Dr. Kenneth Goodpaster, Ph.D., professor emeritus at the University of St. Thomas One way to think through a decision is to use the “four avenues.” Each “avenue” provides a different way to think about an issue. By working through all avenues, the final outcome is more likely to be ethically strong. The four avenues are:…
While values are the foundation of ethical behavior, an ethical decision-making process lends clarity to difficult situations. Following the process guides decision-makers through problems to reach a workable solution. Using this model helps avoid unethical alternatives and unattractive consequences. Generally, a decision-making process should include the steps shown in the diagram below. Here are some…
As a business owner, there’s plenty of challenges that you know how to handle yourself, but what about when it comes to business ethics? Ethics in business don’t come with an easy playbook or assigned advisor to help you manage them. Your CPA might be able to find financial impropriety, but that doesn’t mean they…
Most people would agree that leaders are responsible for balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders. But knowing that, we are still left with these questions: Which stakeholders should we include? Should some stakeholders carry more weight than others? Once we have considered the situation and the needs of the stakeholders, how will we know which decisions would…
Moral decision making is the ability to produce a reasonable and defensible answer to an ethical question.
Moral awareness is the first step along the pathway to consistent ethical behavior. It begins with an individual’s ability to detect a moral principle in danger or notice the violation of an ethical principle. Individuals who have strong moral awareness appreciate the ethical aspects of a decision that one must make.
There are about 7,000 languages spoken around the world — and they all have different sounds, vocabularies and structures. But do they shape the way we think? Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky shares examples of language — from an Aboriginal community in Australia that uses cardinal directions instead of left and right to the multiple words…
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