Ethical Decision Essay

What makes an ethical decision or issue, ethical?   How would you explain the differences between ethical/nonethical and ethical/unethical? What ethical issues or dilemmas have you experienced in the workplace?   Are any ethical issues or dilemmas presently being discussed at your school?

Companies establish ethics policies as a way to identify expectations of workers and to offer guidance on handling common ethical problems that might arise in the course of doing business. For an organization to determine whether a behavior is ethical or unethical, the terms must be defined. The term ethical behavior refers to how an organization ensures that all its decisions, actions, and stakeholder interactions conform to the organization’s moral and professional principles; and unethical behaviors are considered when the actions of employees are not conforming to social or professional standards.

Ethics: The process of determining right and wrong conduct.
Ethical System: A specific formula for distinguishing right from wrong.
Unethical: An action or conduct which violates the principles of one or more ethical systems, or which is counter to an accepted ethical value, such as honesty.
Non-ethical considerations: Powerful human motivations that are not based on right or wrong, but on considerations of survival and well-being, such as health, security, love, wealth, or self esteem.
Ethical Dilemma: This is an ethical problem in which the ethical choice involves ignoring a powerful non-ethical consideration. Do the right thing, but lose your job, a friend, a lover, or an opportunity for advancement. A non-ethical consideration can be powerful and important enough to justify choosing it over the strict ethical action.
Ethical Conflict: When two ethical principles demand opposite results in the same situation, this is an ethical conflict. Solving ethical conflicts may require establishing a hierarchy or priority of ethical principles, or examining the situation through...