An ethical dilemma is a problem where a person has to choose between a moral and an

immoral act. Employees must deal with pressures to perform and help the company succeed as
well as deal with personal temptations to take the easy way out.Ma.

Examples of ethical dilemmas

Some examples of ethical dilemma examples include: Taking credit for others' work.
Offering a client a worse product for your own profit. Utilizing inside knowledge for your
own profit.

Ethical
dilemma

1 Choosing between options with conflicting merits and costs

The values of intended beneficiaries clash with those of humanitarian

2
institutions

3 Ethical conflicts perceived within a hierarchy of moral obligation

3.3 Solving Ethical Dilemmas

1. Determine whether there is an ethical issue or/and dilemma. ...
2. Identify the key values and principles involved. ...
3. Rank the values or ethical principles which – in your professional judgement –
are most relevant to the issue or dilemma.

Introduction
1. Recognize there is an issue.
2. Identify the problem and who is involved.
3. Consider the relevant facts, laws and principles.
4. Analyze and determine possible courses of action.
5. Implement the solution.
6. Evaluate and follow up.

Honesty, Responsibility, Reliability, Goal-Oriented, Job-Focused

 Honestly there are more than three of such a contra virtual subject.
 Choice between equally undesirable alternatives.
 Different courses of action possible.
 Involves value judgments about actions or consequences.
 Data will not help resolve issue.
More items...
•
Feb 11, 2015
Ethical dilemmas may occur because of conflicting values between two or more people in an
organization. One manager may value product quality over quantity while another manager may
value thriftiness. ... Without a culture of shared values, the least ethical choice may be
approved.

What Causes an Ethical Dilemma in Conducting Business?

by Terry Mann; Reviewed by Elisa Shoenberger, M.B.A.; Updated March 19,
2019

Related Articles

 1Institutionalize Ethics in a Corporation

 2What Is the Relationship Among Virtue, Values & Moral Concepts in Individual
and Business Contexts?
 3How Would an Organizational Code of Ethics Help Ensure Ethical Business
Behavior?
 4What Does Discretion Mean in the Business World?

In a perfect world, businesses and their employees would always do the right thing.

Unfortunately, in the real world, ethical dilemmas are a common occurrence in the

workplace. An ethical dilemma is a problem where a person has to choose between a

moral and an immoral act. Employees must deal with pressures to perform and help the

company succeed as well as deal with personal temptations to take the easy way out. In

the end, workers will likely face many dilemmas in their careers; companies should

provide training and information to assist them in making the right decision.
Pressure from Management

Each company's culture is different, but some companies stress profits and results

above all else. In these environments, management may turn a blind eye to ethical

breaches if a worker produces results, given the firm's mentality of "the end justifies the

means." Whistle-blowers may be reluctant to come forward for fear of being regarded

as untrustworthy and not a team player. Therefore, ethical dilemmas can arise when

people feel pressured to do immoral things to please their bosses or when they feel that

they can't point out their coworkers' or superiors' bad behaviors.

Examples from the business world are legion. Enron's management aggressively

steered its employees and consultants towards a misleading form of accounting that

greatly inflated company profits. Wells Fargo pressured account executives to open

bogus accounts and services for customers who never requested them. GMAC

Mortgage, along with other financial firms, were fined millions of dollars for

"robosigning", a practice that had mortgages approved without the careful review

normally given. Engineers at Volkswagen designed software to provide misleading

results for automotive emissions tests.

Ambition and Discrimination

Individual workers may be under financial pressure or simply hunger for recognition. If

they can't get the rewards they seek through accepted channels, they may be

desperate enough to do something unethical, such as falsifying numbers or taking

credit for another person's work to get ahead.

Though diversity is an important part of business, some people may not be comfortable

with people from different backgrounds and possibly be reluctant to treat them fairly.

This kind of discrimination is not only unethical but illegal and still remains common.

Used as Negotiation Tactics

While these factors can cause ethical dilemmas for workers within their own companies,

doing business with other firms can also present opportunities for breaches. Pressure to

get the very best deal or price from another business can cause some workers to

negotiate in bad faith or lie to get a concession. Negotiators may also try to bribe their
way to a good deal. While this is illegal in the U.S., it still sometimes happens; in other

nations, it is more common, and sometimes even expected, which can put negotiators

in a difficult position.

