Making ethical choices requires a competent understanding of the moral problems and practical approach used for determining the ethical features of choice and gauging the concerns that influence the choices made in the development of action. It is vital to have a method for making ethical decisions every day, and we are faced with the dilemma of making choices on what is right or bad. These decisions of what is right or bad are often challenging to make and are related to the individual framework. Ethics provides us with behavioral standards that assist us in deciding how we act in a given situation. Clearly, ethics revolves around decision making and reasoning why to make such decisions.
Personal Ethical Framework
Ethical dilemmas are complex challenges that do not offer a clear solution that complies with moral norms. My ethical framework emphasizes actions that do well, even though it harms other people. In this framework, the results of the course of actions do the right thing on one side but hurt the other side. However, the best ethical approach produces the best results and least harm for all the affected people (Husick 2017; Collins 2017). My approach focuses on the results of the course of actions, but not the damage was done. Whether the actions are legal or not, the framework finds it ethical to take the steps, although the actions are illegal.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Ethical Frameworks
Ethical frameworks are used by most people to make choices on what sequence of action is right or wrong. Most of them know how they will act when they try to decide what is right or bad. Nevertheless, there are problems with ethical dilemmas because we must choose between what is right and evil. Ethical frameworks help us to choose the most ethical dilemma. Still, they do not provide answers for the difficulties but rather a guideline on uncovering what moral action to take in any given circumstances.
According to Husick (2017), before attempting to apply the ethical frameworks in decision making, various steps must be followed to solve the ethical dilemma. First, facts must be stated. These include what the relevant facts are in the case as well as the unknown facts. The decision-maker must also decide whether there is enough evidence to base the decision on and what groups or individuals are involved in the outcome of the decision. Secondly, determine and identify the ethical issue affecting the group or an individual and what effect does the situation or the decision has on the individual or the group. The decision revolves around what choice is good or bad or between two wrong issues.
Then, an alternative option for acting on the dilemma must be evaluated. To accomplish this, a list of possibilities are evaluated which include
The alternative that will do the smallest harm and produce the utmost good,
Alternatives that best respects the rights of the involved persons,
Alternatives that treat affected persons the same or proportionally,
What alternatives that serve best the society, and
The alternative that makes us act like the kind of people we want to become (Husick 2017).
Lastly, the decision must be made and tested.
The most commonly used ethical frameworks include:
Consequential Framework
The main focus in the consequential framework is the effects of the potential future course of steps by looking closely at the persons who will be indirectly or indirectly. In this framework, questions of desirable outcomes are asked in any given circumstance by considering the ethical behavior of the consequences that are best achieved. People that use the Consequential framework strive to produce the best results.
The main advantage of this framework is that it concentrates on the consequences of the course of actions in a logical approach (Sheila and Paul 2013). This framework is helpful in circumstances that involve people who could benefit from the actions taken while some people may fail to benefit from these actions. Nonetheless, it is difficult to forecast the effects of actions because several of the actions anticipated to yield the best results could be harmful to other people.
Besides, sometimes people behave adversely to the use of negotiation, which is an integral part of the Consequential framework. They recoil from the allegation that the results of actions will justify the means used. More so, this framework doesn’t include a declaration that various things are consistently wrong, as the most exceptional terrible actions could lead to outcomes that are good to certain people. Therefore, the Consequential framework permits these actions to become moral.
Virtue Framework
In this framework, people attempt to recognize the behavioral personalities, whether constructive or destructive, that could encourage them in a particular circumstance. This framework is concerned with the sort of people they should be and the actions that define their character. Ethical characteristics are defined as the things a virtuous individual could do in a circumstance, and he/she pursues to create the same virtues.
A Virtue outline is applicable in cases that question what kind of a being people should be. For it to make sense, it permits for a broad series of conducts to be referred to as moral, because there could be several diverse kinds of acceptable behavior and several ways of developing the framework. Accordingly, this framework considers all the shares of people’s experience and their functions in deliberating ethics. This is because it believes that people's thoughts, emotions, and experiences might impact the development of characters of a person (Sheila and Paul 2013, Collins 2017).
Even though the Virtue framework considers a multiplicity of experience from people, it makes it challenging to decide differences because disagreements can escalate between good personalities and ethical actions. Moreover, since this outline observes one’s personality, it is not helpful to people when they want to make decisions on the course of actions they will take when a situation presents itself or to determine whether the rules used can guide a person's actions. More so, it can often simply support present cultural norms as ethical standard behavior because it is stressed on the significance of the role model and instruction to the conduct ethically.
Duty framework
The main focus of Duty framework is the obligations and responsibilities that people partake in a given condition and considers the ethical responsibilities that people have and the things they are not supposed to do. Here, ethical behavior is defined when a person performs his duties by doing what is right. The main goal is to present the correct actions.
This frame has the benefit of developing a scheme of rule s that has continuous anticipation of everybody only when the actions are correct ethically or when the duty is needed to apply to people in any given circumstance (Sheila and Paul 2013, Collins 2107). Therefore, this evenness treats everyone with equal respect and dignity. In addition, the framework emphasizes the following rules morally or duties despite results; thus, it allows for the probability that a single person could act ethically, even though the results are wrong. Consequently, the duty framework is applicable in circumstances where there is a sense of responsibility or in situations where there is a need to consider why obligation or responsibility dictates or prohibits some sequences of action.
