Ethics in Decision Making

Submitted By:

|Ishpreet Singh 12P139 J Abhinav 12P140|

|Karan Jaidka 12P141 Kshitij Agrawal 12P142|

|Kshitij Ahuja 12P143 Ladlee Rathore 12P144|

|Group 4|

|ETHICS IN DECISION| |MAKING|

Well-founded standards of right and wrong Study and development of one's ethical

standardsBranch of study dealing with what is the

proper course of action for man“What to Do?” – Right vs. Wrong; Virtue vs.

ViceMore fundamentally: Indulge in our needs or

sacrifice them for others?

|What is Ethics|

Behaviour a business adheres to in its daily dealings Varied and DiverseMicro and Macro – Dealings with individual customer

and the world at largeManner of making money that brings in the factor of

ethicsEvery business must have good Business EthicsUnethical by Association – when linked with another

company that does unethical businessMore often, money decides business ethics and this is a

bad thingCompanies that pride themselves on their correct

business ethics are diminishing

|Business Ethics|

Changing workplace with diverse workforce propels ethics into the forefront

Varying career responsibilities and increasing workload puts a lot of pressure

Workers face decisions that have implications for their job security, their salaries, and the success of their employing organizations

These decisions pressurize them to protect their own interests, sometimes at the risk of losing their personal and corporate integrity

“Do more with less and adapt quickly to change”

|Importance of Ethics|

Resolving ethical issues requires interpersonal and negotiation skills

Application of employability skills--honesty, ability to work cooperatively, respect for others, pride in one's work, willingness to learn, dependability, responsibility for one's actions, integrity, and loyalty makes one more ethical

Ethical Dilemmas are inherent in the workplace If ignored or poorly managed they tend to

negatively affect business operations and staff productivity

|Importance (contd…)|

The first ethical yardstick is utilitarianismDecisions are made solely on the basis of

their outcomesObjective to provide the greatest good for the

greatest numberDominates business decision makingConsistent with goals such as efficiency,

productivity and high profits

|Three Ethical Decision Criteria|

Utilitarianism

Based on documents such as Bill of RightsRespecting and protecting the basic rights of

individuals such as right to privacy, free speech and due process

Protects the whistle-blowers when they reveal an organization’s unethical practices to the government agencies or the press using their right to free speech


Fundamental Liberties and Privileges

Fair and Impartial CriterionFavored by Union membersJustifies paying people the same wage for a

given job regardless of performance differences

Uses seniority as the primary determinant in layoff decisions


Impose and Enforce Rules

Prospromotes efficiency and productivity

Conscan sideline the rights of some individuals,

particularly those with minority representationFavored by decision makes in “for-profit”

organisations“Best interests” of the organization and its

stockholders can raise a lot of questionable actions

Many critics feel that this perspective needs to change

|Utilitarianism|

Prosprotects individuals from injury and is consistent

with freedom and privacyCons

creates a legalistic environment that hinders productivity and efficiency

Individual rights and social justice suggests managers should develop ethical standards based on non-utilitarian criteria

Satisfying individual rights and social justice sometimes creates more ambiguities than utilitarian effects

|Fundamental Liberties and Privileges|

ProsFocus on justice protects the interest of the

underrepresented and less powerfulCons

It can encourage a sense of entitlement that reduces risk taking, innovation and productivity

Since laying-off is based purely on seniority, sometimes deserving people get laid off

This too can create more ambiguity than utilitarian effects

|Impose and Enforce Rules|

You have been promoted to the post of a manager and now your best friend works under you. Even after repeated reminders he has been consistently underperforming. Would you fire him?

|Situation Analysis – i|

Analysis58 out of 102 respondents have said yesMost of the respondents have given more

importance to utilitarianismBut, there is a significant number of people who

will not fire their best friend

You have to take the interview for a position in your company. You have a choice between a deserving candidate and a relative who desperately needs a job. Whom would you choose?

|Situation Analysis – ii|

AnalysisA clear majority say that they would choose

the deserving candidateThe interviewer should not allow his personal

life to influence his professional decisions

A teacher has to decide whether to honour a union strike and stop teaching or fulfil her obligation towards the students. If she does not teach, the students would not graduate on time. What should she do?

|Situation Analysis – iii|

AnalysisThe respondents were mostly millennials and

they put their own needs before of othersTo teach is the ethically correct decision

because the problem is not due to the students and hence the students should not suffer

Your junior has not been performing well for a while due to family problems and has become a liability, but he is the sole earner for his family. Would you remove him from the job?

|Situation Analysis – iv|

AnalysisMost of our respondents are of the belief that

removing the junior employee is not the right optionHe should be warned and reprimanded, but not firedHe should be given some incentives so that he can

be motivated to perform better

You are in need of money and a person offers you a bribe for some confidential information about your company. Will you accept the bribe?

|Situation Analysis – v|

AnalysisWe did not expect more than 10 respondents

to say that they would accept the bribeHowever in a practical scenario, there might

be a higher number of people who would accept the bribe

A student has to work to pay his college fee. But, his student life interferes with his job and several deadlines have not been met. As his manager, what would you do?

|Situation Analysis – vi|

Analysis57 of 102 respondents have said that the he

should continue working and this shows that they would follow the principles of utilitarianism

They seem to understand that the college going employees have academic workload and some leeway can be given to them

A person is working on a major contract. He breaks a few office rules according to which he should be fired, but it would mean losing the contract. What would you do as the manager?

|Situation Analysis – vii|

AnalysisDepending on the seriousness of the rules

broken, we would have to make a decision as to whether we should fire the employee or not

This ambiguity has led to the respondents not giving a clear majority to any of the two options

Your company has to release a new medicine which can generate huge revenues. But, due to severe competition, it hasn’t been tested properly. As the product manager what would your decision be?

|Situation Analysis – viii|

AnalysisThe pharmaceutical industry is a zero-risk

industry and the company should not play with the lives of people

A certain number of people would resign to avoid facing such a tough dilemma

|Conclusion|Is Ethics good for business?Ethics is a diverse and complex field based on a

lot of factors like Geography, Demography, Psychography, Behaviour, and Perception etc

We have tried to analyze ethical behaviour of people in various fields through the means of a small survey

In our survey 86 of 102 people think that ethics is good for business

|THANK YOU|

Ethics in Decision Making

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