Value Ethical Behavior

These ethical dilemmas can be difficult for workers to grapple with, especially if they

don't know what the company's official guidelines are. Therefore, it is in an

organization's best interest to provide ethical training to its employees, to help them

identify unethical behavior and give them tools with which to comply. Every company

should have an ethical policy that spells out its penalties for infractions. Moreover,

management must lead by example, showing that the company takes ethics seriously

and that violators will be punished according to the organization's policies, including

possible suspension or termination.

search titles subjects organizations

CONTRACT TEXT
EXPAND CONTENTS
DETACH
NO HIGHLIGHTING

Disaster Management Ethics - Trainer's Guide - 1st Edition (Disaster Management Training
Programme, 104 p.)
TOPIC 2: Providing humanitarian assistance to displaced populations and refugees
(introduction...)
21. Introduction
22. Three types of ethical dilemmas
 23. Ethical issues
24. More ethical issues
25. Ethical Issue #1
26. Ethical Issue #2
27. Ethical Issue #3
28. Ethical Issue #4
29. Ethical Issue #5
30. Ethical Issue #6
31. Ethical Issue #7
32. Ethical Issue #8
33. Ethical Issue #9
34. Ethical Issue #10
35. Summary
CONTINUE?
Expanding the text here will generate a large amount of data for your browser to
display

22. Three types of ethical dilemmas

Figure

Review the three types of ethical dilemmas that Ken Wilson specified in his essay.
Return to the list of ethical issues developed by participants and identify what type of
dilemma each is, according to Wilson's typology. Are there other types that should be
included in the list? Is Wilson's methodology for resolution of the dilemma feasible?
If not, why not?

Ethical dilemma Methodology for resolution

1 Choosing between options with Professional training to make most effective decisions
conflicting merits and costs
2 The values of intended beneficiaries Mechanisms of participation and empowerment to
clash with those of humanitarian facilitate negotiated decision-making and problem
institutions resolution
3 Ethical conflicts perceived within a Consensus around the sanctity of life can serve as the
hierarchy of moral obligations ultimate value superseding moral constrictions of military,
economic and political interests

23. Ethical issues

Figure

Show the list of issues to participants and compare it to the list they developed. Are
there any additional issues listed?

OPTIONAL EXERCISE: Review issues from the list that have not been adequately
covered by the group. Overheads 24-33 each focus on one issue and excerpts from the
module have been inserted below to inform your review. The text of the module
provides additional background on each of the issues and may helpfully inform your
leadership of discussion on this topic.

1. Negotiating interests of major actors to obtain a compromise that, as far as

possible, reflects the needs and aspirations of the displaced people and refugees

2. Trading rights of access to beneficiaries in return for keeping quiet about

human rights abuses

3. Maintaining "neutrality" and working on all sides of a conflict or working on

only one side

4. Selecting key policies and program priorities

24. More ethical issues

Figure
5. Labeling and counting of beneficiaries
6. Providing relief versus securing rights
7. Developing participatory processes
8. Assisting displaced people, refugees and local hosts
9. Addressing the needs of women
10. Obligations to staff

25. Ethical Issue #1

Figure

Negotiating the interests of major actors

The strategies for pressing these interests include: a thorough knowledge and active
deployment of international humanitarian and refugee law; an in-depth understanding
of the political and military agendas of the various parties (and hence the ability to see
windows of opportunity); a reputation for being trustworthy and nonpartisan; having
well-presented and highly reliable firsthand knowledge; judicious use of local and
international media; active networking to mobilize opinion and build agreements; and,
forging links with progressive organizations and social movements in the affected
region which can, in turn, put pressure on the authorities and the military.

Is it possible to arrive at common ethical standards when the ethical values motivating
different agencies vary considerably (depending on the nature and origin of the
agencies)?

 Can the varied priorities and resources of different agencies be coordinated to

complement one another and serve a commonly negotiated goal?

 Are there ethical standards that may prevent collaborative efforts between some
organizations? What might justify an uncoordinated or even uncooperative approach?

26. Ethical Issue #2

Figure

Trading rights of access to beneficiaries in return for keeping quiet about human
rights abuses

Compromises need to be carefully deliberated, considering short-and long-term

consequences; the consequences of providing relief at the expense of continued
human rights abuses, oppression and/or human suffering; the importance and impact
of having a field presence, however insignificant logistically.
 Ethical Dilemma
A problem in the decision-making process between two possible but unacceptable
options from an ethical perspective
Home › Resources › Knowledge › Other › Ethical Dilemma
What is an Ethical Dilemma?

An ethical dilemma (ethical paradox or moral dilemma) is a problem in the decision-making

process between two possible options, neither of which is absolutely acceptable from an ethical
perspective. Although we face many ethical and moral problems in our life, most of them come
with relatively straightforward solutions.

 
 

On the other hand, ethical dilemmas are extremely complicated challenges that cannot be easily
solved. Therefore, the ability to find the optimal solution for ethical dilemmas is critical to
everyone.
Every person can encounter an ethical dilemma in almost every aspect of their life, including
personal, social, and professional.

How to solve an ethical dilemma?

The biggest challenge of ethical dilemma is that it does not offer an obvious solution that would
comply with ethical norms. Throughout the history of humanity, people always faced ethical
dilemmas, and philosophers aimed and worked to find solutions to the problems.

By far, the following approaches to solve an ethical dilemma were deduced:

 Refute the paradox (dilemma): The situation must be carefully analyzed. In

some cases, the existence of the dilemma can be logically refuted.
 Value theory approach: Choose the alternative that offers the greater good
and the lesser evil.
 Find alternative solutions: In some cases, the problem can be reconsidered,
and the new alternative solutions may arise.

