Download Unit 3-Moral Development & Ethical Behavior

Ethical Awareness
Moral Development & Ethical
Behavior
Unit 3
Ethics
Ethical Behavior.
– That which is “right” or “good” in the context of
governing moral code.
– Ethical behavior is value driven.
ETHICS AND ETHICAL BEHAVORIAL
Ethics
• What is considered ethical varies among moral
reasoning approaches.
• What is considered ethical can vary across cultures.
• Ethical dilemmas arise as tests of personal ethics and
values.
• People have tendencies to rationalize unethical
behaviors.
Moral Reasoning
• Moral Reasoning
– Reasons for various ethical practices
Ethics and Culture
• Cultural Relativism
– Suggest that there is no one right way to behave;
cultural context determines ethical behavior
Ethics and Culture
Excerpt From Universal Declaration of Human Rights
United Nations
• Article 1—All human beings are born free and equal in dignity
and right.
• Article 19—Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and
expression.
• Article 23—Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of
employment, to just and favorable conditions of work.
• Article 26—Everyone has the right to education
Schools of Thought
• Three schools of thought about the extent to
which ethical standards apply across
countries and cultures exist:
– Ethical Universalism
– Ethical Relativism
– Integrative Social Contracts Theory
Concept of Ethical Universalism
According to the school of ethical universalism,
Ethical universalism is also called moral
universalism or moral objectivism. It states that
there is one universal system of ethics.
Ethical universalism allows for the possibility of gray
areas in moral decision making and for the
possibility of multiple answers that are each equally
moral. As long as the ethical system is applied
equally to everyone, the system is one of ethical
universalism.
– Universal agreement on basic moral standards allows a
multinational company to develop a code of ethics that is
applied evenly across its worldwide operations.
Concept of Ethical Relativism
• According to the school of ethical relativism . . .
– What is ethical or unethical must be judged in light of
local moral standards and can vary from one country to
another.
• Some Companies code of conduct based upon the
principle of ethical relativism assume that local
morality is an adequate guide for ethical behavior.
Drawbacks of Ethical Relativism
Does the ethical relativism rule of “when in Rome, do
as the Romans do” present a problem?
– It is ethically dangerous for company personnel to assume
that local ethical standards are an adequate guide to
ethical behavior.
» What if local standards condone kickbacks and
bribery?
Integrative Social Contracts Theory
•
According to the integrative social contracts
theory, the ethical standards a company should try
to uphold are governed by both:
1. A limited number of universal ethical principles that put
ethical boundaries on actions and behavior in all
situations.
and
2. The circumstances of local cultures, traditions, and values
that further prescribe what constitutes ethically
permissible behavior and what does not.
Ethics Based on Individuals
How ethics applied on Individuals:
– Have equal political rights.
– Deserve to be treated fairly.
– Have the right to live as they want, as long as they do not
harm the rights of others.
A good society is one that treats individuals fairly and
protects their rights. This requires:
– Efficient, non-corrupt government and business.
– Roles and regulations reserve individuals’ rights.
Factors That Affect Employee Ethics
• Moral Development
principles for how individuals ought to treat one another, with respect to justice,
others’ welfare, and rights Levels of Individual Moral Development
– Preconventional level
– Conventional level
– Principled level
– Stage of moral development interacts with:
•
•
•
•
Individual characteristics.
The organization’s structural design.
The organization’s culture.
The intensity of the ethical issue.
Kohlberg's Moral Stages
Exhibit 1.1
Stages of Moral Development
Source: Based on L. Kohlberg, “Moral Stages and Moralization: The Cognitive-Development
Approach,” in T. Lickona (ed.). Moral Development and Behavior: Theory, Research, and Social
Issues (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1976), pp. 34–35.
Exhibit 1.3
Factors That Affect Employee Ethics
(cont’d)
• In Moral Development, People proceed through
the stages of moral development sequentially.
• There is no guarantee of continued moral
development.
• Most adults are in Stage 4 (“good corporate
citizen”).
Individual Characteristics
• Personality Variables
– Ego strength
• A personality measure of the strength of a person’s
convictions
– Locus of Control
• A personality attribute that measures the degree to
which people believe they control their own life.
• Internal locus: the belief that you control your destiny.
• External locus: the belief that what happens to you is
due to luck or chance.
Structural Variables
• Organizational characteristics and mechanisms
that guide and influence individual ethics:
– Performance appraisal systems.
– Reward allocation systems.
– Behaviors (ethical) of managers.
– An organization’s culture.
– Intensity of the ethical issue.
• Good structural design minimizes ambiguity and
uncertainty and fosters ethical behavior.
End of Unit 3