Self-Reflection on Ethical Decision Making in the Workplace

Running head: SELF-REFLECTION 1
Self-Reflection
Name:
Institution:

SELF-REFLECTION 2
The decision I made
After considering the case that we undertook in class, I decided that, as the parties in
both cases had their own moral reasoning that informed their behavior, therefore, their behavior
afterward could be justified. For example in the case of Ryan, he evaluated the options that he
had which made him focus more on the end goal which was a good commission which would
have help with the mortgage given that he was already behind on payment (Vyakarnam et.al,
2017). There was also moral tolerance on the disagreement and ambiguity which he had with his
boss where they disagreed about the values and course of action to take (Gaudine & Thorne,
2016). Therefore, considering these issues and my rational reasoning about these cases, and also
the situations they were in, I concluded that, none of the actions from the parties came from a
malicious place, all they were focused on is the end results which would have been favorable to
their businesses and to them personally, hence making it hard to determine whether their actions
were right or wrong.
Assumptions which informed my decision
I assumed that having, moral sensitivity, where one recognizes that there is an ethical
issue, helps a person make an ethical decision or determine the consequences of the decisions we
make on daily basis. Also, having perspective and empathy skills, where I consider my feelings
towards others before making a decision, becomes an essential component in our moral actions
as we become more sensitive to potential negative or even positive effects of the choices we
make which make one to predict the likely outcomes better (Kim & Johnson, 2013). Therefore,
using my empathy skills where I will imagine myself in their situation to see their perspective so
as to understand their point of view where I practice openness and humility upon their views. So

SELF-REFLECTION 3
I tried to understand the reasons as to why the parties in the cases did what they did with an open
mind which informed my decision above. Also once I identify an ethical problem, I make a
rational judgment on the right or wrong thing to do in the situation. With this in mind, I
understand that we as individuals, we progress through several moral stages where we engage in
a more complex way of reasoning as we progress up the stages, but also we develop broader
morality definitions as we become less self-centered.
In this case, I saw conventional thinkers who seek other people’s guidance when faced
by an ethical dilemma and when trying to decide on what actions to take as they wanted to live
up to the expectations of their bosses by taking a broader perspective on the situation. By
studying their actions carefully and also considering if that was I in that situation, what I would
have done made me understand their point of views even better on taking the actions they took
which also informed my decision. But I also understand that, based on my decision, I don’t mean
that what they did right, but it’s tough to decide or even judge them wrongly, in my opinion.
Cognitive models of moral development provided me with the insights that led me to make the
decision I made. I can attribute this to my education which promotes my moral development
which in turn fosters my moral reasoning and considering other people’s points of view which
informs my decisions. This is because a broader perspective is always important in decision
making by considering the viewpoints of others which enables us to come up with superior
solutions (Wright, 2016).