Examples of ethical dilemmas

Some examples of ethical dilemma examples include:

 Taking credit for others’ work

 Offering a client a worse product for your own profit
 Utilizing inside knowledge for your own profit

Ethical dilemmas in business

Ethical dilemmas are especially significant in professional life, as they frequently occur in the
workplace. Some companies and professional organizations (e.g., CFA) adhere to their
own codes of conduct and ethical standards. Violation of the standards may lead to disciplinary
sanctions.

Almost every aspect of the business can become a possible ground for ethical dilemmas. It may
include relationships with co-workers, management, clients, and business partners.

The people’s inability to determine the optimal solution for ethical dilemmas in the professional
setting may result in serious consequences for businesses and organizations. The situation may
be common in companies that value results the most.
In order to solve ethical problems, companies and organizations should develop strict ethical
standards for their employees. Every company must demonstrate its concerns regarding the
ethical norms within the organization. In addition, companies may provide ethical training for
their employees.

More resources

CFI offers the Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)™ certification program for
those looking to take their careers to the next level. To keep learning and advancing your career,
the following resources will be helpful:

 Business Ethics
 Top Accounting Scandals
 Types of Due Diligence
 Whistleblower Policy

Financial Analyst Certification

Become a certified Financial Modeling and Valuation Analyst (FMVA)® by completing CFI’s

online financial modeling classes and training program!
 Company
o About
o Team
o Careers
o Reviews
o For Enterprise
o For Universities
 Certifications
o Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)®
o Certified Banking & Credit Analyst (CBCA)™
o CPE Credits
 Courses
o Accounting
o Excel
o Finance
o Financial Modeling
o All Courses
 Support
o Financial Aid
o 1% Pledge
o Help | FAQ
o Contact Us
o Scholarships
 Resources
o Knowledge Library
o Templates
o Jobs & Careers
o Excel Skills
o eBooks

   
© 2015 to 2020 CFI Education Inc.
  Privacy
 ToC
 ToS
 Legal


 Business Ethics and Corporate

Governance, Second Edition by
A. C. Fernando


 WHAT IS AN ETHICAL DILEMMA?

 An ethical dilemma is a moral situation in which a choice

has to be made between two equally undesirable
alternatives. Dilemmas may arise out of various sources
of behaviour or attitude, as for instance, it may arise out
of failure of personal character, conflict of personal
values and organizational goals, organizational goals
versus social values, etc. A business dilemma exists
when an organizational decision maker faces a choice
between two or more options that will have various
impacts on (i) the organization’s profitability and
competitiveness; and (ii) its stakeholders. ‘In situations
of this kind, one must act out of prudence to take a
better decision. As we can see, many of these ethical
choices involve conflicts ...
Ethical Dilemma Examples
7th grade8th grade9th gradeMiddle SchoolHigh SchoolCollege
Ethical dilemmas, also known as a moral dilemmas, are situations in which there
is a choice to be made between two options, neither of which resolves the
situation in an ethically acceptable fashion. In such cases, societal and personal
ethical guidelines can provide no satisfactory outcome for the chooser.
Ethical dilemmas assume that the chooser will abide by societal norms, such as
codes of law or religious teachings, in order to make the choice ethically
impossible.

Ethical Dilemma Situations

Personal Friendships
Michael had several friends including Roger and Daniel. Roger has recently met
and started dating a wonderful lady named Phyllis. He is convinced this is a long
term relationship. Unknown to Roger, Michael observed them at a restaurant
several days ago and realized Phyllis is the wife of his other friend Daniel.
Michael is deciding whether to tell Roger that Phyllis is married when he
receives a call from Daniel. Daniel suspects his wife is having an affair and since
they and Michael share many friends and contacts, he asks if Michael has heard
anything regarding an affair.
To whom does Michael owe greater friendship to in this situation? No matter
who he tells, he is going to end up hurting one, if not both friends. Does he
remain silent and hope his knowledge is never discovered?

Societal Dilemmas
An article on ListVerse compiled a list of Top 10 moral dilemmas and asked
readers to consider what they would do in those situations. Here is an example
of one of the Top 10 ethical dilemmas they proposed:
A pregnant woman leading a group of people out of a cave on a coast is stuck in
the mouth of that cave. In a short time high tide will be upon them, and unless
she is unstuck, they will all be drowned except the woman, whose head is out of
the cave. Fortunately, (or unfortunately,) someone has with him a stick of
dynamite. There seems no way to get the pregnant woman loose without using
the dynamite which will inevitably kill her; but if they do not use it everyone will
drown. What should they do?

The Institute for Global Ethics also proposed the following ethical dilemma to
promote a global understanding of ethics and to promote ethical decision
making:
The mood at Baileyville High School is tense with anticipation. For the first time
in many, many years, the varsity basketball team has made it to the state
semifinals. The community is excited too, and everyone is making plans to
attend the big event next Saturday night.Jeff, the varsity coach, has been
waiting for years to field such a team. Speed, teamwork, balance: they've got it
all. Only one more week to practice, he tells his team, and not a rule can be
broken. Everyone must be at practice each night at the regularly scheduled
time: No Exceptions.Brad and Mike are two of the team's starters. From their
perspective, they're indispensable to the team, the guys who will bring victory
to Baileyville. They decide-why, no one will ever know-to show up an hour late to
the next day's practice.

