Chapter 5: Ethical Decision Making
A framework for ethical decision making
Þ Ethical issue intensity
Ethical awareness: the ability to perceive whether a situation or decision has an ethical
dimension. It can be difficult in an environment when employees work in their own areas of
expertise with the same types of people.
Ethical issue intensity: the relevance or importance of an event or decision in the eyes of
the individual, workgroup, and/or organization.
Under current law, managers can be held civilly and criminally liable for the illegal actions
of subordinates.
Individuals are subject to six “spheres of influence” when confronted with ethical choices:
the workplace, family, religion, legal system, and profession.
Moral intensity: individuals’ perceptions of social pressure and the harm they believe their
decision will have on others.
The perception of ethical issue intensity can be influenced by management’s use of rewards
and punishments, corporate policies, and corporate values to sensitize employees.
Identifying the ethical issues and risks employees might encounter is a significant step
toward developing their ability to make ethical decisions.
Þ Individual factors
People base their decisions on their own values and morals of right or wrong. Values can be
subjective and vary a great deal across different cultures.
While an individual may intend to do the right thing, organizational or social forces can
alter this intent. Research regarding individual factors that affect ethical awareness
include…
Gender: women rely on relationships, whereas men rely on justice or equity
Education: the more education or work experience people have, the better they are at
making ethical decisions
Nationality: the legal relationship between a person and the country in which they were
born
Age: older employees with more experience have greater knowledge to deal with complex
industry-specific ethical issues. Younger managers are far more influenced by
organizational culture than older managers.
Locus of control: how people view themselves in relation to power (1) external control is
going with the flow, the employee believes the results or outcomes depend on luck,
chance, and powerful people in their company (2) internal control, the employee believes
they control the events in their lives by their own effort, skill, viewing themselves as master
of their destinies and trusting in their capacity to influence their environment.
A framework for ethical decision making
Þ Ethical issue intensity
Ethical awareness: the ability to perceive whether a situation or decision has an ethical
dimension. It can be difficult in an environment when employees work in their own areas of
expertise with the same types of people.
Ethical issue intensity: the relevance or importance of an event or decision in the eyes of
the individual, workgroup, and/or organization.
Under current law, managers can be held civilly and criminally liable for the illegal actions
of subordinates.
Individuals are subject to six “spheres of influence” when confronted with ethical choices:
the workplace, family, religion, legal system, and profession.
Moral intensity: individuals’ perceptions of social pressure and the harm they believe their
decision will have on others.
The perception of ethical issue intensity can be influenced by management’s use of rewards
and punishments, corporate policies, and corporate values to sensitize employees.
Identifying the ethical issues and risks employees might encounter is a significant step
toward developing their ability to make ethical decisions.
Þ Individual factors
People base their decisions on their own values and morals of right or wrong. Values can be
subjective and vary a great deal across different cultures.
While an individual may intend to do the right thing, organizational or social forces can
alter this intent. Research regarding individual factors that affect ethical awareness
include…
Gender: women rely on relationships, whereas men rely on justice or equity
Education: the more education or work experience people have, the better they are at
making ethical decisions
Nationality: the legal relationship between a person and the country in which they were
born
Age: older employees with more experience have greater knowledge to deal with complex
industry-specific ethical issues. Younger managers are far more influenced by
organizational culture than older managers.
Locus of control: how people view themselves in relation to power (1) external control is
going with the flow, the employee believes the results or outcomes depend on luck,
chance, and powerful people in their company (2) internal control, the employee believes
they control the events in their lives by their own effort, skill, viewing themselves as master
of their destinies and trusting in their capacity to influence their environment.
