5.1 Reflective Project: Ethical decision-making
What's the deal with decision-making ethics?
A quick search for ethical decision-making will draw up any number of recommended steps for a successful process. It's hard to filter through this and find out the right way of working through an ethical issue or dilemma. However, one thing this shows is the importance of thinking processes when it comes to making important decisions in all areas of personal and professional life. Here we consider a range of examples and what new understanding they might bring us.
... And why do you need it?
Making decisions can be hard and without proper thought can produce unwanted and ineffective results.
The ethical decision-making process recognises the fact that ethical decisions need to be fair, responsible and inspire trust. And thus works on the basis of looking at all available options, working out what the unethical views are and choosing the best fit in terms of replacing these.
At its most basic, you need good ethical decision-making to be a good citizen and contributing member of society.
- Going purposefully and proactively into any decision- making with focused intentions and desired outcomes, is far more likely to be effective.
- You also need to acknowledge that an objective you may have might have a number of decisions to make along the way and these will need a sensitive and caring approach.
- As this introduction says, there are any number of ethical decision-making processes out there as suggestions that help individuals make decisions not to mention professionally-mandated ones in all areas of the working world; the emphasis here is on finding a process that works for you and you have tried out a number of times.
... and what do we base a framework on?[1]
This is an interesting area as our starting point acknowledges that ethics is not rooted in religion, social practices, feelings or politics, say... so what can we base an ethical framework on? The website www.toolshero.com interestingly maps out five different 'norms or standards' that form this basis; that of utilitatianism, rights, fairness, the common good and virtue.
Consider these 'lenses' and put them in order of the approach you are most likely and least likely to take when making an ethical decision. Be prepared to justify your thoughts. Remember there are no wrong responses here but better points always have more ideas and examples behind them
A utilitarian standpoint would say that an action is only ethical if it encompasses the greatest good for the greatest number and it is an action that does the best in finding a balance between good and evil.
Question to ask: What decision or action will bring the greatest good for the greatest number of people?
Key outcome: Greatest good
A standpoint based on rights dictates that an action is ethical if it does the most to protect the rights of all involved. Ultimately it protects human dignity and the autonomy of people to make moral decisions about their own lives.
Question to ask: Does this decision protect the dignity of all involved?
Key outcome: Protects dignity
Ethical actions based on fairness stress the importance of equality and equanimity in decision-making. It is thought that is influenced by the philosopher Aristotle, who said that "equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally." Therefore all people should be treated with equality irrespective of any other information such as their perceived position in society.
Question to ask: What outcome would treat all stakeholders equally?
Key outcome: Equality for all
An ethical action is one that acts for the common good: to put it simply, an action is only ethical if it benefits the whole of a community or society. This approach acknowledges that we do not live alone but within a society; therefore our actions must be built upon compassion and caring for others.
Question to ask: How can everyone benefit from this decision?
Key outcome: Everyone benefits
An ethical action should be centred around virtue: this emphasises the role of certain desired virtues play in creating a truly ethical society. Therefore our ethical decisions should be based upon what promotes the development of key ideals that our society has placed emphasis on.
Question to ask: Does this action develop our moral character?
Key outcome: Character development
Making a roadmap
Start with an example
1. The ethical issue: what exactly is the ethical issue and desired outcome?
2. Find the facts. Look at everything surrounding the situation at hand.
3. Stakeholders: who is involved here an likely to be effected by this decision.
4. Effects and implications or consequences: what is the result of this ethical or what could happen?
5. The community: what might the immediate community think about this decision and what would public opinion be?
6. Alternatives: have you considered alternative solutions or pathways to take that might have other consequences?
7. Decision: make a decision now based on the three branches of normative ethics: character, duty and consequence.
Expand on this framework and use it[2]
Identify the ethical issues
You might be facing more than one ethical issue here. What's the potential impact of the ethical decision you are making? Who stands to benefit or lose out? Does this issue go beyond a legal matter?
Get the facts:
You simply cannot make ethical decisions without the facts and evidence at hand. You need the relevant facts of the case at hand and ask yourself whether you could learn more about the situation and would that lead to a better decision? Other evidence to gather is who the stakeholders are - are we talking about individuals or groups? And is this a situation where one group's needs matter more than an other's? If so, why? Lastly, what options are there for acting and have you considered different outcomes?
Evaluate alternative actions
Come up with a number of alternative actions you could take and consider them in a balanced way before deciding if one counts or not. This is the chance to use the 5 different ethical lenses discussed above.
- Which option best respects the rights of all stakeholders (The Rights Lens)
- Which option treats people fairly? (The Justice Lens)
- Which option will produce the most good and do the least harm as possible for everyone? (The Utilitarian Lens)
- Which option best serves the whole community, not just some members? (The Common Good Lens)
- Which option leads me to act as the sort of person I want to be and develops character? (The Virtue Lens)
Choose an option to try out
Look at your evaluation of different options and decide which one best addresses the situation at hand. What do you anticipate others would say about your decision? What is the kindest way of implementing your decision?
Reflect on the outcome
How did your decision turn out? Was it successful and how do you know? Having seen the outcomes or discussed it with your peers, would you change anything? What needs to happen now?
Consider where in your life you might need to make ethical decisions.
1. Look back over the last week, month or year and identify where you had to make a decision that involved a thinking process
2. Think about your courses - Career-related subject and DP courses and consider where ethical decisions come into play.
3. Consider the core element of service learning. Where do ethical decision-making processes come in to the process?
4. Think about people you know in professional settings such as parents, friends and other members of your family. When and where do you think they have to make tricky decisions based on ethical issues?
5. Look at the suggested 7 stages of the reflective project process and make links with the decision-making process you have explored here.
1. Identify an issue directly linked to the student's career-related study.
2. Pinpoint an ethical dilemma which arises from the issue.
3. Show an awareness of the ethical dilemma.
4. Identify the key community.
5. Examine differing viewpoints.
6. Develop a personal and relevant evaluation of the ethical dilemma.
7. Reflect continuously at key points in the process.
6. Look at the summarised criteria for the reflective project below and find links between making ethical decisions and the process laid out here.
| Criteria | Keywords |
| Criterion A: Focus and Method - 6 marks | Ethical dilemma and issue Research Question Methodology |
| Criterion B: Knowledge and Understanding in Context - 9 marks | Context Local or global example Alternative perspectives |
| Criterion C: Critical Thinking - 12 marks | Research Analysis Discussion and evaluation |
| Criterion D: Communication - 3 marks | Structure Layout |
| Criterion E: Engagement and Reflection - 6 marks | Process Engagement Research focus |