Ethical Decision-Making Frameworks to Know for Business Decision Making

Ethical decision-making frameworks guide choices in business, education, and management. They help balance individual rights, community welfare, and moral principles, ensuring decisions are fair, responsible, and aligned with legal standards while considering the impact on all stakeholders involved.

1. Utilitarian Approach

   • Focuses on the outcomes of actions, aiming to maximize overall happiness or utility.
   • Evaluates the consequences for all stakeholders involved.
   • Often summarized by the phrase "the greatest good for the greatest number."

2. Rights-Based Approach

   • Emphasizes the importance of individual rights and freedoms.
   • Decisions should respect and protect the rights of all individuals.
   • Often involves legal and moral rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and privacy.

3. Fairness or Justice Approach

   • Centers on the equitable distribution of benefits and burdens.
   • Advocates for impartiality and fairness in decision-making.
   • Considers how actions affect different groups and seeks to rectify inequalities.

4. Common Good Approach

   • Focuses on the welfare of the community as a whole.
   • Encourages actions that contribute to the well-being of society.
   • Recognizes that individual interests are interconnected with the common good.

5. Virtue Approach

   • Emphasizes moral character and virtues in decision-making.
   • Encourages individuals to act in accordance with their values and ethical principles.
   • Focuses on what a good person would do in a given situation.

6. Ethical Egoism

   • Advocates for actions that promote one's own self-interest.
   • Suggests that individuals should prioritize their own well-being.
   • Can lead to conflicts with collective interests and ethical considerations.

7. Care-Based Ethics

   • Highlights the importance of relationships and care for others.
   • Emphasizes empathy, compassion, and the moral significance of caring for those in need.
   • Challenges traditional ethical frameworks that prioritize abstract principles.

8. Duty-Based Ethics (Deontology)

   • Focuses on adherence to moral rules or duties.
   • Actions are considered ethical if they align with established principles, regardless of outcomes.
   • Emphasizes the importance of intention and moral obligation.

9. Social Contract Theory

   • Proposes that ethical norms arise from an implicit agreement among individuals.
   • Emphasizes mutual benefit and cooperation in society.
   • Suggests that individuals have obligations to uphold the social contract for the common good.

10. Stakeholder Theory

    • Recognizes the importance of all parties affected by business decisions.
    • Encourages consideration of the interests of various stakeholders, including employees, customers, and the community.
    • Aims for a balance between profit and social responsibility.

11. Moral Relativism vs. Moral Absolutism

    • Moral Relativism posits that ethical standards are culturally based and subjective.
    • Moral Absolutism asserts that there are universal moral principles that apply to all individuals.
    • The debate influences how ethical decisions are made across different contexts.

12. The Potter Box Model

    • A framework for ethical decision-making that includes four steps: Definition, Values, Principles, and Loyalties.
    • Encourages a systematic approach to analyze ethical dilemmas.
    • Helps clarify the ethical implications of decisions.

13. PLUS Ethical Decision-Making Model

    • Stands for Policies, Legal, Universal, and Self.
    • Encourages individuals to consider policies, legal standards, universal principles, and personal values in decision-making.
    • Aims to ensure that decisions are ethical and aligned with organizational values.

14. Blanchard and Peale's Three Questions

    • A practical framework that asks: Is it legal? Is it balanced? How does it make me feel?
    • Encourages reflection on the legality, fairness, and emotional impact of decisions.
    • Aims to guide individuals toward ethical choices.

15. The Seven-Step Path to Ethical Decisions

    • A structured approach that includes: Identify the problem, Gather facts, Identify stakeholders, Consider alternatives, Evaluate options, Make a decision, and Reflect on the outcome.
    • Encourages thorough analysis and consideration of ethical implications.
    • Aims to promote responsible and informed decision-making.