Ethics and Governance | Decision Making and Implication

Ethics and Governance
1 | P a g e

This article will emphasize on ethical issues regarding different decision making domains in
workplace by critically reviewing four eminent journal articles, as depicted below. (Sheep, 2006)
The first article is: ' The effect of organizational forces on individual morality: Judgment, moral
approbation, and behavior ', written by Jones and Ryan in 1998. This paper tried to find out the
solution of the problem of relative understanding deficiency in different domains of human
morality. This research is pursued with the application of currently developed model of moral
approbation to find the connection between both moral action and judgment on organizational
ethical behavior as per construct of moral approbation. Two different models namely, formal
decision-making model related to micro-organizational aspects and macro-organizational issues
of organizations including code of corporate ethics are considered for this article. These models
have shortcomings to relate macro level aspects with micro behavioral aspects of organizational
behavior. To connect both these aspects, this paper tries to resolve by considering the variants as
Rest’s model like – recognition, judgment, intent and behavior. Basic theory of this research is
that person with more cognitive skills in morality may show stronger and more inherent urge to
morally-enabled activities. As the reasoning is more independent, their attitude and respective
behavior must be more independent, which empowers their moral judgment with more frequent
occurrence than their counterparts with lesser sophistication. This research concludes in some
pessimistic mode, which denotes that the connection between these two above-said variables has
lesser strength as cognitive development of morality comparing to little variation in moral
behavior. To highlight this gap, some latest works have emphasized on the first factor of Rest’s
model, which is known as recognition of the moral issue. The studies have verified different
aspects of moral consciousness, which are based on rational suggestions. This factor denotes the
role of recognition of the morality of any judgment, which should happen prior to the occurrence
2 | P a g e

of any moral reasoning. Moreover, as the advanced stages of moral development hierarchy of
Kohlberg are tending towards leading judgment, driven by other forces as self-interest, it may be
expected that identification of moral issues with following engagement of moral judgment-
making process in comparison with non-moral decision making process will effect with better
behavior. (JONES & RYAN, 1998)
The second article is Pinto Fires and Personal Ethics: A script analysis of Missed Opportunities
by Dennis A. Gioia in 1992. This article highlighted the self engagement of the writer in the
early phases of the well-known Pinto fire case. Initial focus of this article had highlighted the
insider matter of the fact and decision-making situation, which was responsible for his initiation
of timely recall of faulty automobiles. An analysis of cognitive script of personal experience is
then presented to explain the factors responsible for decision, which is now normally found as a
perfect culture of study in immoral performance of corporate domain. The writer emphasized on
different models of ethical judgment in organizations with implicit assumption, which can be
recognized by people with the occurrence of ethical or moral conflict during confrontation. This
consideration is basic assumption of individual ethical practice. The author found the unexplored
ethical issues in this context as debatable prevalent situation, which emphasized on the
unawareness of organizational people of handling a problematic issue with the product. This
problem is related to ethical behavior of the organizational people. The considered case is not a
generalized concept for problems and subsequent solutions; instead this was a typical issue. In
case of formal issues, the same can be attended through prevalent cognitive statute, but here the
issue was not related to typical ethical factors in respective content of cognition. The main
critical aspect is the script schemas, which were driving cognition with respective action during
3 | P a g e