Jeff is furious. They have deliberately disobeyed his orders. The rule says they
should be suspended for one full week. If he follows the rule, Brad and Mike will
not play in the semifinals. But the whole team is depending on them. What
should he do?

Harverford.edu also presents a series of dilemma called Kohlberg dilemmas as

part of one of their psychology classes. These are named after Lawrence
Kohlberg, who studied moral development and who proposed a theory that
moral thinking goes in stages.
Some examples of Kohlberg dilemmas presented to students at Haverford
include the following:
Joe is a fourteen-year-old boy who wanted to go to camp very much. His father
promised him he could go if he saved up the money for it himself. So Joe worked
hard at his paper route and saved up the forty dollars it cost to go to camp, and
a little more besides. But just before camp was going to start, his father
changed his mind. Some of his friends decided to go on a special fishing trip,
and Joe's father was short of the money it would cost. So he told Joe to give him
the money he had saved from the paper route. Joe didn't want to give up going
to camp, so he thinks of refusing to give his father the money.In Europe, a
woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that
the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in
the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but
the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid
$400 for the radium and charged $4,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick
woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money and
tried every legal means, but he could only get together about $2,000, which is
half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying, and asked him
to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said, "No, I discovered the
drug and I'm going to make money from if." So, having tried every legal means,
Heinz gets desperate and considers breaking into the man's store to steal the
drug for his wife.Judy was a twelve-year-old girl. Her mother promised her that
she could go to a special rock concert coming to their town if she saved up from
baby-sitting and lunch money to buy a ticket to the concert. She managed to
save up the fifteen dollars the ticket cost plus another five dollars. But then her
mother changed her mind and told Judy that she had to spend the money on
new clothes for school. Judy was disappointed and decided to go to the concert
anyway. She bought a ticket and told her mother that she had only been able to
save five dollars. That Saturday she went to the performance and told her
mother that she was spending the day with a friend. A week passed without her
mother finding out. Judy then told her older sister, Louise, that she had gone to
the performance and had lied to her mother about it. Louise wonders whether to
tell their mother what Judy did.

Information Access
The advent of email in the business world surely has created new ground for
moral dilemmas involving information access and privacy.
Tony, a data analyst for a major casino, is working after normal business hours
to finish an important project. He realizes that he is missing data that had been
sent to his coworker Robert.Tony had inadvertently observed Robert typing his
password several days ago and decides to log into Robert's computer and
resend the data to himself. Upon doing so, Tony sees an open email regarding
gambling bets Robert placed over the last several days with a local sports book.
All employees of the casino are forbidden to engage in gambling activities to
avoid any hint of conflict of interest.

Tony knows he should report this but would have to admit to violating the
company's information technology regulations by logging into Robert's
computer. If he warns Robert to stop his betting, he would also have to reveal
the source of his information. What does Tony do in this situation?

Professional Life Versus Family Life

Another example of an ethical dilemma involves professional ethics versus the
best care of your child:
Alan works in the claims department of a major hospital. Paperwork on a recent
admission shows that a traumatic mugging caused the patient to require an
adjustment in the medication she is prescribed to control anxiety and mood
swings.Alan is struck by the patient's unusual last name and upon checking her
employment information realizes she is one of his daughter's grade school
teachers.

Alan's daughter seems very happy in her school and he cannot violate patient
confidentiality by informing the school of a teacher's mental illness but he is not
comfortable with a potentially unstable person in a position of influence and
supervision over his eight year old daughter. Can Alan reconcile these issues in
an ethical manner?

Branches of Ethics
You can study ethics from both a religious and a philosophical point of view.
There are five branches of ethics:
 Normative Ethics - The largest branch, it deals with how individuals can
figure out the correct moral action that they should take. Philosophers such
as Socrates and John Stuart Mill are included in this branch of ethics.
 Meta-Ethics - This branch seeks to understand the nature of ethical
properties and judgments such as if truth values can be found and the
theory behind moral principals.
 Applied Ethics - This is the study of applying theories from philosophers
regarding ethics in everyday life. For example, this area of ethics asks
questions such as "Is it right to have an abortion?" and "Should you turn in
your friend at your workplace for taking home office supplies?"
 Moral Ethics - This branch questions how individuals develop their
morality, why certain aspects of morality differ between cultures and why
certain aspects of morality are generally universal.
 Descriptive Ethics - This branch is more scientific in its approach and
focuses on how juman beings actually operate in the real world, rather than
attempt to theorize about how they should operate.
Knowing how to best resolve difficult moral and ethical dilemmas is never easy
especially when any choice violates the societal and ethical standards by which
we have been taught to govern our lives.

What Is An Ethical Dilemma?

