Does Business have problems with
• Post conventional—why or why not?
Failures in Moral Awareness
• As mentioned earlier speed is important in
business. But its more than that.
• Faults of the decision making process.
• Scripts—Lots of information and try to
rountinize decisions. When a student asks
for a make up exam—I have a standard
response. Scripts have their positive
attributes.
• However, if information does not fit a
script—you ignore it rather than process it
more deeply.
• Do you see red flags, yellow flags.
• Cost benefit analysis. Especially short
term.
• Foreign labor/Child labor.
• Wohlfords new mall.
Getting the facts
• Groupthink: Illusions of morality.
Minimizing ethical risks.
• Won’t get caught mentality. Won’t happen
to us. Challenger shuttle. Classic case.
• Video.