Ethical decision-making models are useful tools to utilize when planning changes to business operations, solving conflict resolution, or budget forecasting. These models focus on guiding us through the ethical components of a decision and analyzing the consequences of our choices. There are numerous ethical decision-making models, since differing ones have been created for industry specific situations. Out of the several models I’ve researched the two models that stood out to me were: The Virtue Framework; and the Six-Step Decision-Making Model.
The Virtue Framework: Within the Virtue Framework character traits are analyzed to determine how a person should act. It doesn’t merely focus on how a person is in their current state, but rather why they have the character traits they do. This can be particularly helpful when wanting to know more about what motivates a person, or what types of decisions could be made to appease a general population. However, because the framework looks at character, it is not particularly good at helping someone decide what actions to take in a given situation or determine the rules that would guide one’s actions…it can sometimes merely reinforce current cultural norms as the standard of ethical behavior. (Brown University, 2020) Therefore, it can lead to an over generalization of what is an acceptable character trait, and also label a behavior that might not be truly ethical as such.
The Six-Step Decision-Making Model: This model is straightforward and can be used in nearly any situation.
The six-steps are the following:
1. Identify the Ethical Dilemma or Problem
2. Collect Information
3. State the Options
4. Apply the Ethical Principles to the Options
5. Make the Decision
6. Implement the Decision (Beemsterboer, 2020)
The strongest aspect to this ethical decision-making model is that it follows a logical sequential pattern to formulate an ethical decision. Unlike the Virtue Framework that focuses merely on personal character traits, it asks us to focus on the specific issue, research, and to determine the outcome of the decision prior to making it. If the decision will be unethical, then a different decision might be made instead. It loses some ground if it focuses strictly on if the decision being made is just ethical. There are times when an ethical decision is made, but it might not be the best decision, and could hurt a certain percentage of stakeholders in the situation.
References
Beemsterboer, P. (2020). Professional Education. Retrieved January 30, 2020, from dentalcare.com: https://www.dentalcare.com/en-us/professional-education/ce-courses/ce546/ethical-decision-making-models
Brown University. (2020). A Framework for Making Ethical Decisions. Retrieved January 30, 2020, from Brown.edu: https://www.brown.edu/academics/science-and-technology-studies/framework-making-ethical-decisions
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