chapter 4 - making decisions in business ethics

Descriptive business ethics theories

seek to describe how ethics decisions are actually made in business, and what influences the process and outcomes of those decisions.

what are the three main factors that determine the moral status of a situation?

1. Significant effects on others

2. Presence of choice between alternatives

3. Perceived ethical relevance by one or more parties

What are the stages in ethical decision-making according to Rest (1986)?

1. Recognize moral issue (awareness)

2. Make moral judgment (evaluation)

3. Establish moral intent (justification)

4. Engage in moral behaviour (action)

What are the two broad categories of influences on ethical decision-making?

Individual factors and situational factors.

What are individual factors?

Unique characteristics of the individual making the ethical decision.

• given at birth

• acquired by experience and socialization 

Which individual factors are given at birth?

Personality traits, cognitive abilities, risk tolerance.

Which individual factors are acquired by experience and socialisation?

Values, morals, cultural/religious beliefs, education, professional training, past experiences, level of moral development.

What are situational factors?

Features of the context that influence decisions, such as:

• work context

• the issue itself

what situational factors are related to context?

• rewards

• authority

• bureaucracy

• work roles

• organizational culture

• national cultural

What situational factors are related to the issue itself?

Moral intensity and ethical framing

what is cognitive moral development?

refers to the different levels of reasoning that an individual can apply to ethical issues and problems, depending on their cognitive capacity.

what are the 3 levels of Cognitive Moral Development?

Pre-conventional, Conventional, and Post-conventional morality

criticisms of cognitive moral development (CMD)

• gender bias

• implicit value judgements

• invariance of stages

What is locus of control and its role in ethics?

It reflects how much control a person believes they have over their life events; helps predict blame attribution.

What is ethical framing?

How the issue is presented or perceived

What is moral intensity?

The perceived seriousness of an ethical issue

what factors affect moral intensity?

influenced by:

• Magnitude of consequences

• Social consensus

• Proximity

• Concentration of effect

What is moral framing?

The way an issue is presented; in terms of moral right and wrong.

What is moral muteness?

the reluctance to use moral language when discussing decisions, often to avoid perceived threats to:

1. harmony

2. efficiency

3. or the image of power and effectiveness

rationalization tactics

1. denial of responsibility

2. denial of injury

3. denial of victim

4. social weighting

5. appeal to higher loyalties

6. metaphor of the ledger 

What is “denial of responsibility”?

Actors claim they had no choice but to engage in corrupt behaviour

What is “appeal to higher loyalties”?

Actors justify norm violations by claiming loyalty to a higher cause

What is the "Denial of Injury" strategy?

Actors believe no one was harmed, so the behaviour isn’t truly corrupt.

What is the "Denial of Victim" strategy?

Actors argue the victim deserved the outcome or chose to participate.

What is "Social Weighting"?

Actors reduce the impact of their behaviour by:

1. Condemning the condemner

2. Comparing themselves to worse offenders

What is the "Metaphor of the Ledger" strategy?

Actors feel entitled to deviant behaviour due to past good deeds or effort.

What does the Authority context suggest about ethical behaviour?

People tend to follow orders or perceived expectations, even if unethical

What are the ethical risks of bureaucracy?

Bureaucracy can suppress moral judgment through:

• Suppression of moral autonomy

• Instrumental morality

• Distancing

• Denial of moral status

How do work roles influence ethical behavior?

They shape expectations about values, relationships, and conduct.

Roles may be functional (task-based) or hierarchical (position-based).

What do organizational norms and culture define?

They set group standards for acceptable behaviour.

Which personal factors strongly influence ethical decision-making?

Personal values and personal integrity

Which psychological factors influence ethical decision-making?

• Cognitive moral development

• locus of control

• moral imagination

Which demographic and background factors influence ethical decision-making?

• Age/gender

• national/cultural characteristics

• education/employment