Influences on ethical decision-making - Understandng ethical decision-making - Lecture: Individual factors in ethics

4 important questions on Influences on ethical decision-making - Understandng ethical decision-making - Lecture: Individual factors in ethics

What are the 5 individual factors that influence ethical decision-making?

  • Age and gender: very mixed results
  • Education and employment: some differences in ethical decision-making between those with different educational and professional experience; business school students argued to have more egoistic values and amoral view of economy; experience brings decision-making skills.
  • Psychological factors: cognitive moral development and locus of control (internal vs external)
  • Personal values and integrity: holding to your own ethical principles and values, impact on whistleblowing (integrity as consistency)
  • Moral imagination: seeing the decision as ethical, and imagining alternative solutions

In terms of the psychological factors, what are the 3 levels of reasoning that have been distinguished by Kohlberg? Here it is about the theory that explains the different reasoning processes that individuals would use to make ethical judgements as they mature through childhood into adulthood. Issue is not what is decided, but how the decision is reached in terms of the individual's reasoning process.

  1. individual exhibits concern with self-interest and external rewards and punishments
  2. Social expectations
  3. individual is developing more authonomous decision-making based on principles of rights and justice rather than external influences

What does it mean when one has a strong internal locus of control?

They are expected to be more likely to consider the consequences of their actions for others and take more responsibility for their actions.
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What is whistleblowing as part of the personal integrity, which plays a central role in incidents of whistleblowing?

Intentional acts by employees to expose, either internally or externally, perceived ethical or legal violations by their organisations.

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