Decision Making Ethics Is a Philosophical Term

Decision Making

Ethics is a philosophical term derived from the Greek word "ethos," meaning character or custom (Sims, 1994, p. 16). Ethics, therefore, is not just an ethereal concept belonging to the domain of philosophers and theologists, but a universal phenomenon that pervades the very functioning of individuals and society. Indeed, ethics can be said to be the guiding set of principles, based on which individual character, social and organizational custom is built. This is evident from the fact that family and social institutions begin inculcating ethical behavior into an individual from the time he or she begins to develop cognitive skills as an infant. Similarly, an organization inducts a new employee into the company's ethos and methods of conducting business. Thus, it is not surprising that cultural, personal, and organizational values influence decision making in an individual's personal and professional life.

The relationship that personal and organizational values have with decision making emerges when evaluating the impact or outcome of any decision. Formally defined, "ethical behavior" is that which is morally accepted as good and right as opposed to bad or wrong in a particular setting (Sims, 1994, p. 16). Therefore, the ethical framework within which decisions take place determines whether the outcome is to the benefit or detriment of individuals, society, or business. Thus, it is critical that an individual is guided by the right code of ethics and values when making personal or professional decisions in life.

Besides the sheer need to be able to live by one's conscience, chances are that there would be social chaos without a guiding set of principles and laws that define accepted norms of behavior. Perhaps this is the reason why human beings, in fact, derive a great deal of comfort from the presence of authority and the hierarchical structure of family and organizations (Williams, 1996, p. 100). While the establishment of such principles and authority may well be a crucial imperative behind the establishment of law and order, I am personally of the view that all individual, organizational, and societal decision making should be geared towards ensuring that justice has been done.

Indeed, the ultimate objective of achieving social justice for all segments of society has been the impetus for many a legislation on civil rights, workers rights, and human rights. In the case of "U.S. society, the culture itself, has established norms and values that undergird our behavior as people. They are encompassed in our basic values and community standards and formalized into law. The Federal Constitution, State Constitutions, Statues such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, and the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 are all examples of how cultural values create a body of legal standards, which influence personal and organizational decision making" (Sims, 1994, p. 3-4)

As a result, today, American society demands that individuals, organizations, and nations observe the basic human rights to safety, dignity, and equal opportunity, in all their decisions and actions. The emphasis on ensuring the observation of such rights is particularly important in a country like the United States, given the large migrant population. As such, it is key that individuals, communities, as well as businesses work towards ensuring that all segments of society, irrespective of culture, race, or gender, are given a fair chance to earn a decent living, provide for their families, and pursue their personal goals. Personally, as a member of the personnel department in a municipality with a diverse workforce, I try and approach all job opportunities and recruitment needs bearing the preceding consideration in mind. I am also pleased to say that fortunately, my personal values coincide with the ethos of the organization I work for, which is based on an open systems approach. As a result, issues of strategies, environment, diversity, and community are all factors that impact decision making since the organization intentionally embraces the inputs from the environment and society to guide short- and long-term goals (Williams, 1996, p. 100).

However, as a general rule, the extent to which societal values are observed does depend a great deal on organizational and individual compliance. Take, for instance, the expectations of investors that an organization will observe ethical standards in terms of transparency and full disclosure of information. It is common knowledge, post the wave of recent accounting scandals in Corporate America, that organizations were violating such standards. Indeed, the current resurgence of interest in the need for managers and other employees to see the ethical issues in decisions they face has been a direct outcome of the Enron, WorldCom and other corporate scandals. The recent scandals also served to prove that though businesses have enormous responsibility, they often discount and take lightly the impact of some of their decisions, often with devastating results (Williams, 1996, p. xiv).

Indeed, the Enron and WorldCom examples, in particular, highlight the importance of approaching personal and professional decisions from the standpoint of ensuring that justice is served. For, in the end, the short-sighted decisions taken by the management of such companies resulted in bankruptcy, investor losses and most important, employees and their families suffering from the loss of several hundreds of jobs. Perhaps, this is where leadership plays a paramount role in determining organizational concern for employee and family welfare. In this connection, it is heartening to note the advent of enlightened management practices by big businesses, based on human behavioral theories of motivation. For example, using Maslow's model of motivational theory, organizations like Stride Rite Shoe Company in Boston, Merck Pharmaceuticals in New Jersey, and Zale Corporation in Texas have begun to address unfulfilled employee deficiency needs of providing for their children's safety, belongingness, and love. These companies have achieved this by operating child care centers (Harris, 1993, p. 429-433). It is evident in the preceding example that organizational values concerning employee welfare were instrumental in the decision to provide for child care facilities.