Personal Ethical Decision
Two years ago, my sister was sick close to death suffering after suffering from a sort of a cancer strain. There was a drug that could have been used by the doctors to save her. The drug was discovered and developed from radium by a company of drugs in the town. However, the medication was too costly for me to buy, but the owner of the drug company was selling it eight times what the drug cost in its production. The owner of the company said that he had invested $600 for the radium, and he was charging $5,600 for just a minor dose of the medication.
I went to everybody I identified to ask for the cash and used all legal means to get the money, but I could only raise $1,500, which is less the amount the owner of the drug company was charging. I had lost all the hope, and my sister was dying, I informed the owner of my sister's situation and asked him to sell it at a lower price or give me and pay the balance later, but he declined the request. He said that he discovered the drug, and he intended to make a profit from it. So, having tried all legal means to get money, I got desperate and decided to break into the drug company stores to steal the drug for my sister.
Application of my Ethical Framework in my Ethical Dilemma
In my case stated above, the fact is that my sister was extremely sick and needed a unique drug for treatment. Secondly, there was not enough money to buy the prescription that could cure her, and the drug owner was charging extremely high for a small dose of the drug, which I could not raise. This is enough evidence that made me take the course of action to help my sister recover. In this ethical dilemma, my sister's illness and recovery are of great importance to the money the drug owner is charging. This is because, without the drug, she would have died hence justifying my course of action.
The main ethical concern is that stealing the drug from the store is illegal and unethical. However, the choices made involved doing what is right while at the same time harming the drug owner (Husick 2017). This is because my sister was on a death bed, with the only hope of the radium drug sold by the drug company. Secondly, I had not enough money to buy the prescription and I pleaded with the drug owner to led me and pay the balance later.
It would have been ethical for the drug owner to give the drug at credit and expect payment of the balance later but instead he opted not to give the drug and sell it a higher price that I couldn’t afford the moment. Thus, the drug owner acted unethically but legally when selling his radium drug. Even though it was illegal to steal the drug, I find it ethical because the results of actions were saving the life of my sister from dying of cancer.
Application of Complex Decision-Making Processes to Complex Ethical Issues in the Future
The first step in making better choices is understanding how ethical choices are made and followed while taking a methodical course of actions is the second. In order to make correct ethical decisions, a more complex approach must be followed (Statusnet, n.d.). As decision makers, I must follow a set of guidelines when handling ethical problems in any area in the society.
First, before making any decision, I will take enough time to defining what the problem is. This will help me understand the ethical principles underlying the existing problem. This approach involves doing initial analysis which guides the decision of whether the ethical choice require to be made and what are the possible effects from the choice made.
Secondly, before the decision is made, I will consult the available resources and ask for assistance. This provides a strategy from the resources and people for the purpose of gaining clarity of the existing ethical problem.
Then, I will think of the long-term outcomes of the decision. Identifying the ethical issue and asking for sustainable resources that helps is important. Advices offered to handle the ethical problems must be filtered to determine their effects on other people.
Next, I will consider the regulations used in the organization and other industries. These regulations will form the starting point of creating the strategies I will use to solve the ethical issues. I will look at how other organizations deal with specific ethical issues that they have encountered. More so, I will look at the mistakes they have done when making choices and learn from those mistakes. Therefore, it is important to look at both good and bad sides to get more information about the decision I will make.
Deciding on which choice to make is the next phase of making choices. The choice might touches many people, thus I will make a suggestion of what the problem entails and how I strategize to solve it. Furthermore, for personal problems, I will deal with individual parties entangled and develop a strategy that will sole the issue. Nonetheless, for extensive moral problems that are problematic, I will take the decision to more than one person to help in solving the problem.
Lastly, I will implement and evaluate the choice I make. The ethical decision must be evaluated and implemented. Evaluation process will make people to understand how the method is working and check whether there are unintended results that were not seen in the implementation process. This analysis will help me to figure out whether the implementation was the best response.
Overall, it is important for being an ethical decision maker. Ethics are accepted codes of conduct that govern the conduct of an individual or an organization. I understand my role in determining what people consider right and wrong. I always hope to be a role model in ethical decisions to other people. It is evident from the research that some decisions are ethical to make even if they are unpleasant to other people. Making ethical choices requires a competent understanding of the moral problems and practical approach used for determining the ethical features of choice and gauging the concerns that influence the choices made in the development of action. Ethical frameworks are used by most people to make choices on what sequence of action is right or wrong. Most of them know how they will act when they try to decide what is right or bad. At times, it is difficult to make the best ethical decision because factors such emotions may blind the actions I take. Decisions about what is morally right and wrong saturate in every day’s life. Ethics are concerned about all phases of life such as making responsible people, governments as well as organizations while at the same time making the whole society as whole ethically right.
References
Collins Brianna (2017). Types of Ethical Frameworks. https://classroom.synonym.com/types-of-ethical-frameworks-12083305.html
Husick Lawrence (2107). A Framework for Ethical Decision Making. https://www.fpri.org/article/2017/04/framework-ethical-decision-making/
Sheila Bonde and Paul Firenze (2013). A Framework for Making Ethical Decisions. https://www.brown.edu/academics/science-and-technology-studies/framework-making-ethical-decisions
Statusnet. Ethical Decision Making Models and 6 Steps of Ethical Decision Making Process - Status Articles . Status Articles. Retrieved from https://status.net/articles/ethical-decision-making-process-model-framework/.
