Business Ethics and You: Making Good Decisions

What exactly makes a decision ethical? The problem with ethics is that what may seem morally right (or ethical) to one person may seem appalling to another.

 

If your supervisor said any of these things to you right now, what would you say?

  • "We're missing key figures for that report. Just fill them in for now."
  • "Just sign that contract for me."
  • "Can you transfer this money to my personal checking account?"
  • "I want you to watch Susan and see what she does on her lunch hour."

 

This workshop will not provide you with an easy way to solve every ethical decision you will ever have to make. It will, however, help you define your ethical framework to make solving those ethical dilemmas easier. We'll also look at some tools that you can use when you're faced with an ethical decision. And, we'll look at some techniques you can use so you don't get stuck in an ethical quandary. Best of all, we'll look at a lot of case studies so that you can practice making decisions in a safe environment.

 

  • Introduction and Course Overview
  • What is Ethics? 
    • Defining Ethics and Morals
    • Values Identification            
  • Taking Your Moral Temperature           
  • Why Bother with Ethics?
  • Identify ethical issues in your work, workplace
  • Kohlberg's Six Stages             
  • Some Objective Ways of Looking at the World                      
  • What Does Ethical Mean?                    
  • Avoiding Ethical Dilemmas
  • Ethics and being a Public Professional (NSW Ombudsman and ICAC)
  • Ethics in a regulatory framework          
  • Pitfalls and Excuses      
  • Keys to an Ethical Career         
  • Basic Decision-Making Tools 
    • The Three-Phase Model     
    • The Problem-Solving Toolkit          
  • Ethical Decision Making Tools             
  • Addressing Dilemmas with Company Policy, Co-Workers, Clients, and Supervisors
  • What to Do When You Make a Mistake

 

Quick Reference Guide

The Six Stages of Moral Reasoning

Three-Phase Decision Making Modelle-Phase Decision Making Model

 

Problem-Solving Toolkit

ü      The Lasso

ü      Is/Is Not

ü      Graphics

ü      Basic Questions

ü      Break it Up

ü      Force Field Analysis

ü      Generalize/Exemplify

ü      Expert

ü      Brainstorming

ü      Checkerboard

ü      Matrix

ü      Solution planning worksheet

I Made a Mistake!

Nan DeMars has a six-step plan for recovering gracefully from mistakes.

  1. Accept reality. Accept that you made a mistake. Accept the consequences of that mistake.

  2. Ask yourself, what did I learn from this experience? If you learned something, then it's a learning experience, not a failure.

  3. Forgive yourself. No matter how much you may want to go back and change things, you can't. Vow to learn from the experience so you don't repeat your mistakes.

  4. Boost your self-esteem. Focus on your good qualities. If you'd like to feel more competent at work, read some books or attend some workshops. Try to solve some small problems to rebuild your confidence. And, make sure you seek support in your social network.

  5. Reconnect. If there are issues lingering from your mistake, address them by acknowledging the problem, admitting your responsibility, apologizing (if necessary and sincere), explain, and ask for another chance.

  6. Get on with your life. If your work relationships can be repaired, then work towards that. And if things don't quite return to the same way, or you feel that your co-workers can't get over it, it may be time to look for a new job.

22 Golden Keys to an Ethical Office

  1. See things as they are, not as you want them to be.
  2. Lead by setting an example of good ethical conduct and good ethical problem-solving skills.
  3. Never give the impression that you don't care that improper actions are taking place.Commit to being involved in the process.
  4. Anticipate ethical conflicts.
  5. Communicate well.
  6. Establish the language of ethics with those in your office
  7. Expect people to have different standards.
  8. Remember that people are normally not as ethical as they think they are.
  9. Define ethical expectations early in the relationship.
  10. Support your boss's efforts to uphold high standards for ethical conduct, communicate about ethics, and solve ethical dilemmas.
  11. Be patient with each other.
  12. Be consistent. Be predictable.
  13. Pay attention to details.
  14. Nurture the communication process with your boss.
  15. Ask lots of questions.
  16. Be organized. Stay focused.
  17. Learn to dodge the ethical traps of over thinking and cynicism.
  18. Remember that virtue is its own good reward.
  19. Protect your key assets (good health, strong self-esteem, desire to improve a situation, good communication skills, and your reputation as a person of integrity).
  20. Speak up whenever you feel more unethical behaviours are slipping in, or when you sense your collective ethics are getting slopping, or when you think convenience is becoming more important than character.
  21. Challenge yourself. Keep learning.

 

Poor Excuses for Bad Decisions

 

The decision is just too difficult. I'm not going to do anything.

Thinking this means you've made a decision anyway, a decision to let the unethical behaviour continue.

 

There's nothing I can do

There's a moral dilemma that you've noticed in your workplace, then there definitely is some course of action that you can take, even if it's just prodding the right person to take action.

 

My job is too important to make any other decision.

What if your job asked you to sacrifice your children to an ancient god? Don't let blind loyalty to your job be an excuse for a poor decision.

 

I was just following orders.

If you're a robot, then this excuse is acceptable.

 

I have to remain loyal.

Are you really acting in the person's best interest by making an unethical decision? Who is this going to benefit in the short term? What about the long term?

 

I didn't have time to make the right decision.

Don't use time pressures of the office as an excuse for bad decisions.

 

Can you think of some ways these keys can help make your office more ethical?

 

The Kidder Process

Ethics expert Rushworth Kidder has developed a nine-step process that will help you sort out ethical issues.

  1. Recognize that there is a moral dilemma.Determine the actor. Are you morally obligated to do anything about the dilemma? Do you have the power to act?

  2. Gather the relevant facts. Determine who, what, how, when, why, and where. Try to predict possible future events that could affect your decision.

  3. Test for right versus wrong issues. Does the moral issue potentially concern lawbreaking? Does the action go against your moral principles? If these questions point out that your decision is obviously wrong, then you can stop at this step.

  4. Test for right versus right paradigms. Is this a case of truth versus loyalty, self versus community, short term versus long term, or justice versus mercy? Generalizing the issue into one of these paradigms helps you identify that the core issue is two values facing off against each other.

  5. Apply the resolution principles. Determine what the resolution would be based on the Golden Rule, Kantian principles, and utilitarian principles.

  6. Investigate the trilemma options. Is there a third way through this dilemma?

  7. Make the decision.

  8. Revisit and reflect on the decision.

 

The Smell Test

When you are considering a solution, ask yourself these questions:

  • How would I explain this decision to my children?
  • How would I feel if this decision were reported on the news?
  • Can I live with this decision? Will it keep me up at night?
  • How would my mother feel about this decision?

For more information or to book this training program with BSI Learning:

02 9215 0196 katrena.friel@bsilearning.com.au 

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