Ethical Decision Making

Week 8 Assignment Ethical Decision Making

Due: Oct. 6

Expected Length: 2-3 pages

Points: 30

1.       Research other ethical decision making frameworks/processes. Think about your strengths, values, and experiences dealing with ethical decision making, and create your own framework. Borrow from the experts you’ve read about in our texts, supplemental reading, and your own research. List and define the steps you will take in reaching ethical decisions.

In paragraph form, explain your thought process in creating your own ethical decision making framework/process. List your steps with definitions.

2.       Now, use your framework to reach an ethical decision based on the following scenario.

It’s annual review time. Your manager has had major setbacks this year, including the loss of a high-profile account and a CEO of another important account requesting she be removed from their project. Many on staff suspect her review will be rough.

Meanwhile, she is in the process of purchasing a new, expensive home. Closing on the property will take place tomorrow.

While picking up a document you sent to the printer, you see on the print tray a document that contains the supervisor’s talking points that he must intend to discuss with your manager during her review. As they are listed in bullet format, it’s easy to see some of the points including the final one that says “Probation. Demotion. Pay rate adjustment.”

Do you tell your manager what you saw given the fact that she’s about to close on a property she may no longer be able to afford? What, if anything, will you do? 

In paragraph form, explain how you used your framework/process to reach an ethical decision about this scenario. What is your ethical decision? Submit your paper through this assignment portal.

3.       Finally, go to the discussion board “Scenario Decision” and write a few sentences telling what you decided to do in this scenario and why. Read what others posted and responded to at least three classmates.

All three steps of this assignment must be completed in order to receive full credit for the assignment.

Ethical Decision Making

Ethical decision making framework refers to a conceptual structure that allows or enables an individual to make choices that are considered morally acceptable.  Ethics refers to what is considered acceptable in a certain group of people while a decision can be seen as a choice.  Scholars, researchers and philosophers have for many years mentioned behaviours and choices that can be viewed to be ethical across the societal divide. 

There are various procedures or conceptual structures of making decisions that are seen as ethical.  Most of them agree in some common factors and process of ethical decision making.  The number of steps involved in the whole process varies but the activities involved include getting background information, re-examine the existing moral values, apply the moral values to the situation at hand to discover workable remedies, spot sensible solutions, intervene and evaluate the outcome against the process.

 Today’s society has changed. Dictatorial leadership is no longer working. A good leader is the one seen to work from within. Rather that instructing the juniors and employees to act in a particular way, any leader today has an even better opportunity to inspire workers to act in a particular way. This can happen through servant leadership where the leader allows himsel to brainstorm with the workers on the best way of overcoming a particular challenge. When workers feel a part of the solution, they are likely to work towards achieving it.

In order for any leader to make any choice that will stand the test of time as the most ethical at that particular time, he or she must consider the decision that has the maximum benefits to the most people. The steps involved will include evaluating all possible choices and all their outcomes. The best one is the one with the most appealing outcomes to the most people.

 In the second instance, even before viewing the supervisors note on the possible actions he is likely to discuss with the manager, it would be sound to advice the manager not to take such an ambitious financial step in such an uncertain time. It can be seen that everyone expect a tough review for her and so should she. It would be financially sound for her to wait till times are no longer volatile. 

When one views the supervisor’s note on what to discuss with the manager, it becomes more urgent to get a way to advice her.  She already knows that times are rough and the review will be rough too. For this reason, telling her will not be just some form of a gossip but something she should ultimately expect.  Gauging according to the ethical decision making process above, informing her will lead to more good to her and the company than staying quiet. Telling her in advance is likely to make her shun the project of buying a large home. For this reason, whichever the eventuality, she will not have a large financial shock to adjust to.  Therefore, she will be able to be productive and maybe overcome the shortcomings of the previous year.

Keeping quiet may be dangerous for her and the firm.  This is because she will buy a home oblivious of tough financial situation in her future. When this reality will dawn on her, she is likely to get a very difficult time adjusting. This will lower her productivity and she may lose her job altogether.

 It is important to consider that the firm has already spent a lot of money hiring and developing her to the current position. The firm will use such an amount to get another manager while it can lose much less by retaining her and assisting her to become a better manager.