Download Business Ethics Fundamentals

Ethics and Leadership
Outline
• What is ethics?
• Three approaches to resolving ethical
conflicts
• Making ethical decisions
Ethics: What Does It Really Mean?
Definitions
• Ethics involves a discipline that examines
good or bad practices within the context of a
moral duty
• Moral conduct is behavior that is right or
wrong
Two Key Branches of Ethics
• Descriptive ethics involves describing,
characterizing and studying morality
– “What is”
• Normative ethics involves supplying and
justifying moral systems
– “What should be”
3 Models of Leadership Ethics
1.
Immoral Leadership—A style devoid of ethical
principles and active opposition to what is ethical.
2.
Moral Leadership—Conforms to high standards
of ethical behavior.
3.
Amoral Leadership
–
–
Intentional - does not consider ethical factors
Unintentional - casual or careless about ethical
considerations in business
Resolving Ethical Conflicts
Three Approaches
• Conventional
• Principles
• Ethical tests
Conventional Approach to Ethics
• Conventional approach to ethics involves a
comparison of a decision or practice to
prevailing societal norms
– Pitfall: ethical relativism
Decision or Practice
Prevailing Norms
Leadership and Ethics
Culture Relativism
Many people in contemporary society are
inclined toward relativism - roughly, the
view that there is no objective truth in
morality, right and wrong are only matters
of opinion that vary from culture to
culture, and possibly, from person to
person.
Leadership and Ethics
Culture Relativism
Descriptive relativism claims that members of
different cultures have different moral beliefs.
Normative relativism claims that the truth of
moral beliefs depends upon particular cultures,
such that the belief that cannibalism is right
can be true for culture A but false for culture
B.
Leadership and Ethics
Culture Relativism
Normative relativism has some rather undesirable
implications:
– it prohibits us from ever morally condemning another
culture’s values and practices;
– it suggests that we need look no further that our own
culture for moral guidance;
– it renders the notions of moral progress and moral reform
incoherent.
Sources of Ethical Norms
Fellow Workers
Fellow Workers
Family
Regions of
Country
Profession
The Individual
Conscience
Friends
The Law
Employer
Religious
Beliefs
Society at Large
Making Ethical Judgments
Behavior or act
that has been
committed
compared with
Value judgments
and perceptions of
the observer
Prevailing norms
of acceptability
Principles Approach to Ethics
Principles Approach
Anchors decision making
on an ethical principle such as:
• Utilitarianism
• Rights
• Justice
•
•
•
•
Caring
Virtue ethics
Servant leadership
Golden Rule
Principles Approach to Ethics
Principle of Utilitarianism focuses on an
act that produces the greatest ratio of good
to evil for everyone
– Consequentialist theory
Principles Approach to Ethics
Principle of Rights focuses on examining
and possibly protecting individual moral or
legal rights
Principles Approach to Ethics
Principles Approach to Ethics
• Principle of justice involves considering
what alternative promotes fair treatment of
people
• Types of justice
– Distributive
– Compensatory
– Procedural
Principles Approach to Ethics
• Principle of caring focuses on a person as a
relational (cooperative) and not as an
individual
– Feminist theory
• Virtue ethics focuses on individuals
becoming imbued with virtues
– Aristotle and Plato
Servant Leadership and Ethics
Characteristics of Servant Leaders
•
•
•
•
•
Listening
Empathy
Healing
Persuasion
Awareness
• Foresight
• Conceptualization
• Commitment to the
growth of people
• Stewardship
• Building community
Golden Rule
Golden rule focuses on the premise that you
should of unto others as you would have
them do unto you
Ethics Test Approach
•
•
•
•
•
Ethics Test Approach
Test of common sense
Test of one’s best self
Test of making something public
Test of ventilation
Gag test
Ethical Decision-Making
Identify decision you
are about to make
Articulate all dimensions
of proposed decision
Conventional Approach
Standards/Norms
-Personal
-Organizational
-Societal
-International
Principles Approach
Ethical Principles
-Justice
-Rights
-Utilitarianism
-Golden Rule
Course of action passes
ethics screen
Engage in course of
action
Ethical Tests Approach
Ethical Tests
-Common sense
-One’s best self
-Public disclosure
-Gag test . . .
Course of action fails
ethics screen
Do not engage in course
of action
Identify new course of
action
Ethical Decision Models
• Utilitarian Model
– An ethical decision is one that produces the greatest
good for the greatest number of people.
• Moral Rights Model
– An ethical decision is one that best maintains and
protects the fundamental rights and privileges of the
people affected by it.
• Justice Model
– An ethical decision is one that distributes benefits and
harms among individuals in a fair, equitable, or
impartial way.
Ethical Models
Justice
Utilitarian
IDEAL
Outcome
Moral Rights
Steps to Ethical Decision Making
What are the consequences
of your decision
How can the option be implemented
Decide which option is most ethical
Consider options
Think through dilemma;
identify all components as objectively as possible.