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Descriptive Ethics
Descriptive ethics can broadly be thought of as the study of morality and moral issues
from a scientific point of view. It can be thought of as the branch of ethics that attempts to
develop conceptual models and test those models empirically in order to enhance our
understanding of ethical or moral behavior, moral decision making, and more broadly moral
phenomena. This area or branch of ethics might also be referred to as behavioral ethics.
Descriptive or behavioral ethics, then, describes and explains moral behavior and phenomena
from a social science perspective or framework.
One might distinguish morality from ethics. Morality can be thought of as the set of
norms, rules, standards, principles, or values that guide adherents in their behavior as to what is
right and wrong, good and bad, or appropriate and inappropriate behavior. In this sense virtually
every human has some morality or moral code. Or morality might be considered the practice of
such moral codes among members adopting such standards or codes. To the extent that the
practice of business has such a code or set of norms, we might refer to that practice or practices as
“business morality.” “Ethics” may be thought of, then, as simply the study of morality.
Accordingly, ethics is critical reflection or critical analysis of moral issues and moral phenomena.
Further, business ethics then can be defined as the study of moral issues in a business context, i.e.
an applied area of ethics or ethical inquiry. Organizational ethics can be thought of as studying
moral issues in a broader organizational context.
Descriptive ethics, on the other hand, approaches the study of morality or moral
phenomena by asking different questions. In general, this approach attempts to describe and
explain moral action, moral decision making, and moral phenomena. For example, how do
individuals process and resolve perceived moral conflicts? What are the most important
influences or causes for individuals behaving ethically or unethically? What is the system of
beliefs that guide individuals or groups in making the moral choices that are observed? Answers
to these kinds of questions are descriptive or explanatory in nature. As such they use social
science frameworks that often include theory building and hypothesis testing in terms of
discerning answers. Engaging these kinds of questions in a business context, then, can be thought
of as descriptive business ethics, or the application to the broader organizational context can be
referred to as descriptive organizational ethics.
Other social psychology research from the 1960s and 1970s has been used in business
ethics to show the influence of factors other than individual, rational processes. Of note here are
the Milgram experiments from the early 1960s, in which Stanley Milgram and his colleagues
designed experiments that demonstrated how ordinary subjects would comply with authority in
carrying out orders that were patently contrary to standards of morality. Here social scientists
advanced theories to explain the atrocities of Nazi Germany. Other social psychology
experiments followed, including the Zimbardo experiments of the early 1970s, in which normal
college students (absent direction from a perceived authority) allowed themselves to engage in
abusive behavior in a prison simulation experiment. The Zimbardo experiments were related
directly to the kind of behavior exhibited by guards in the Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad.
These kinds of social psychology experiments and studies have been related to organizational
behavior, in particular in business contexts.
One approach to descriptive ethics is just that, to describe various aspects of business
ethics. This might include surveys of ethical attitudes among employees and managers, e.g.
whether individuals feel pressure to compromise moral principles to achieve organizational goals.
One might describe the kinds of principles that individuals use in making decisions. On the other
hand, researchers might turn their focus on the organization itself rather than individuals as the
object of study (“unit of analysis” in social science terminology), e.g. describing the adoption
rates among Fortune 500 firms of codes of ethics, appointment of ethics officers, and other such
organizational characteristics. All of these questions describe or summarize data about
individuals or organizations. Even anthropological studies might be included in this kind of
research. One might, e.g., engage in a systematic of the ethical aspects of Japanese business
culture.
However, since the late 1980s and for more than 15 years there has been a growing
body of research from which has emerged more complex and complete conceptual models of
ethical decision making and ethical behavior. Of particular note is the seminal work of Linda
Trevino in 1986. She proposed a "person-situation interactionist model" to explain ethical decision
making behavior in organizations. Citing the lack of a comprehensive theory to guide empirical
research in organizational ethics, Trevino proposed a model that posited cognitive moral
development of an individual as the critical variable in explaining ethical/unethical decision making
behavior. However, improving on previous models, Trevino proposed an interactionist model that
posited individual variables (e.g. locus of control, ego strength, field dependence) and situational
variables (e.g. reinforcement contingencies, organizational culture) as moderating an individual's
level of moral development in explaining ethical decision making in organizational contexts. Other
conceptual models followed proposing alternative frameworks and variables that describe and
explain ethical decision making and behavior in business and organizational contexts.
These conceptual models posit various relationships that can be empirically tested, and this is
another critical aspect of this approach, hypothesis testing. Hypotheses are derived propositions that
can be tested empirically, and the results of these empirical studies lead to further refinement and
modification of the conceptual models. There has been a significant amount of such hypothesis
testing in the past 15 years. Such hypothesis testing requires attention to measuring variables, design
for testing such relationships, and selection of the appropriate statistical methods for evaluating
results. Thus, business ethics has developed as another branch of the social sciences.
To summarize this descriptive body of research would be impossible here. However, we can
provide some of the more salient factors that have been studied. For example, it is fair to say, and
not surprisingly, that the attitudes and behaviors of employees and managers are strongly influenced
by organizational factors and context. Factors studied include the existence of formal ethics
policies, the use of ethics training programs, and the commitment of top management in terms of
implementing ethics policies and programs. Other organizational factors include the reward structure
of the organization and whether and how sanctions are used for ethical/ unethical behavior. Beyond
such formal features of organizations, attitudes and behaviors are likely influenced by the ethical
climate as well as the ethical culture of organizations. The behavior of peers and more generally the
immediate job context in the organization are also likely important, as is the behavior and
commitment of leaders in organizations. Included here would be perceived role conflict of one’s
position, what is rewarded in the unit, the behavior and attitudes of co-workers and management, and
job pressure.
The overall objective of the theory building and hypothesis testing approach is not to just
describe but understand and explain complex moral phenomena, and this has been a dominant
approach among those social scientists engaged in business ethics in the past 15 years.
While from a social science perspective, cases and other forms of descriptive story telling would
not be considered a form of “descriptive ethics,” I offer or at least acknowledge the place of
descriptive cases in business ethics. Cases and story telling more generally involve an age-old
approach to understanding and knowledge. That is the tale of an effective story teller. Sometimes
the most effective learning is from a good story that is described or told effectively and has important
lessons to be drawn from the story. In business schools the use of case studies is an old and
venerable method of teaching and learning. While social science and its techniques have been
discovered and developed as tools in business ethics, the description of situations, decisions, and the
consequences that follow might also be considered part of the umbrella of descriptive ethics. Such
“business case studies” typically are descriptions of situations, people, and decisions, leaving the
analysis and lessons learned to emerge from the story itself. Those cases written with a particular
ethical dimension might then be properly considered a form of descriptive business ethics. Beyond
shorter case studies, any longer accounts (such as books) that describe or relate ethical stories may be
consider another aspect of descriptive ethics.
In summary, descriptive or behavioral ethics, in its many forms, can be thought of as a branch of
ethics that attempts to describe, understand, and explain moral phenomena.
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