What Is Ethical Decision Making?
Explore what makes a decision ethical, the frameworks for moral reasoning, and how to navigate ethical dilemmas systematically.
All articles tagged with "Ethics"
Explore what makes a decision ethical, the frameworks for moral reasoning, and how to navigate ethical dilemmas systematically.
Understand the unique ethical challenges of complex systems where good intentions can produce harmful outcomes through emergent effects.
Understand the common ethical tradeoffs organizations face—profit vs people, growth vs sustainability, efficiency vs fairness—and how to navigate them.
Understand the common patterns behind ethical failures—not just bad actors, but systems, incentives, and incremental drift that corrupt good people.
Explore why well-meaning decisions often backfire, and what it takes beyond good intentions to create genuinely good outcomes.
Explore how personal and organizational values influence decision making, often unconsciously, and why clarifying values improves judgment.
Understand the major moral frameworks—consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics, and more—with clear examples of how they guide decisions.
Compare rule-based and principle-based approaches to ethics, understand when each works best, and why most systems need both.
Learn ethics fundamentals—understanding right and wrong, ethical frameworks, and how to think through moral dilemmas systematically.
Understand virtue ethics—focusing on character over rules, how virtues develop through practice, and why Aristotle's framework remains relevant.
Who benefits and who's harmed? Is it fair to everyone? Would it be acceptable if made public? Does it align with stated values?
Wells Fargo created fake accounts driven by sales quotas. Volkswagen cheated emissions tests. Incentives drove fraud when unchecked by oversight.
Moral progress means expanding ethical consideration and reducing suffering over time. Challenges include defining progress and handling cultural differences.
Values are core principles guiding choices like honesty, family, or achievement. Not preferences like pizza, but priorities about what matters most in life.
Relativism says ethics vary by culture and context. Universalism claims some moral truths apply everywhere. Both have strengths and serious problems.
Outcomes affect moral judgment even when control was equal. Drunk driver hitting someone judged harsher than arriving safe despite identical recklessness.
Intuitions come firstgut reactions precede logical justification. Reasoning often rationalizes feelings rather than generating moral conclusions.
Trolley problem: kill one to save five. No good options exist. Moral dilemmas force choosing between conflicting values with unavoidable harm.
Some actions are inherently right or wrong regardless of consequences. Act only on principles you'd want universal. Duties and rules matter most.
Actions are judged by outcomes, not intentions or rules. Utilitarianism maximizes overall good. Ends can justify means if results are better.
Justice ethics emphasizes rules, fairness, and universal principles. Care ethics prioritizes relationships, context, and responsibilities to specific people.