Title: Ethical Decision Making Flashcards | Quizlet
Headings: Ethical Decision Making
Ethical Decision Making
STUDY
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Key concepts:
Terms in this set (29)

Content: Common Good Approach
5. Virtue Approach
Utilitarian Approach
Ethical action that provides the most good or does the least harm
-produces the greatest balance of good over harm
-deals with consequences
Problem with utilitarian approach
Does not take into consideration the consequence of justice
Rights Approach
Ethical action that best protects and respects or advances the moral rights of those affected
-belief that humans have a dignity based on their human nature or ability to choose freely what they do with their lives
-right to be treated as ends and not merely as means to other ends
When "rights" view to ethics is taken, what is the key tactic to adopt
ask for evidence that can be provided that would require your organization to protect the particular interest
Fairness or Justice Approach
All persons should be treated equally
-treat all human beings equally-or if unequally, then fairly based on some standard that is defensible
The Common Good Approach
Life in community is a good in itself and our actions should contribute to that life
-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 reason
The Virtue Approach
ethical actions ought to be consistent with certain ideal virtues that provide for the full development of our humanity. -dispositions and habits that enable us to act according to the highest potential of our character and on behalf of values like truth, beauty, honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, tolerance, love, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence. -"What kind of person will I become if I do this?" Each of 5 ethical approaches help us to determine
what standards of behavior can be considered ethical
Making good ethical decisions requires a
trained sensitivity to ethical issues and practiced method for exploring the ethical aspects of a decision and weighing the considerations that should impact our choice of a course of action
The more unique and difficult the ethical choice we face, the more we need to
rely on discussion and dialogue with others about the dilemma
Markulla Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University framework for ethical decision making: a useful method for exploring ethical dilemmas and identifying ethical courses of action
Framework for ethical decision making
-Recognize an ethical issue
-Get the facts
-Evaluate alternative actions (evaluate options using 5 approaches)
-Make a decision and test it
-Act and Reflect on the outcome
Smell test
What would the action or situation we are considering smell like if we read about in a front-page news article or in a popular blog
Strengths of smell test
-focuses on what other ethical people in society would think. prevents us from taking special advantages for ourselves
-recognizes that morality is about what others think as much as about what i think
-enlists the emotion of shame, a powerful motivator to be sure we're getting it right
Weaknesses of smell test
-only as good as the society we live in
-living with bad smells or unethical conduct for a long time may dull person's ability to notice them
-tells us that an action is an ethical issue but not why it is right or wrong
Smell test is a "quick and dirty" test for
deciding if something is an ethical issue and useful because brand name and a person's rep are important in business
Choices and rights approaches focus attention on
the importance of respect for the individual whereas exceptions and utility focus more on outcomes
Exceptions and choices focus on
how the decision is made whereas utility is concerned with the results rather than the conditions or rules the action can meet
Character/virtue approach focuses on
what kind of person or organization we aspire to be and secondarily on judging individual actions
Utility focuses on
total net happiness for all affected individuals whereas the common good test reminds us that we should consider more than just the goods of an individual
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