 Sushmitha Hegde  30 Jan 2019 (Updated: 10 Oct 2019)

Listen to this post

An ethical dilemma is a conflict between alternatives where,

no matter what a person does, some ethical principle will be
compromised. Analyzing the options and their consequences
provides the basic elements for decision-making.
To do or not to do, that is the question you ask yourself
every morning when you hit the snooze on your alarm.
Life offers  plenty of little dilemmas that kill you with a
smile. Choosing between two of your favorite shirts,
struggling to decide whether or not to get a haircut,
choosing between the dinner you promised your
girlfriend and an impromptu guys’ night out—you make a
variety of decisions every day.

The little choices that you make in your daily life are

probably quite different than ethical decisions. Ethical
decisions involve analyzing different options, eliminating
those with an unethical standpoint and choosing the
best ethical alternative. But that begs the question,
what are ethics?

What are ethics?

Ethics are the well-grounded standards of right and
wrong that dictate what humans ought to do. These
are usually put in terms of rights, duties, benefits to the
society, fairness and other specific virtues. They outline
a framework to establish what conduct is right or wrong
for individuals and broader groups in society.

It’s important to recognize that our individual ethics

must also engage with the ethics of other people
involved in the situation, e.g., our parents, colleagues,
clients, etc. The laws of the land, rules set by society,
and policies set out by the organization one works for,
philosophical schools of thought, moral foundations and
many other such considerations govern ethics. Thus,
doing ‘the right thing’ becomes a combination of
personal, professional and societal ethics.
How can you decide if something
is ethically right or wrong?

How to decide if something is ethically right or wrong?

(Photo Credit: Pixabay)
While deciding if what you are doing is ethically right or
wrong, you can ask yourself the following questions:

Legal Test
Is there a law being broken? If yes, the issue is of
disobedience with enforceable laws, as opposed to the
unenforceable principles of a moral code. If it is legal,
there are three more tests to decide whether it is right
or wrong.
Stench Test
Does the course of action have the stench of corruption?
This is a test of your instincts and determines the level
of morality on a psychological level.
Front Page Test
How would you feel if your action showed up on the
front page of the newspaper the next day? Most people
would never do certain things if there was a chance that
other people would find out about it. This is a test of
your social morals.
Mom Test
This test involves asking oneself, ‘What would mom
think if she knew about this?’ When you put yourself in
the shoes of another person (who cares deeply about
you), you get a better idea of what you’re doing.
These are the basic tests to find out if what you’re doing
is right or wrong. However, you often face situations
where you find yourself in a conflict between
two right things.
What is an ethical dilemma?
An ethical dilemma is a conflict between alternatives,
where choosing any of them will lead to a compromise
of some ethical principle and lead to an ethical violation.
A crucial feature of an ethical dilemma is that the
person faced with it should do both the conflicting acts,
based on a strong ethical compass, but cannot; he may
only choose one.
Not choosing one is the condition that allows the
person to choose the other. Thus, the same act is both
required and forbidden at the same time. He is
condemned to an ethical failure, meaning that no matter
what he does, he will do something wrong.

When people encounter these tough choices, an ethical

failure rarely occurs because of a temptation, but simply
because choosing any of the conflicting actions will
involve sacrificing a principle in which they believe.
Truth vs. Loyalty
Conforming to facts or reality sometimes stands against
your allegiance to a person, corporation, government,
etc. Truth is right and so is loyalty.

Individual vs. Community

Individualism assumes that the rights of a person must
be preserved since social good will automatically
emerge when each person vigorously pursues his
interests. However, ‘community’ means that the needs
of the majority outweigh individual interests. It is right
to consider the individual, but also right to consider the
community.
Short term vs. Long term
Most people think it’s obvious to plan for the long term,
even if it means sacrificing things in the short term.
However, it gets tough to choose when short-term
concerns demand the satisfaction of current needs in
order to preserve the very possibility of a future. Thus,
it is right to think about both short-term and long-term
concerns.

Justice vs. Mercy

Justice urges us to stick to the rules and principles and
pursue fairness without giving personal attention to
given situations. Mercy urges us to seek benevolence in
every possible way by caring for the peculiar needs of
individuals on a case-by-case basis. Both justice and
mercy are right.
When faced with an ethical consideration, we need to be
clear about which values are at play. We need to also
realize how easy it is to discard one of the values or to
justify dishonesty because we want to avoid unpleasant
confrontations. We do this by thinking things like
‘Everybody does it’ or ‘I will do this one last time’.

Ethical dilemma examples

1. Your friend is on her way out of the house for a date
and asks you if you like her dress. Do you tell her the
truth or do you keep mum?
2. At a restaurant, you see your friend’s wife engaged
in some serious flirting with another man. Do you tell
your friend and ruin his marriage or do you pretend
you never saw that?
3. Your colleague always takes credit for your and
others’ work. Now, you have the chance to take
credit for her work. Would you do it?
4. You are a salesperson. Are you ethically obligated
to disclose a core weakness of your product to your
potential customer?
Approaches to ethical decision
making
There can be different approaches to thinking about
ethical decision making, although struggling with these
dilemmas might give you a headache:

Ends Based
The utilitarian approach or the ends-based approach
says that the actions are ethically right or wrong
depending on their effects. It argues that the most
ethical choice is the one that does the greatest good for
the greatest number.

