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Five questions for addressing ethical dilemmas

Five questions for addressing ethical dilemmas Purpose – This paper aims to offer a framework of five questions for analyzing ethical dilemmas faced by managers and professionals. The framework's main purpose is to help individuals understand the nature of ethical issues and to avoid making ethical mistakes – decisions or actions that are unintentionally unethical that they would later regret and wish they could undo. Design/methodology/approach – The framework developed is based on traditional ethical theories reframed into a set of simple questions that have been applied in a variety of private‐ and public‐sector organizations to help managers identify and resolve ethical dilemmas and conflicts. Findings – The benefits of this framework are that the five questions cover the broad range of underlying factors that create ethical issues and dilemmas, are simple and easy for individuals to understand and remember and, considered together, help to identify conflicting ethical priorities. Practical implications – Most breaches of ethics are not intentional and most individuals want to behave ethically. Their breach of ethics is often the result of making decisions without adequately thinking through the implications and possible consequences. The application of this simple framework can help individuals and organizations avoid making such ethical mistakes. Originality/value – The framework has helped public‐ and private‐sector organizations evaluate and cope with ethical issues and value conflicts. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Strategy & Leadership Emerald Publishing

Five questions for addressing ethical dilemmas

Gerard L. Rossy
Strategy & Leadership , Volume 39 (6): 8 – Nov 8, 2011
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1087-8572
DOI
10.1108/10878571111176619
Publisher site
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Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to offer a framework of five questions for analyzing ethical dilemmas faced by managers and professionals. The framework's main purpose is to help individuals understand the nature of ethical issues and to avoid making ethical mistakes – decisions or actions that are unintentionally unethical that they would later regret and wish they could undo. Design/methodology/approach – The framework developed is based on traditional ethical theories reframed into a set of simple questions that have been applied in a variety of private‐ and public‐sector organizations to help managers identify and resolve ethical dilemmas and conflicts. Findings – The benefits of this framework are that the five questions cover the broad range of underlying factors that create ethical issues and dilemmas, are simple and easy for individuals to understand and remember and, considered together, help to identify conflicting ethical priorities. Practical implications – Most breaches of ethics are not intentional and most individuals want to behave ethically. Their breach of ethics is often the result of making decisions without adequately thinking through the implications and possible consequences. The application of this simple framework can help individuals and organizations avoid making such ethical mistakes. Originality/value – The framework has helped public‐ and private‐sector organizations evaluate and cope with ethical issues and value conflicts.

Journal

Strategy & Leadership – Emerald Publishing

Published: Nov 8, 2011

Keywords: Ethics; Code of ethics; Values; Decision‐making; Morality; Ethical principles; Ethical mistakes; Ethical dilemmas

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