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(PDF) Business Ethics in decision making

   

Added on  2021-05-27

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Running head: ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING IN BUSINESSETHICAL DECISION-MAKING IN BUSINESSName of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor note

ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING IN BUSINESSIntroductionEthical decision-making as a term has evolved from this consideration. Managers acrossorganizations are aware of this term and it gains increased importance with each passing day. Itrefers to the process by which the unethical alternatives are filtered and options that are moreethical are chosen for organizational management. One of the recent and most visible examplesof ethical decision-making is the adoption of the green policy by businesses(Dane &Sonenshein, 2015). A part of the larger corporate social responsibility (CSR) that businessesinclude within their organizational policies, green policy is an example of ethical decision-making. Ethical decision-making is not confined to the decisions made by the group or theorganization but it is also taken by the individuals on certain occasions. Whistle blowers aregood examples of individual ethical decision-makers(Baker, 2017) (Appendix C).Ethical decision-making has an important role to play in ensuring effective managementas well. The vitality of ethics in decision-making – either in-group or individually – is realizedwhen it is compensated or rewarded with increased consumer preference and consequent rewards(Vahlne & Johanson, 2017). Ethical decision-making also helps managers maintain equilibriumwithin the organizations where each employee feels valued. An instance of a good ethicaldecision made by a manager might include the provision for pregnant female employees to workas per their convenience and comfort. It could be included within the sphere of good managerialpractice. Further, when managers succeed in maintaining a positive relationship with theemployees, it leads to increase employee engagement and subsequent profit for the company aswell.

ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING IN BUSINESSThe given essay provides a review of the literature on ethical decision-making in businessand its contribution to organizational efficiency. The essay will primarily discuss thetransformative skills of managers in decision-making and the external factors that influencedecision-making. The succeeding sections of this essay will focus on the evaluation of personalethical decision-making capabilities followed by the SMART goal plan. Literature reviewEthics in everyday life define the personality of individuals and distinguish them fromothers. In any scenario, ethics holds an important position because it shows the way people havebeen brought up. In the past, ethics and morality formed the basis on which every political andsocial decision, even economic decision was made. Many theorists and scholars over the yearshave proposed various skill sets that enable individuals to realize and execute ethical decisions.Wittmer (2016)states that the literature on ethical decision-making is scarce and previous studiesdid not encompass every element. Certain skills – both hard and soft skills – are required to beethically competent, state the authors. The first and crucial skill is the ability to apply diverseethical assessment frameworks before deciding on a course of action. Another skill is the abilityto visualize the different perspectives on each action taken (Howard, Tang & Austin, 2015).Apart from possessing these skills, theorists believe that individuals must also know about thevarious approaches that define ethical decision-making. In all, five common approaches toethical decision-making include the utilitarian approach, the rights approach, the fairnessapproach, the common good approach and the virtue approach (Shapiro & Stefkovich, 2016).The utilitarian approach states that individuals must make decisions depending on theharms and benefits it could cause to someone. In simpler words, utilitarianism states that any

ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING IN BUSINESSdecision, which is morally right, produces benefits for everyone (Letwin et al., 2016). However,the approach has limitations in that it fails to take into account the benefits of everyone involvedfrom the ‘morally right’ decision. In the contemporary and complex world, a morally rightdecision for one individual might be unethical for another individual. The rights approach on theother hand, bases itself on the moral rights of individuals. This approach states that some rightsof the people must be acknowledged even if it not considered legal or constitutional. The fairnessapproach deals mostly with justice. Decision-making in life is largely based on the idea ofjustice. It refers to the treatment individuals receive based on certain characteristics. Thecommon good approach is somewhat similar to the fairness approach barring the fact thatcommon good refers to equal treatment or benefit for all whereas fairness does not ensureequality for all. The fifth and the final approach is the virtue approach that describes there aresome ideals to which people should dedicate and commit. Virtues are the goodness that peoplepossess. In ethical decision-making, these approaches assist in establishing the ground on whichdecisions that are more important could be made. Lawton and Páez (2015) comment that the twoapproaches in particular – fairness approach and common good approach are helpful in makingorganizational decisions. In the business context in particular, ethics is one of the most crucialelements of organizational management. Organizations are relied on the response they receivefrom their clients and customers who form their stakeholders’ base. Therefore, the decisionsmade within the organizations are taken considering the interests of both the shareholders and thelarger community. According to Lehnert et al. (2016) ethical decision-making in the context ofbusiness, involve three categories that succeed the ethical decision behaviors. The threecategories include individual differences, interpersonal variables and organizational variables.

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