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2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Models of ethical decision-making
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Stages in ethical decision-making
Recognise moral issue
Make moral judgement
Establish moral intent
Engage in moral
behaviour
Ethical decision-making process
Source: Derived from Rest (1986), as depicted in Jones (1991).
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Relationship with normative theory
• The role of normative theory in the stages of ethical decision-making is primarily in relation to moral judgement.– Moral judgements can be made
according to considerations of rights, duty, consequences, etc.
• However, the issue of whether and how normative theory is used by an individual decision-maker depends on a range of different factors that influence the decision-making process
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Influences on ethical decision-making
• Two broad categories: individual and situational (Ford and Richardson 1994)– Individual factors. The unique characteristics
of the individual actually making the relevant decision. • birth factors • acquired by experience and socialisation
– Situational factors. The particular features of the context that influence whether the individual will make an ethical or unethical decision. • the issue itself (such as the intensity of the
moral issue) • the ethical framing of the issue.
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Framework for understanding ethical decision-making
Recognise moral issue
Make moral judgement
Establish moral intent
Engage in moral
behaviour
Situational factors
Individual factors
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Limitations of ethical decision-making models
• Useful for structuring our discussion and seeing the different elements that come into play but…– Not always particularly straightforward (or
sensible) to break down various elements into discrete units
– Various stages related or interdependent– National or cultural bias
• Must be aware that the model is intended not as a definitive representation of ethical decision-making, but as a relatively simple way to present a complex process
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Individual influences on ethical decision-making
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Individual influences on ethical decision-making
Factor Influence on ethical decision-making Age and gender
Very mixed evidence leading to unclear associations with ethical decision-making.
National and cultural characteristics
Appear to have a significant effect on ethical beliefs, as well as views of what is deemed an acceptable approach to certain business issues.
Education and employment
Somewhat unclear, although some clear differences in ethical decision-making between those with different educational and professional experience seem to be present.
Psychological factors:
Cognitive moral development
Locus of control
Small but significant effect on ethical decision-making. At most a limited effect on decision-making, but can be important in predicting the apportioning of blame/approbation.
Personal integrity
Significant influence likely, but lack of inclusion in models and empirical tests
Moral imagination
A new issue for inclusion with considerable explanatory potential
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
National and cultural characteristics
• People from different cultural backgrounds likely to have different beliefs about right and wrong, different values, etc. and this will inevitably lead to variations in ethical decision-making across nations, religions and cultures
• Hofstede (1980; 1994) influential in shaping our understanding of these differences – our ‘mental programming’– Individualism/collectivism– Power distance– Uncertainty avoidance– Masculinity/femininity
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Psychological factors• Cognitive moral development (CMD)
refers to the different levels of reasoning that an individual can apply to ethical issues and problems– Criticisms of CMD
• Gender bias• Implicit value judgements• Invariance of stages
• An individual’s locus of control determines the extent to which they believe that they have control over the events in their life
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Psychological factorsStages of cognitive moral development
Level Stage Explanation IllustrationI Pre-
conventional
1 Obedience andpunishment
Individuals define right and wrongaccording to expected rewards andpunishments from authority figures
Whilst this type of moral reasoning is usuallyassociated with small children, we can also see that businesspeople frequently make unethicaldecisions because they think their company wouldeither reward it or let it go unpunished (seeGellerman 1986).
2 Instrumentalpurpose andExchange
Individuals are concerned with theirown immediate interests and defineright according to whether there isfairness in the exchanges or dealsthey make to achieve those interests.
An employee might cover for the absence of a coworker so that their own absences mightsubsequently be covered for in return – a “youscratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” reciprocity(Treviño and Nelson 1999).
II Conventional
3 Interpersonalaccord,conformity andMutualExpectations
Individuals live up to what isexpected of them by their immediate peers and those close to them
An employee might decide that using companyresources such as the telephone, the internet andemail for personal use whilst at work is acceptablebecause everyone else in their office does it.
4 Social accordand systemmaintenance
Individuals’ consideration of theexpectations of others broadens tosocial accord more generally, ratherthan just the specific people aroundthem.
