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Ethical Decision Making Model

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In this week’s journal, the discussion focuses on using ethical decision-making models. This week, we will use this week’s reading assignments and week one’s journal assignment to further illustrate the impact of ethical decision-making models. According to the Center for Ethical Practice website, there are various types of ethical decision-making models i.e. the resolved method or twelve questions model (Fisher, 2005). Despite these variances, there are four main objectives; assess, plan, implement and evaluate (Fisher, 2005). Assess the problem and determine if it’s a question of ethics. In the plan step, managers are creating lists of possible solutions. In the implement step, managers make a decision and implement it and in the final evaluate…show more content…
Understanding the impact stakeholders hold in term of the success of a given organization can have a significant impact on decision making. At what level is this impact transparent? For front line and senior managers, choosing to do the right thing in “right versus wrong” decisions should not be difficult to execute. Front line managers may not understand that their decision-making impacts stakeholders; internal or external. Doesn’t the impact of these decisions increase with authority and position? For example, my right versus wrong decision was to decide if I should respond to slanderous graffiti written on a bathroom stall. I could have made the decision not to respond the slander in the same manner. Which stakeholders were impacted? My parents, my teachers, and my peers. In the moment, my stakeholders weren’t as tangible as they are now and therefore their interests were not considered in my decision-making. I didn’t use any step by step approach or any of the ethical decision-making models. I didn’t consider this decision ethical in nature. I believe I transitioned through the four objectives (assess, plan, implement and evaluate) of ethical decision-making rather swiftly. Had I considered asking myself a few basis questions, such as “which course of action best meets my basic obligation”, the…show more content…
The affected stakeholders were the company employees and customers. Though I didn’t make the decision to lay-off the staff, the option of choosing between informing employees and withholding information exists. However, I felt obligated to my role and responsibility as a team leader. For me, the considerations for the values and the rights of the affected stakeholders were to be addressed at a senior level. My role was to enforce the policies as directed by the leadership team and our human resources department. The criteria and factors were presented by within said policies leaving minimal room for conflicting issues.
Initially, I believe that front line managers have limited impact in terms of decision-making. “What can a manager really accomplish, given his or her position and power in an organization” (Anonymous, 1991). Granted decisions made by managers at any level can affect productivity, morale and overall performance. Translating that into stakeholder interests and expectations wasn’t as lucid. Therefore, the emphasis my employer placed on managerial training makes more sense to
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