The document outlines a framework for ethical decision making in business that includes 4 pillars: ethical issue intensity, individual factors, organizational factors, and opportunity. Ethical issue intensity refers to how important an ethical issue is perceived. Individual factors relate to a person's characteristics. Organizational factors involve workplace culture, peers, and authority. Opportunity concerns conditions that allow or prevent ethical/unethical behavior.
Enhancing and Restoring Safety & Quality Cultures - Dave Litwiller - May 2024...
Business Ethics_Chapter 5 slides
1.
2. Framework For Ethical
Decision Making In Business
Model of Ethical Decision making includes 4 basic
pillars;
Ethical-Issue Intensity
Individual Factors
Organizational Factors
Opportunity
3. Framework For Understanding
Ethical Decision Making in Business
Ethical
Intensity
Individual Business
Factors Ethics Ethical or
Evaluation Unethical
s& Behavior
Organizational
Intentions
Factors
Opportunity
4. Ethical Issue Intensity
The relevance or importance of an ethical issue in the
eyes of the individual, workgroup or organization
How intense the dilemma is
Reflects the ethical sensitivity of the individual
or work group that faces the ethical decision
making process
“Spheres of Influence”
(Workplace, Family, Religion, Legal System,
Community & Profession)
5. Ethical Issue Intensity (Cont’d)
Moral Intensity relates to a person’s perceptions of
social pressure and the harm the decision will have on
others
Difference of opinion sets stage for Ethical Issue
Perception of Ethical Issue Intensity can be influenced
by;
Management’s use of rewards & punishments
Corporate Policies
Corporate Values
6. Individual Factors
Factors that are more relevant to an individual
perceptions & personality
Personal issues more typically involve;
Honesty
Conflicts of Interest
Discrimination
Nepotism
Theft of Organizational Resources
Some professions are perceived to be less
ethical (Telemarketers, Advertising Agencies,
Salesperson, Brokers)
7. Individual Factors (Cont’d)
Few Individual factors are;
i. Education
Education Vs. Working Experience
Education is irrelevant of impact on ethics
ii. Nationality
Legal relationship between a person and the country
MNCs try hiring businesspeople who can make decisions
regardless of nationality
iii. Age
“The older you are, the more ethical you are”
iv. Locus of Control
Relates to Authority/ Power
External Control Vs. Internal Control
8. Organizational Factors
Ethical choices in business are more often
made jointly, in work groups and
committees or in the conversations
The outcome of this learning depends on;
a) Strength of person’s personal values
b) The opportunity to behave unethically
c) The exposure he/she has to others who behave
ethically or unethically
9. Organizational Factors (Cont’d)
Corporate Culture
a set of values, beliefs, goals, norms, and
ways to solve problems that an
organization’s members share.
What is unique about the corporate cultures
of Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, Hershey Foods,
and Southwest Airlines?
Ethical Culture
Reflects whether the firm also has an ethical
conscience
10. Organizational Factors (Cont’d)
Significant Others
those who have influence in a work group
including peers, managers, coworkers, and
subordinates
Any corporate examples in which a “bad
apple” spoiled a barrel? (when a key
organizational member damaged the
organizational reputation in the ethics/legal
area)
11. Organizational Factors (Cont’d)
Obedience to Authority
Helps to explain why many employees resolve
business ethics issues by simply following the
directives of their supervisors
The bigger the company, the more unethical it
has the potential to become
12. Opportunity
conditions that limit or permit ethical or
unethical behavior
opportunity to engage in unethical behavior
can be limited through formal codes of ethics,
policies, and rules that are adequately enforced
Immediate Job Context –
“Carrots & Sticks”
Opportunity also comes from knowledge
“Gatekeepers”
13. Business Ethics Evaluations &
Intensions
Ethical dilemmas are uncertain
No magic formulas, no substitute for critical
thinking
When an individual’s intentions and
behaviors are inconsistent with his/her
ethical judgment, the person may feel guilty