Rules Based
This approach rests on the belief that rules exist for a
purpose and must therefore be followed. Basically, stick
to the rules and principles and don’t worry about the
result!

Care Based
This approach puts love for others first. It is most
associated with ‘Do unto others as you would have them
do unto you’.

How to resolve an ethical

dilemma
What do you do when you find yourself in an ethical
dilemma? How do you figure out the best path to take?
Before thinking about which path is the most ethical
one, be sure to spell out the problem and the feasible
options at hand. Many times, our mind limits itself to
two conflicting options and does not see the presence of
a third, better option.
Generally, philosophers outline two major approaches in
handling ethical dilemmas after assessing the legality of
the actions. One approach, while focusing on the
consequences of the ethical dilemma, argues ‘no harm,
no foul’, while the other focuses on the actions
themselves, claiming that some actions are simply
inherently wrong. While these approaches seem to
conflict each other, they actually complement the other
in practice. A brief three-step strategy can be
formulated by combining these two schools of thought.
Step one – Analyze the consequences
When you have two options, considering the positive and
negative consequences connected with each of those
options gives you a better outlook on which option is
better.

It is not enough to count the number of good and bad

consequences an option has; it is also important to note
the kind and amount of good it does. After all, certain
‘good things’ in life (e.g., health) are more significant
than others (e.g., a new phone).

Similarly, a small quantity of high-quality good is better

than a large quantity of a low-quality good and a small
quantity of a high-quality harm (like betraying someone’s
trust) is worse than a large quantity of low-quality harm
(like waiting a few more months before asking for a
promotion).
Step two – Analyze the actions
Now, look at those options from an entirely different
perspective. Some actions are inherently good (truth-
telling, keeping promises), while others are bad
(coercion, theft). No matter how much good comes from
these bad actions, the action will never be right. How do
your actions measure up against moral principles of
honesty, fairness and respecting the rights and dignity
of others? If there is a conflict between one or more of
these principles, consider the possibility of one principle
being more important than the others.

Step three – Make a decision

Each of the above approaches acts as a check on the
limitations of the other and must therefore be analyzed
in combination. They provide the basic elements that we
can use in determining the ethical character of the
options at hand and make the process relatively easy.
 When you find yourself in a fix, consider speaking to
others about the situation and getting the opinion of
more knowledgeable people to find a possible solution.

Once the decision is made, explain it to those who will

be affected by your decision. Be aware and reactive to
new developments in that situation that may require
you to make changes in your course of action. It will
also help to reflect on your past actions, and consider
whether there is anything you can do to prevent the
dilemma from happening again.

Most importantly, stay ethical and stay proud!

48
 
 Owlcation»
 Humanities»
 Philosophy
A Summary of the Terms and
Types of Ethical Theories
Updated on September 6, 2012

Evie Lopez 
 more

Contact Author

Do you have an Ethics class you need to take as a prerequisite or an elective? Here’s a summary
of the terms, types, and critiques of ethical series that may help you successfully pass the course.
First, we need to define ethics. What is ethics? Ethics is a branch of philosophy addressing
questions about morality.
Ethics is divided into two different ways of looking at the morality of humanity. They
are Consequential and Non-Consequential.
CONSEQUENTIAL ETHICS
In Consequential Ethics, the outcomes determine the morality of the act. What make the act
wrong are the consequences. It says, it will be legitimate to lie in order to get out of a serious
problem, such as to save a persons life. In other words a white lie is fine. So the essence of
morality is determined by the result or outcome of the act.

NON – CONSEQUENTIAL ETHICS

In non-Consequential Ethics, the source of morality comes from something else: law, God’s law,
moral law, sense of duty, and your definition of what is the virtuous thing to do. All those
considerations are built into the act itself before you could think of consequences, before it
makes it right or wrong. One classic example is this system is lying. Lying could be wrong
because in one system, it’s a violation of the nature of speech. It’s wrong to use a lie to achieve a
good end. Simply put, a lie is a lie, is a lie.
Thomas Hobbes [Egoism]
Jeremy Bentham [Utilitarianism]

John Dewey [Pragmatism]

Egoism – Utilitarianism – Pragmatism

Egoism - Means, act in your own self-interest.
Utilitarianism - Do that which is moral only if the act produces the greatest amount of good for
the greatest number of people.
There are two brands of Utilitarianism:
1. Act Utilitarianism- Do the act. No consideration of before or after. Do what is called for now,
and consider what action will produce the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of
people.
2. Follow the Rule- Means you can’t think of actions as isolated instances. We make decisions
based on trial and error, on our experiences. Follow the pattern that will produce the greatest
good for the greatest number of people. In fact, that’s almost the essence of legislative behavior
of law.
Pragmatism- Means, whatever works. Pragmatism believes in the scientific ways of making
decisions. Business schools are driven by pragmatism. Pragmatism says, you have to have
numbers to prove anything. It’s quantitative not qualitative.