A factory manager may decide to provideemployee benefits and salaries above the industryminimum in order to ensure that employees receive wages and conditions deemed acceptable by consumers, pressure groups and other socialgroups.
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Psychological factorsStages of cognitive moral development
(cont…)Level Stage Explanation Illustration
III Post-Conventional
5 Socialcontract andIndividualrights
Individuals go beyondidentifying with others’expectations, and assessesright and wrong accordingto the upholding of basicrights, values and contractsof society.
The public affairs manager of a foodmanufacturer may decide to reveal which of the firm’s products contain genetically modified ingredients out of respect for consumers’ rights to know, even though they are not obliged to by law, and have not been pressurised into by consumers or anyone else.
6 UniversalEthicalprinciples
Individuals will makedecisions autonomouslybased on self-chosenUniversal ethical principles,such as justice, equality,and rights, which they believe everyone shouldfollow.
A purchasing manager may decide that it would be wrong to continue to buyproducts or ingredients that were testedon animals because he believes thisdoesn’t respect animal rights to be freefrom suffering.Source: Adapted from Ferrell et al. (2002); Kohlberg (1969); Trevino and Nelson
(1999)
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Personal integrity & moral imagination
• Personal integrity– Integrity is defined
as an adherence to moral principles or values
• Moral imagination– Concerned with
whether one has “a sense of the variety of possibilities and moral consequences of their decisions, the ability to imagine a wide range of possible issues, consequences, and solutions” (Werhane, 1998:76)
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Situational influences on decision-making
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Situational influences on ethical decision-making
Type of factor
Factor Influence on ethical decision-making
Moral intensity
Reasonably new factor, but evidence suggests significant effect on ethical decision-making.
Issue-related
Moral framing
Fairly limited evidence, but existing studies show strong influence on some aspects of the ethical decision-making process, most notably moral awareness.
Rewards
Strong evidence of relationship between rewards/punishments and ethical behaviour, although other stages in ethical decision-making have been less investigated.
Authority
Good general support for a significant influence from immediate superiors and top management on ethical decision-making of subordinates
Bureaucracy
Significant influence on ethical decision-making well documented, but actually exposed to only limited empirical research. Hence, specific consequences for ethical decision-making remain contested.
Work roles
Some influence likely, but lack of empirical evidence to date
Context-related
Organizational culture
Strong overall influence, although implications of relationship between culture and ethical decision-making remain contested.
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Moral Intensity• Jones (1991:374-8) proposes that the
intensity of an issue will vary according to six factors:– Magnitude of consequences– Social consensus– Probability of effect– Temporal immediacy– Proximity– Concentration of effect
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
• The same problem or dilemma can be perceived very differently according to the way that the issue is framed– Language important aspect of moral
framing• Moral muteness (Bird & Walters
1989) because of:– Harmony– Efficiency– Image of power and effectiveness
Moral framing
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Systems of reward• Adherence to ethical principles and
standards stands less chance of being repeated and spread throughout a company when it goes unnoticed and unrewarded– “What is right in the corporation is not
what is right in a man’s home or in his church. What is right in the corporation is what the guy above you wants from you. That’s what morality is in the corporation” (Jackall, 1988:6)
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Authority • People do what they
are told to do – or what they think they’re being told to do
Bureaucracy• Bauman (1989,
1993) and ten Bos (1997) argue bureaucracy has a number of effects on ethical decision-making– Suppression of
moral autonomy– Instrumental
morality– Distancing– Denial of moral
status
Authority and Bureaucracy
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
Work roles and organisational norms & culture
Work roles• Work roles can
encapsulate a whole set of expectations about what to value, how to relate to others, and how to behave
• the group norms which delineate acceptable standards of behaviour within the work community
Organisational norms and culture
2 H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n© Oxford University Press, 2005. All rights reserved.
National and cultural context
• This differs from individual’s national and cultural characteristics
• Instead of looking at the nationality of the individual making the decision; now we are considering the nation in which the decision is actually taking place, regardless of the decision-maker’s nationality
• Different cultures still to some extent maintain different views of what is right and wrong