Important steps in analyzing business dilemmas
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One of the most important leadership skills you can possess is a high moral intelligence.
It may appear that bad behavior is rewarded in the corporate world, but it is usually a very short-term phenomenon. In the long-term, good behavior tends to pay off.
What makes ethical dilemmas particularly difficult is that they often involve conflicts between two or more deeply held beliefs. Consider this admittedly simple example …
A friend of yours just had a baby. He’s the most homely baby you’ve ever seen. While holding her new baby boy in her arms, your friend asks, “Isn’t he the best looking baby you’ve ever seen?”
Now you value honesty. But you also believe you shouldn’t needlessly hurt someone’s feelings. You have an ethical dilemma!
Ethical dilemmas flow upward
All of us are leaders, even if it’s just personal leadership. However, when you start managing others, it’s crucial to have a framework in place to deal with ethical dilemmas. Leaders must learn to apply their values, aligned with the values of their organization, to these situations. Ethical decisions are often trade-offs between:
Utility – the value delivered to the stakeholders in your organizationRights – entitlement to somethingJustice – equitable sharing of pain and pleasure
Because of these trade-offs, leaders must be prepared to deal with ethical dilemmas because these decisions tend to flow upward. So leaders must develop a framework to handle these inevitable challenges.
The benefits of an established framework
There are at least four benefits to putting a framework in place for making ethical decisions:
Efficiency – decisions can be made more quicklyConsistency – results in more systematic outputsPayback – builds emotional goodwill with your constituentsSelf-respect – you feel good about yourself when you look in the mirror
3 steps to solving ethical dilemmas
#1 – Know your values
There are certain values about which society agrees. For example, we tend to value honesty. Our discussion here isn’t designed to change your values – instead, it’s about applying them. Before you can apply them, you have to know what they are.
If you haven’t formally contemplated your values, or even if you haven’t thought about it for awhile, check out our article on core values.
Application: Create your list of core values.
#2 – Select a model
According to the book, Moral Issues in Business, ethical theories can be divided into two classifications: consequential theories (the formal term for these is teleological theories) and non-consequential theories (formal name is deontological theories).
The following is not a complete list of ethical theories, but it certainly covers the most significant ones for business people.
Consequential theories
With consequential theories, actions are judged by outcomes. If an action results in a positive result, it is morally right. If not, it is wrong.
It may appear that bad behavior is rewarded in the corporate world, but it is usually a very short-term phenomenon. In the long-term, good behavior tends to pay off.
What makes ethical dilemmas particularly difficult is that they often involve conflicts between two or more deeply held beliefs. Consider this admittedly simple example …
A friend of yours just had a baby. He’s the most homely baby you’ve ever seen. While holding her new baby boy in her arms, your friend asks, “Isn’t he the best looking baby you’ve ever seen?”
Now you value honesty. But you also believe you shouldn’t needlessly hurt someone’s feelings. You have an ethical dilemma!
Ethical dilemmas flow upward
All of us are leaders, even if it’s just personal leadership. However, when you start managing others, it’s crucial to have a framework in place to deal with ethical dilemmas. Leaders must learn to apply their values, aligned with the values of their organization, to these situations. Ethical decisions are often trade-offs between:
Utility – the value delivered to the stakeholders in your organizationRights – entitlement to somethingJustice – equitable sharing of pain and pleasure
Because of these trade-offs, leaders must be prepared to deal with ethical dilemmas because these decisions tend to flow upward. So leaders must develop a framework to handle these inevitable challenges.
The benefits of an established framework
There are at least four benefits to putting a framework in place for making ethical decisions:
Efficiency – decisions can be made more quicklyConsistency – results in more systematic outputsPayback – builds emotional goodwill with your constituentsSelf-respect – you feel good about yourself when you look in the mirror
3 steps to solving ethical dilemmas
#1 – Know your values
There are certain values about which society agrees. For example, we tend to value honesty. Our discussion here isn’t designed to change your values – instead, it’s about applying them. Before you can apply them, you have to know what they are.
If you haven’t formally contemplated your values, or even if you haven’t thought about it for awhile, check out our article on core values.
Application: Create your list of core values.
#2 – Select a model
According to the book, Moral Issues in Business, ethical theories can be divided into two classifications: consequential theories (the formal term for these is teleological theories) and non-consequential theories (formal name is deontological theories).
The following is not a complete list of ethical theories, but it certainly covers the most significant ones for business people.
Consequential theories
With consequential theories, actions are judged by outcomes. If an action results in a positive result, it is morally right. If not, it is wrong.
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