-vs-

Non-Consequential
Non-consequential ethics says morality is determined by higher authority, some sense of duty,
the nature of the thing, love, virtue involved, the right thing to do, or intuition. The source of
morality comes before the act is done.
1. Intuitionism- Intuitionism says, each person has an in-built sense of right/wrong, a gut
feeling, a hunch, and impulse.
Critique:
 Intuition varies from person to person
 Intuition lacks solid evidence
Assumptions and values:
 It assumes that each person is sovereign in making decisions. For example, “it’s my
decision; mine alone, my sense of right or wrong.
 The values are caring, giving, love, support, and justice but it is interpreted according to
the assumption behind it. In other words, why do I care about you? Because it’s in my self-
interest to care about you, not because you’re a human being.

2. Natural Law Ethics- Natural Law ethics says, respect your natural inclinations.
 It says, the universe is governed by rational thinking. There’s an orderly way of things.
 It may or may not include God. There’s just some order behind this.
 Humans are governed by natural inclinations (natural law). According to ancient
philosophers, we’re driven by these basic inclinations:
- Respect/ Preserve life
- Propagate human species (family)
- Search for truth (we want to know the truth)
- Have a peaceful society (we can’t live in chaotic social environment)
 Ancient philosophers say we have the inclinations that are governed by the following
hierarchy of laws:
- Eternal – Grand Plan
- Natural – Human conduct
- Moral  – Human conduct (it governs the conduct)
- Physical – Sciences (our community, our government)
- Civil – Practical (our community, our government)
 Thomas Aquinas says God is behind this eternal plan. However, the ancient laws say
there is something orderly in the universe. Thomas Aquinas gave it a religious twist, he said
we have a moral obligation to the natural law.
Critique:
 Positive view of Human. We are rational individuals. We need a rational, stable
relationship, regardless of what’s right or wrong, or what social impact our behavior has on
others.
 Discounts human feelings, a natural law (rational is in control).
Aristotle and Plato

3. Virtue/Character Ethics
Aristotle
A great deal of our western culture is based on the virtue/character ethics ideal.
 It says, everything has a purpose and function.
- the ultimate human goal is self-realization, achieve your natural purpose, or human nature by
living consistent with your nature.
  It asks, what is the moral decision based on? What kind of person (character) should I be
become?
 It says, cultivate virtues/character traits or habits. In short, morality is a learned behavior.
 It also says, virtues are learned by…
- Imitation. At first, as a young child. For example, a child learns by imitating or we imitate
others (i.e. teachers, leaders, etc.), and gradually we…
- Internalize the best way to act, not because we have to do it or because someone says you have
to do it, but because it’s the right thing to do. Then you…
- Practice, and it becomes habitual. A virtue (love, care, give, bear, just) is a habitual way of
acting consistent with your purposes or the purpose of the nature of the thing you’re involved
with.
How would you define virtuous? Virtue is the “mean” between excess and defect (Golden
Mean or Golden Rule).
The examples below come straight from Aristotle. For example, in the social setting, in a
dangerous situation the excess way to act would be rash, the virtuous (means) way to act is
with courage, and the defect would be to act with cowardice.

Social Settings Excess Mean  Defect

Danger Rash Courage  Cowardice

Self-expression Boast Truthful  Meek

Obsequious (too
Social Relations Friendly  Rude
friendly)

Money/Spend Prodigal Thrifty Tight

Critique:
 Develops character, not just obey laws (this is a strength). You develop an image of what
the ideal person is.
 Emphasizes human interdependence. The wise teach the young. It says, don’t be so
foolish thinking that you can figure out things on your own, listen to your elders.
 Emphasizes gradual maturity. We don’t all the sudden become the moral person in life,
there’s no magic wand.
 Holds up virtues as ideals, as well as determinants of morality. There’s a loophole, over a
period of time, the definition of virtue varies in cultures, as in periods of time.
In Greek times, the definition of virtue is very “macho.” In Plato, the highest instance in life is
being a warrior (physical fitness). In the middle ages in the Western world, the definition
changes to Christian (following the example of Jesus). So who’s a good person today? A good
person today is a virtuous person, a person who functions.
The problems? Definitions of virtue vary. For example, as in heroes. A hero could be a political
hero, a war hero. It can be all kinds of heroes, with its own definition of virtue.

