Lesson 14

human characteristics, solving

moral conflicts

By
Nayana P. Amararawickrama
Meaning to Tension
T
40N 40N

Tension occurs within a material that is being pulled or stretched.

It is an internal force that acts at all points along a rope

(string, chain, etc) in both direction
Tension in the human psyche

T
Mental or emotional strain; intense, suppressed suspense, anxiety, or excitement.

The act of stretching or straining.

The state of being stretched or strained.

A strained relationship between individuals, groups, nations, etc.

Forms of tension

• The tension of relationships

• The tension of the task

• The tension of surprise

• The tension of mystery

Domains of Human Action
Ethical conflicts

• Ethical dilemma can arise due to gross misunderstanding.

• It may arise when an individual must choose between his or her own
interests and the interest of someone else or some other group.

• An ethical dilemma arises in a situation concerning right or wrong

when values are in conflict and right and wrong cannot be clearly
defined.
Ethical conflicts/ dilemmas

• An ethical dilemma is a complex situation where ethical principles or

values are in conflict.
Examples:
• To whom do I have a duty?- self, family, friends, workers, investors,
consumers, future generation, and so on?

What is a fair or justice resolution- is fairness or justice based on

everyone receiving equal shares, or more to those who merit or have
earned it.
Define: Ethical Decision Making

rules Guide / judge

virtues

Ethical decision making is a cognitive process that considers various ethical

principles, rules, and virtues or the maintenance of relationships to guide
or judge individual or group decisions or intended actions.
Understanding ethical decision making
Ethical issue intensity

• Ethical issue intensity can be defined as the relevance or importance

of an ethical issue in the eyes of the individual, work group, and/or
organization.

• Ethical issue intensity reflects the ethical sensitivity of the individual

or work group that faces the ethical decision making process.
Individual factors
• Gender – women are generally “more ethical” than men.

• Education or work experience- the more education or work experience that one has,
the better he or she is at ethical decision making.

• Nationality- cultural appears to be significant in affect of ethical decision making.

• Age- the older you are, the more ethical you are.

• Locus of control- external control vs internal control.

• -external control, see themselves as going with the flow because that’s all they can do.

• -internal control, believe that they control the events in their lives by their own effort and skill
Organizational factors

• The organization’s values often have greater influence on decisions

than a person’s own values.

• The more ethical employees perceive an organization’s culture to be,

the less likely they are to make unethical decisions.
Opportunity

• Opportunity describes the conditions in an organization that limit or

permit ethical or unethical behavior.

• Opportunity results from conditions that either provide rewards,

whether internal or external, or fail to erect barriers against unethical
behavior.
Ethical decision making process
Ethical decision making process

The decision maker must be able to determine:

If there is a possible violation of an important ethical principle, societal

law, or organizational standard or policy

If there are potential consequences that should be sought or avoided

that emanate from an action being considered to resolve the
problem.
Ethical decision making process

The decision maker should seek to gather as much

information as possible about which rights ar6e being
forsaken and to what degree.

A consequential focus would prompt the decision maker

to attempt to measure the type, degree, and amount of
harm being inflicted or that will be inflicted on others.
Ethical decision making process

Once the information has been collected, the decision maker

must apply some type of standard or assessment criterion to
evaluate the situation.

The decision maker might use one of the predominant

ethics theories- utilitarianism, rights, or justice.
Ethical decision making process
The decision maker needs to generate a set of possible
action alternatives, such as:

1.Confronting another person’s actions,

2. Seeking a higher authority, or

3. Stepping in and changing the direction of what is

happening.
Ethical decision making process

The decision maker should seek the action alternative that

is supported by the evaluation criteria used in step 03.

A decision maker selects a course of action that is supported

by all the ethics theories or other evaluation criteria used in
the decision making process
Ethical decision making process

The decision maker, if truly seeking to resolve the

problem being considered, must take action.

Once the action alternatives have been identified in Step 4

and the optimal response is selected in Step 5, the action
is taken in Step 6
Ethical decision making process

Once the action has been taken and the results are known,
the decision maker should review the consequences of the
action.

If the optimal resolution to the problem is not achieved,

the decision maker may need to modify the actions
being taken or return to the beginning of the decision-
making process