Ethics and Governance | Decision Making and Implication

Ethics and Governance
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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
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role of recognition of the morality of any judgment, which should happen prior to the occurrence
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
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