Roresishms

A Virtual World of Live Pictures.

As the world becomes more complicated, the need for ethical business choices comes to the fore. Corporation decisions can affect the world positively or negatively on an ever-increasing scale. The five steps of principled reasoning give some order and meaning to a topic that may be too open to interpretation. Having a clear process for ethical decisions removes bias and provides a streamlined path to better business.

As a business owner, the easiest way to design this process is to shorten it to five steps and three simple questions. The five steps are:

1. Clarify

2. Evaluate

3. Decide

4. Implement

5. Monitor and modify

The three litmus questions for evaluation are:

Do you treat others as you would like to be treated?

Would you feel comfortable if your reasoning and decision were made public?

Would you feel comfortable if your children were watching you?

(Josephson Institute of Ethics, 1999)

It can be difficult to balance the pressures of business growth and profit with making decisions that benefit everyone, not just a few. The Ethics Scorecard Rule Book, a ProEthics project of the Josephson Institute of Ethics, describes five main steps in ethical decision-making. What further complicates the situation is trying to ensure that everyone in your company operates with your ethical ideals in mind. By using the Josephson Institutes guidelines, one can begin to develop a standard for ethical decision-making and, in turn, create a model for others to follow.

“The basis of ethical decision making involves choice and balance; it is a guide to discard bad choices in favor of good ones” (Chmielewski, 2004).

The first step is to clarify what decision you are making. What are all your options for solving the problem? First remove any of the illegal or unfeasible options. Then decide on three ethically clear options. Take a look at them and decide what the ethical principles are involved in each of your options.

Next, you will evaluate and see if any of the options require the sacrifice of some moral principle. Review each option and decide what the benefits, burdens, and risks are for your business and consumers. Decide if your evaluations are based on unsubstantiated facts or beliefs, conclusions or opinions. Determine if all sources of information are credible.

Once you’ve thoroughly evaluated all of your options, it’s time to decide which ones are the best in the future. Think about the remaining options according to your conscience. Prioritize your values ​​so you can decide which of those options to present and which to discard. Find out who will benefit the most and who will be harmed the least by your choice. Think about the worst case scenario and how to avoid it.

Once you have thoroughly examined all aspects of your options, made a decision, and set a direction, you will implement your choice. Implementation is best done by developing a plan on how to update your decision and following it to the end.

The final steps in ethical decision making are to monitor and modify. This can be done by monitoring the effects of the decision you have made. An important part of modifying is being willing to change your plan or try another idea entirely. Following your plan will allow you to adjust accordingly to any additional information. Projecting potential problems is not foolproof, and reacting to problems in real time is the only way to ensure that your best intentions are successful.

The three questions are a quick litmus test of how you feel about the decisions you are potentially making. By reviewing them and evaluating your feelings to the responses, you can quickly determine if the decisions you are making feel like a poor moral choice. It can generate a red flag and allow you to slow down and further study your possible options.

It is almost impossible to tell from applications or work experience whether a potential employee will share the same business ethics as the employer. Therefore, it is the employer’s responsibility to educate its employees by detailing its own expectations and procedures for dealing with ethical decision making. Helping them understand and use this method will keep your company on the same page regarding ethical standards (Mayhew, 2017).

Chmielewski, C. (2004). Values ​​and culture in ethical decision making. Retrieved November 16, 2017, from https://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Clearinghouse/View-Articles/Values-and-culture-in-ethical-decision-making.aspx

Ethics Scorecard Rule Book, a project of ProEthics, Ltd. Josephson Institute of Ethics. “Five Steps of Principle-Based Reasoning”. 1999.

Mayhew, R. (2017). What challenges does a company face in relation to ethics? Retrieved November 16, 2017, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/challenges-business-face-involving-ethics-20160.html

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *