Complete the following:

  • Evaluate different approaches to ethical decision making.
  • Analyze the approach you feel works best in resolving ethical dilemmas.
  • Identify an ethical issue. You may use the same issue you used in the first assessment.
  • Once you have chosen the ethical approach you feel is best, apply it to your identified issue.
  • Assess the resolution that your ethical decision making approach suggests for this issue. How valid is the resolution that is suggested by the approach?

Questions to consider

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.

  • What criteria are important to you when determining the level of an organization’s ethical performance? Why are these important criteria? Consider both corporate and personal values as part of the criteria. Examples may include treatment of employees, compliance with laws, or treatment of the environment (such as air quality).
  • Consider your best experience in working for someone who demonstrated exemplary ethical behavior. Or, consider your worst experience in working for someone who demonstrated unethical behavior. For the situation selected, what are the characteristics of the person, from an organizational values approach? In other words, what stated corporate values were modeled or ignored by this person? What effect did it have on the organization? If you decide to discuss this with others, protect the confidentiality of all individuals involved by substituting made-up names for the organization and the individuals.