not-allowed consideration of issues with ethical perspective as these scripts did not contain any
ethical dimension. (Gioia, 1992)
The third article is 'Beyond ‘bad apples’ and ‘weak leaders’: Toward a neo-institutional
explanation of organizational deviance written by S.C Monahan and B A Quinn in 2006. This
article has emphasized on two different cases. The first case is the mistreatment of convicts in
the Abu Ghraib Prison; and the second is the misrepresentation of information related to
architectural internship. Main objective of this article is to develop an analysis of neo-
institutional culture of deviation within the organizations. The argument of this article was about
the ideal role of any organization which empowers the organization to act after any failure
through prevention, punishment or monitoring through implementation of proper formal
structure. This structure is termed as decoupling. This decoupling enables the organization to
succeed control of individual deviance in both predictable and predicate form of application. The
writers identified the matching environmental ambience related to decoupling, with subsequent
organizational strategies to accomplish decoupling. This article provides a theoretical framework
by connecting organizational formation and stakeholders’ behavior with environment of macro-
level rule. The said framework gives guidance towards long-pending struggle of definition about
research of crime with white-collar status through the continuous consideration of the entity as
environment and respective environment of the organizational entity. (Monahan & Quinn, 2006)
The fourth article is: 'The role of construction, intuition, and justification in responding to ethical
issues at work: The sense making intuition model' written by S. Sonenshein in 2007. The scholar
emphasized on the supporters of a more known view of individual’s response about ethical issues
at workplace. The concept claims that individuals normally use extensive and deliberate
reasoning of moral practice under the condition of ignorance towards uncertainty and
4 | P a g e

susceptibility. This article contains discussion on the limitation of the so-called “rational
approaches” by reviewing their empirical assistance with the use of alternative discussion from
the perspective of psychological, social and sense-making aspects. This specific exercise is
followed by introduction of a new model based on theory consisting of innate judgment,
construction of issues followed by post-hoc justification and explanation. The main objective is
to connect this ethical exercise with the implication of theory, method and practice of
management to conclude in effective manner. (SONENSHEIN, 2007)
These four articles have same issue of discussion- ethical decision making and its implication in
different organizations. It is observed that the first article had emphasized on bridging the gap
between macro and micro effect of human behavior related to practice of morality in
organizations. In this discussion, the role of cognitive skill and subsequent impact of morality
mainly play the role of decisive factors. The second article also emphasized on the cognitive
aspects of the individual, who can understand the role of morality to prove his ethics in
workplace for respective stakeholders. It is also featured that due to lack of clear instruction of
practicing corporate ethics, the stakeholders may face problem, which can be overcome by
cognitive aspects of the individual. The third article highlighted the role of organization in two
different case studies to conclude that the demand of ethical behavior can be served through
decoupling in the organizations, by learning and practicing the shortcomings of the systems
following steps like prevention, punishment or rigorous monitoring. The fourth article focused
on individual following ethical practice in workplace with deliberate and extensive reasoning of
moral practice in the prevailing condition, which does not emphasize on susceptibility and
uncertainty.
5 | P a g e

After reviewing these four articles, I feel that cognitive aspects are more powerful to exercise
ethical practice in organizations with the provision of decoupling to replace the erstwhile
practice of punishment, monitoring or prevention. At the same time, I feel that the workforce
should have proper working atmosphere to practice their moral feeling in working practice,
without any sense of uncertainty or susceptibility.
References
6 | P a g e

Gioia, D.A., 1992. Pinto Fires and Personal Ethics: A Script Analysis of Missed Opportunities. Journal of
Busienss Ethics, 11(5-6), pp.379-89.
JONES, T.M. & RYAN, L.V., 1998. THE EFFECT OF ORGANIZATIONAL FORCES ON INDIVIDUAL MORALITY:
JUDGMENT, MORAL APPROBATION, AND BEHAVIOR. Business WEthics Quarterly, 3(8), pp.431-45.
Monahan, S.C. & Quinn, B.A., 2006. Beyond ‘bad apples’ and ‘weak leaders’: Toward a neo-institutional
explanationof organizational deviance. Theoretical Criminology, 10(3), pp.361-85.
Sheep, M.L., 2006. Nurturing the Whole Person: The Ethics of Workplace Spirituality in a Society of
Organizations. Journal of Business Ethics, 66(4), pp.357-75.
SONENSHEIN, S., 2007. THE ROLE OF CONSTRUCTION, INTUITION AND JUSTIFICATION IN RESPONDING
TO ETHICAL ISSUES AT WORK: THE SENSEMAKING-INTUITION MODEL. Academy of Management Review,
32(4), pp.1022-40.
7 | P a g e