Ethical Dilemmas in Leadership

ELP Program
10 October 2014
Dr. Pam Shockley-Zalabak
and Dr. Nina Polok
Exercise:
What Does Ethics Mean to You?

• In your table groups, discuss this

question

• Note some answers on your flip chart

• Identify a person to report out

What does ethics mean to you?
Some typical answers:
• Ethics have to do with what my
feelings tell me is right or wrong
• Ethics have to do with my religious beliefs
• Being ethical is doing what the law
requires
• Ethics consist of the standards of behavior our
society accepts
• I guess I don’t really know what the
word means
What is Ethics?
Simply stated:
“Ethics refer to standards of behavior that tell
us how human beings ought to act in the
many situations in which they find themselves-
as friends, parents, children, citizens,
businesspeople, teachers, professionals, and
so on.” (Markkula Center for Applied Ethics)
What Ethics are Not
• Ethics are not the same as feelings

• Ethics are not religion

• Ethics are not simply following the law

• Ethics are not the same as following culturally

accepted norms

• Ethics are not science

Identifying Ethical Standards is Hard

• If our ethics are not based on feelings,

religion, law, accepted social practice,
or science, what are they based on?

• How do those standards get applied to

specific situations we face?
Can Philosophers Help?
• Thinkers have sought answers to the
question “what should our ethical
standards be?” for thousands of years

• Five approaches have stood the test of

time and offer a foundation or criteria
for making ethical decisions
Sources of Ethical Standards
• The Utilitarian Approach
• The Rights Approach
• The Justice and Fairness Approach
• The Common Good Approach
• The Virtue Approach
Still Not Easy!
• Each approach has something to offer, but…
• We may not agree on what is a good and what
is a harm
• We may not be aligned on the same set of
human and civil rights
• We may have different views of what is just
• We may have different ideas about what
constitutes the good life for human beings
• We may debate which virtues are most
important
• And it’s possible these approaches yield
different answers to a given dilemma
What is an Ethical Dilemma?
• When different approaches yield
different decisions but we still must
choose
• When the alternatives all seem wrong
in some way but we still must choose
• When the alternatives all seem right in
some way but we still must choose
• Note: if what is right is clear to you, it
is not a dilemma, though it may require
courage to follow through!
Exercise:
Identify an Ethical Dilemma
• Think of an ethical dilemma you have
faced in your life
• Identify why it was a dilemma for you
• How did you resolve it?
• Share with your table group
• Choose one from your group and
prepare to report out
Ethical Dilemmas and Leadership
• Leaders, by definition, seek to bring
about change
• This means their decisions will affect
people
• So most of their decisions have an
ethical component, even if a small one
• Also, other people’s ethical dilemmas
are often kicked up to the leader to
decide
A Review of the Five Approaches
• Let’s review the criteria for each of the
five approaches
• As we go, note whether there is an
approach you are attracted to and use
most often
• Note whether there is one you use
rarely or not at all
• Be prepared to discuss in your table
group
The Utilitarian Approach
• Utilitarianism holds that the morally right
course of action in any situation is the
one that produces the greatest balance of
benefits over harms for everyone affected
• The focus is on the consequence of the
action: the greatest good for the greatest
number
• If the action produces the maximum
benefits for everyone, it doesn’t matter
whether the benefits are produced by lies,
manipulation or coercion
• Sometimes the end justifies the means
Problems with Utilitarianism
• How do we determine benefits and
harms? How do we assign value? e.g.
the value of life, the value of money,
the value of time, the value of human
dignity?
• Can we ever calculate all the
consequences of our actions?
• What of justice? What happens to
minorities?
The Rights Approach
• A long history: “all men…are endowed
by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights…among these are
life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.”
• A right is a justified claim on others
• A right to freedom means I have a
claim to be left alone by others or,
conversely, that others have a duty or
responsibility to leave me alone
Where Do Rights Come From?
• Many believe they are given by God: “God-
given right,” “endowed by their Creator”
• Immanuel Kant believed they could be
derived by the exercise of Reason
• The justification of a claim on others, i.e.
a right, depends on some standard
acknowledged and accepted by society,
not simply the claim of an individual
• These may be codified in law, but they
may also be moral standards that most
people acknowledge
Kant’s Categorical Imperative
• For an action to be a moral action
1. It must be amenable to being made
consistently universal
2. It must respect rational beings as ends in
themselves and not as means only
3. It must stem from, and respect, the
autonomy of rational beings
• These three formulations are all
aspects of the Categorical Imperative
Negative and Positive Rights
• Negative rights claim a zone of non-
interference from others, e.g. right to
freedom, right to privacy, right to bear
arms
• Positive rights claim for each person
the positive assistance of others in
fulfilling basic elements of human well-
being like heath and education
• Clearly, rights can be in conflict, and
often are
The Justice and Fairness Approach
• Justice and Fairness means giving
each person what he or she deserves
• Justice is more concerned with what is
right generally, fairness is often about
judgments specific to a particular case
• A long history: Plato’s “Republic” to
John Rawls’ “A Theory of Justice”
• How do we determine what people
deserve?
Deciding What is Just and Fair
• Individuals should be treated the same,
unless they differ in ways that are
relevant to the situation in which they
are involved
• Where might we see no relevant
difference and thus treat people the
same at work?
• Where might we see relevant
difference and thus treat people
differently at work?
The Common Good
• An old notion: Plato, Aristotle, Cicero
• With a new twist from John Rawls:
“certain general conditions that are…
equally to everyone’s advantage.”
• Having the social systems, institutions,
and environments on which we all
depend work in a manner that benefits
all people
The Virtue Approach
• The previous approaches focus on
what people should do; the virtue
approach focuses on what people
should be
• Fundamental question: what kind of
person should I be?
• Virtues: attitudes, dispositions,
character traits such as honesty,
courage, compassion, generosity,
fidelity, integrity, self-control, prudence
The Virtue Approach cont’
• Virtues are developed through learning
and practice
• Character can be improved
• A virtuous person will be naturally
disposed to act consistent with moral
principles
• Virtues are developed within
communities
Exercise:
Which Approach Do You Use?

• In your table groups share which

approach you are most attracted to
and tend to use the most

• And the one you use the least

• Identify a person to report out

Using the Four Approaches
• Each has a unique perspective to offer
• Each can help us evaluate potential
actions in response to an ethical
dilemma
A Framework for Ethical Decision
Making
• Recognize an ethical issue
• Get the facts
• Evaluate alternative actions using the
five approaches
• Make a decision and test it
• Implement with “skillful means”
• Act and reflect on the outcome
Evaluating Alternatives with the Five
Approaches
• Which option will produce the most good and
do the least harm? (The Utilitarian Approach)
• Which option best respects the rights of all
who have a stake? (The Rights Approach)
• Which option treats people equally or
proportionately? (The Justice Approach)
• Which option best serves the community as a
whole, not just some members? (The
Common Good Approach)
• Which option leads me to act as the sort of
person I want to be? (The Virtue Approach)
Ethical Decisions Are Not Enough
• Implement decisions with “skillful
means”
• How can my decision be implemented
with care and attention to everyone’s
concerns?
• How should I communicate the
decision and with what support?
Some “Real Life” Case Studies
• Pam’s story
– Pam describes the dilemma
– Q&A from participants
– Participants’ solution
– What Pam did
• Nina’s story
– Nina describes the dilemma
– Q&A from participants
– Participants’ solution
– What Nina did
Sources
• Markkula Center for Applied Ethics,
Santa Clara University

• Richard T. DeGeorge, Business Ethics,

third edition, Macmillan, 1990