Professional / Business Ethics

Slides Sr. #3
 A Framework for Ethical Decision Making

Ethics is not (entirely): not:

 FEELINGS
 RELIGION
 LAW
 CULTURALLY ACCEPTED NORMS
 SCIENCE
 A Framework for Ethical Decision Making
(For study)

 Ethics is not the same as FEELINGS. Feelings do provide important information for our ethical
choices. Some people have highly developed habits that make them feel bad when they do something
wrong, others feel good even though they are doing something wrong.
 Ethics is not the same as RELIGION. Many people are not religious but act ethically, and some
religious people act unethically.
 Ethics is not the same thing as following the LAW. A good system of law does incorporate many
ethical standards, but law can deviate from what is ethical. Law can become ethically corrupt—a
function of power alone and designed to serve the interests of select groups.
 Ethics is not the same as following CULTURALLY ACCEPTED NORMS. Cultures can include both
ethical and unethical customs, expectations, and behaviors.
 Ethics is not SCIENCE. Social and natural science can provide important data to help us make
better and more informed ethical choices. But science alone does not tell us what we ought to do.
Some things may be scientifically or technologically possible and yet unethical to develop and deploy.
 The Six Ethical Lenses
If our ethical decision-making is not solely based on feelings, religion, law, accepted social practice, or
science, then on what basis can we decide between right and wrong, good and bad? To answer this
critical question, philosophers and researchers have suggested a variety of different lenses that help us
perceive ethical dimensions. Here are six of them:

1. The Rights & Responsibilities Lens

2. The Justice Lens
3. The Utilitarian Lens
4. The Common Good Lens
5. The Virtue Lens
6. The Care Ethics Lens
 The Six Ethical Lenses
If our ethical decision-making is not solely based on feelings, religion, law, accepted social practice, or
science, then on what basis can we decide between right and wrong, good and bad? To answer this
critical question, philosophers and researchers have suggested a variety of different lenses that help us
perceive ethical dimensions. Here are six of them:

1. THE RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES LENS

This approach starts from the belief that humans have a dignity based on their human nature per se or on
their ability to choose freely what they do with their lives. The list of moral rights—including the rights to
make one's own choices about what kind of life to lead, to be told the truth, not to be injured, to a degree
of privacy, and so on. Rights are also often understood as implying duties—in particular, the duty to respect
others' rights and dignity.
 The Six Ethical Lenses………….
II. THE JUSTICE LENS

Justice is the idea that each person should be given their due, and what people are due is often
interpreted as fair or equal treatment.
These include:
• social justice (structuring the basic institutions of society)
• distributive justice (distributing benefits and burdens)
• corrective justice (repairing past injustices)
• retributive justice (determining how to appropriately punish wrongdoers)
• restorative or transformational justice (restoring relationships or transforming social structures as an
alternative to criminal punishment).
 The Six Ethical Lenses………….
III. THE UTILITARIAN LENS

Some ethicists begin by asking, “How will this action impact everyone affected?”—emphasizing the
consequences of our actions.
Utilitarianism, a results-based approach, says that the ethical action is the one that produces the greatest
balance of good over harm for as many stakeholders as possible.
It requires an accurate determination of the likelihood of a particular result and its impact.
For example, the ethical corporate action, then, is the one that produces the greatest good and does the
least harm for all who are affected—customers, employees, shareholders, the community, and the
environment. Cost/benefit analysis is another consequentialist approach.
 The Six Ethical Lenses………….
IV. THE COMMON GOOD LENS

According to the common good approach, life in community is a good in itself and our actions should
contribute to that life. This approach suggests that the interlocking relationships of society are the basis
of ethical reasoning and that respect and compassion for all others—especially the vulnerable—are
requirements of such reasoning. This approach also calls attention to the common conditions that are
important to the welfare of everyone—such as clean air and water, a system of laws, effective police and
fire departments, health care, a public educational system, or even public recreational areas. Unlike the
utilitarian lens, which sums up and aggregates goods for every individual, the common good lens
highlights mutual concern for the shared interests of all members of a community.
 The Six Ethical Lenses………….
V. THE VIRTUE LENS

A very ancient approach to ethics argues that ethical actions ought to be consistent with certain ideal
virtues that provide for the full development of our humanity. These virtues are dispositions and habits
that enable us to act according to the highest potential of our character and on behalf of values like truth
and beauty. Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, tolerance, love, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-
control, and prudence are all examples of virtues. Virtue ethics asks of any action, “What kind of person
will I become if I do this?” or “Is this action consistent with my acting at my best?”
 The Six Ethical Lenses………….
VI. THE CARE ETHICS LENS
Care ethics is rooted in relationships and in the need to listen and respond to individuals in their specific
circumstances, rather than merely following rules or calculating utility. It privileges the flourishing of
embodied individuals in their relationships and values interdependence, not just independence. It relies
on empathy to gain a deep appreciation of the interest, feelings, and viewpoints of each stakeholder,
employing care, kindness, compassion, generosity, and a concern for others to resolve ethical conflicts.
Care ethics holds that options for resolution must account for the relationships, concerns, and feelings of
all stakeholders. Focusing on connecting intimate interpersonal duties to societal duties, an ethics of care
might counsel, for example, a more holistic approach to public health policy that considers food security,
transportation access, fair wages, housing support, and environmental protection alongside physical
health.
 Using the Lenses
 Each of the lenses introduced above helps us determine what standards of behavior and character
traits can be considered right and good. There are still problems to be solved, however.
 The first problem is that we may not agree on the content of some of these specific lenses. For
example, we may not all agree on the same set of human and civil rights. We may not agree on what
constitutes the common good. We may not even agree on what is a good and what is a harm.
 The second problem is that the different lenses may lead to different answers to the question
“What is ethical?” Nonetheless, each one gives us important insights in the process of deciding what
is ethical in a particular circumstance.
Case discussions on ethical lenses
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES LENS:
Case Study: Employee Monitoring
 A technology company installs surveillance cameras in its offices to monitor employees' activities
throughout the workday. The company argues that this is necessary for security and productivity
purposes. However, employees feel their privacy is violated, and they believe they have the right to
work in an environment free from constant surveillance. From the rights and responsibilities lens,
analyze whether the company's actions respect the rights of employees while balancing the
responsibility for ensuring a safe and productive work environment.
Case discussions on ethical lenses
 FAIRNESS AND JUSTICE LENS:
 Case Study: Gender Pay Gap
 A large corporation is found to have a significant gender pay gap, with women earning substantially
less than men for similar roles. The company argues that the gap is due to factors such as differences
in experience and education levels. From a fairness and justice lens, evaluate whether the company's
pay practices are fair and just, considering factors such as equal pay for equal work, systemic biases,
and societal expectations.
Case discussions on ethical lenses

 UTILITARIAN LENS:
 Case Study: Whistleblowing
 An employee discovers evidence of widespread corruption and fraud within their organization.
Despite knowing the risks to their career and personal safety, the employee decides to blow the
whistle and report the wrongdoing to the authorities. Analyze this situation from a character-based
perspective, focusing on the employee's courage, integrity, and moral responsibility to uphold ethical
standards in the face of adversity.
Case discussions on ethical lenses
 COMMON GOOD/CARE ETHICS LENS:
 Case Study: Pharmaceutical Pricing
 A pharmaceutical company develops a life-saving drug for a rare medical condition and holds a
monopoly on its production. The company sets the price of the drug at a level that makes it
unaffordable for many patients, even with insurance coverage. Analyze the company's pricing strategy
from a common good perspective, considering the balance between maximizing profits and ensuring
access to essential healthcare for the broader community.