What is an Ethical Dilemma? | Definition | GAN Integrity
文章推薦指數: 80 %
Ethical Dilemma. Ethics are the moral standards and principles by which entities (individuals and organizations) govern their behaviors and decision-making. ComplianceGlossary PreviousReturntoGlossary Next EthicalDilemma Ethicsarethemoralstandardsandprinciplesbywhichentities(individualsandorganizations)governtheirbehaviorsanddecision-making.Whenthesestandardsandprinciplesconflictwitheachotherinadecision-makingsituation,anethicaldilemmamayoccur. WhatisanEthicalDilemma? Anethicaldilemmatakesplaceinadecision-makingcontextwhereanyoftheavailableoptionsrequirestheagenttoviolateorcompromiseontheirethicalstandards. Weobservethatethicaldilemmascanbecharacterizedbythefollowingthreeelements: Theagentmustbefacedwithachoiceortheneedtomakeadecision. Theagentmusthavemorethanonecourseofactionavailable. Theagentrecognizesthatallavailablecoursesofactionrequirethemtocompromiseonsomepersonallyheldethicalstandardorvalue. Ethicalstandardsarethemoralframeworksthatindividualsandorganizationsusetoguidetheirdecision-makinganddifferentiatebetweenrightandwrong.Companiesandprofessionalorganizationsmayadopttheirownethicalstandardsandrequirethatemployees/membersadoptthosestandardsaspartoftheirpersonalbusinessethics. Commonethicalpracticesintheworkplaceinclude: Tellingthetruth Takingresponsibilityforone’sactions Followingcompanypolicies Fulfillingprofessionalobligations Followingthroughoncommitments Followingthelaw Actinginthebestinterestsofshareholders Actinginthebestinterestsofcustomers Actinginone’sownbestinterests Treatingothersequally Conductingsustainablebusinesspractices Maximizingprofits Avoidinglayoffs Ethicaldilemmashappenbecauseethicsareinherentlycontradictory.Employeesmayfacesituationswherecompromisingontellingthetruthorfollowingthelawseemstoserveothervaluedgoals,suchasmaximizingprofitsoravoidinglayoffs. TypesofEthicalDilemma Thereareseveraldifferenttypesofethicaldilemmasthatagentsmayencounterinthecourseofperformingtheirrolesandresponsibilities: Epistemicdilemmastakeplaceinadecision-makingcontextwheremoralstandardsconflictandtheagentcannotreadilydeterminewhichethicalprincipleshouldtakeprecedenceovertheother. Aself-imposeddilemmaisonecreatedbytheagent’sownerrorsinjudgment,suchasmakingcompetingpromisestomultipleorganizationsthatcannotbefulfilledsimultaneously.Incontrast,aworld-imposeddilemmaiscausedbycircumstancesoutsidetheagent’scontrol. Anobligationdilemmaisonewhereanagenthasmultipleoptionsandmorethanoneofthemisobligatory,whileaprohibitiondilemmaoccurswhenallavailableoptionsareprohibited. WhatisanExampleofanEthicalDilemma? Ethicaldilemmasoccurregularlyinthebusinessenvironmentwhereemployeesmakedecisionsthatimpactthesuccessandprofitabilityoforganizations. Employeesmayexperienceanethicaldilemmawhendecidingwhethertoreportanincidentofworkplaceharassmentordeclareaconflictofinterest.Inthefirstcase,theemployeemightunderstandthattheharassmentiswrong,butfeelguiltyaboutgettingtheircolleagueintrouble.Inthelattercase,theemployeemightrecognizetheirfiduciarydutytotheorganization,butfeelasenseofloyaltytotheirfamilyandfriendsthatmakesitdifficulttodotherightthing. HowDoYouIdentifyanEthicalDilemma? Expertsagreethatidentifyinganethicaldilemmastartswithrecognizingyourgutreactiontoaproblematicsituation.Ifadecisionseemstochallengeyourmoralcompass,it’stimetotakeastepbackandinvestigatefurther. Youmightproceedbywritingdown: Thedecisionyouneedtomake. Thevariousoptionsorcoursesofactionavailable. Theethicalprosandconsofeachavailableaction. HowDoYouResolveanEthicalDilemma? Anethicaldilemmadoesnotalwaysofferaclearsolutionthatconformswithethicalnorms.Here’showentitiescancopewiththemostchallengingethicaldilemmas: TalkitOut–Thebestwaytodeterminewhetheradilemmaexistsistodiscussitwithotherpeople.Acollectiveanalysisofthesituationcanshedlightonwhetheradilemmareallyexistsandthemoralimplicationsofeachavailableoption.Thismightinvolvereportingtheincidenttoyourcompany’shotlinesothatyoumaydiscussthesituationwiththecomplianceteamandgetproperguidance. UnderstandDuties&Obligations–Agreatwaytoapproachanyethicaldilemmasisfromthestandpointofunderstandingtheagent’sdutiesinthesituation.Inabusinesscontext,afiduciarydutytotheorganizationslegallyobligatestheagenttoactinthebestinterestsofshareholders.Contractualobligationscanalsoplayaroleindetermininghowtoresolveanethicaldilemma. MaximizetheGood&MinimizetheBad–Whenaproblemhasnoperfectsolution,thebestapproachistoanalyzetheoutcomesofeachpotentialactionandchoosetheactionwiththegreatestpositiveimpactandleastnegativeimpact. RelatedResources TheEUWhistleblowingDirective:FindingtheRightSolution ImprovingYourCompany’sRiskAssessmentProcess KeepLearning BestPractices WhatBuildinganEthicalCultureActuallyLooksLikeInPractice Ethicsandcomplianceprofessionalstalkabout“buildinganethicalculture”sooften,thatsometimesIworryaboutthatphrase—thatitcanbecomesomethingofacrutch,carryingtoobigofanideaforfoursmallwords. Solet’stalkaboutbuildinganethicalcultureinpractice.Whatdoesthephraseactuallyentail,whenacompliance…ReadMore CCOInsights “Technically”–orEthically? eBook ABlueprintforanAutomatedComplianceProgram:ThirdEdition MoreResources
延伸文章資訊
- 1What Is An Ethical Dilemma - Science ABC
An ethical dilemma is a conflict between alternatives, where no matter what a person does, some e...
- 2Ethical dilemma - Wikipedia
In philosophy, ethical dilemmas, also called ethical paradoxes or moral dilemmas, are situations ...
- 3What is an Ethical Dilemma? | Definition | GAN Integrity
Ethical Dilemma. Ethics are the moral standards and principles by which entities (individuals and...
- 4ethical dilemma - 倫理困境 - 國家教育研究院雙語詞彙
倫理困境. ethical dilemma. 中國大陸譯名: 伦理困境 類別: 人力資源與組織行為組. 以ethical dilemma 進行詞彙精確檢索結果. 出處/學術領域, 英文詞彙, 中...
- 510. What is a Moral (Ethical) Dilemma? - VIVA Open Publishing
A moral (ethical) dilemma is a situation that involves a choice, decision, act/action, solution t...