4. Male and Female Ethics

 Women tend to live in a world of social relations, emotions. It contrasts with men who
tend to live in a world of principle.
 There’s a great need for female psychology and morality in society. If you leave it to men
alone, we would live in a very competitive and individualistic world.
Immanuel Kant [Duty Ethics]

5. Duty Ethics (Immanuel Kant)

 Immanuel Kant did not like a morality based on laws, church laws. He said you can’t
depend on laws, because laws sometimes are made by capricious people. He said there’s
one thing that human beings have in common, and that is the ability to reason. Pure
reasoning is the source of morality.
  He says here that morality has its roots/foundation in the condition of goodwill among
people. In other words, the most basic thing about people is, they want to live in a good
society, have relationships with other people.
 He said we have an obligation to do the right thing. Duty Ethics say we have a duty to
achieve good. How do you figure out what is good? He says your reasoning can figure that
out.
 People/actions are moral when they achieve the good/goodwill. He also says, to be moral,
an action must be voluntary. You don’t get credit for an action, because…
- you have to do it
- you have a nice personality
- you are very pleasant
- punishment is feared
- of impulse
A moral action has to be done voluntarily. Morality is a conscious action according to his way of
thinking.
 He says, morality is discovered by pure reason not by law or consequences.
Duty Ethics is a very famous system. Here are the rules for Duty Ethics:
 First, act only according to that maxim (rule), which can be a universal law for all people
in all circumstances. In other words, using your pure reasoning. You can come up with what
is the moral way to behave. It says, it makes sense to be truthful. This maxim is universal,
and applies to everybody in all circumstances, there is no exception to the rule, as in the
example a lie is a lie, is a lie (Categorical Imperative).
 Second, how do you check to make sure that you have come up with a good rule? This
calls for the principle of Reversibility. It says, the maxim (rule) is right if one would want to
be treated that way themselves. It’s called the Golden Rule, “Do unto others, as you would
have others done unto you.”
 Third, do not use others as a (mere) means to one’s end. This is called Practical
Imperative. It says, find a rule that is the virtuous way of acting, the moral way of acting.
Check it out, and whatever you do virtuous, do it not for your own selfish reasons (because
it violates moral reasoning and behavior), but because it’s the moral thing to do. To use
each other is immoral.
Critique:
 Like other systems, it places responsibility directly on the individual.
 Insists on rules that are logical and applicable to all. It tries to be consistent.
 He does not indicate which rules you should follow. What should I do? Figure it out for
yourself, it’s up to you.
 Too rigid? Would it be right to lie to your spouse? Yes. A qualified rule is something that
is okay or not okay, except under certain circumstances. For example, is it wrong to take
another person’s life? What about in self-defense, or in war, an abortion? This doesn’t allow
for the situation or other consequences, and it’s highly irrational.
 In the principle of reversibility, if I were going to be treated that way, doesn’t it imply the
consequences of an action?
 A qualified rule, as in “…except in the case of…” can be as valid as an unconditional
statement).
6. Divine Command Ethics
 In Divine Command Ethics, what makes it right or wrong? Because I said so!
 · “God commands it”
- Divine authority
- Belief
 Religious Traditions:
- Islamic (Koran)
In the Koran, it says, “… and the Lord has decreed, observe rights, help the needy, do not kill, do
not fornicate, do not cheat.”
- Jewish/Hebrew- (Rabbinic Law before Christ)
In the Ten Commandments (Mosaic Law), the first four commandments deal with our
obligations/ duties to God, our parents, and the command to worship…”remember the Sabbath,”
etc.
In the last of the commandments, these have a “do not”, because of the value of each
commandment. For example, Do Not kill- because of the value of life itself, Do Not steal –
because the value of private property, Do Not commit adultery- because of the value of life,
family and tradition.
However, the Rabbi’s had to interpret under what circumstances is it okay to do such an act as
the commandment “Thou shall Not Kill.” In Hebrew kill means to murder, and according to
Rabbinic Law, it’s okay to kill a slave, it’s okay to do the act of revenge, to stone people for
adultery or prostitution. Adultery was considered a violation not because of sex reasons, but
because it was a violation of a man’s property- his wife. When the Rabbis finished interpreting,
they came out with 613 interpretations.
- Lex Talionis (Eye for an Eye). “Do unto others…” equivalent. It’s a very rigid notion.
- Christian – In Christianity, there are many branches:
Main line – Fundamental – Pentecostal
Jesus took the old law of the Hebrews (Jewish Law) and extended it. For example, in some of
His teachings he said you’ve been told not to kill/murder, I say love your enemy. You’ve been
told not to commit adultery, I’m saying don’t even look with lust. You’ve been told to love God
and hate your enemies (taken out of the Old Testament), and I’m telling you to love your
enemies. His purpose was to extend the Hebrew law and basing it on love.
The scripture is the basis Christians follow, and it is the teaching authority of a particular branch.
Critique:
 Based on authority of God. We use it in our thinking.
 Differing Traditions. All claim to be God’s spokesman, or teaching for God.
  Differing interpretations of Scripture by churches of what God’s law really is.

Joseph Fletcher [Situation Ethics]

7. (Religious) Situation Ethics (Joseph Fletcher)

 A method of moral decision based on the code principle of Christianity: Love. Now
Joseph Fletcher says, “Sure God spoke to us, but there is a great tendency in these organized
religions that are very autocratic and bureaucratic.” He says do the loving thing. Therefore,
Fletcher tries to find the balance between Legalistic and Antinomian. The moral decision
making can be:
- Legalistic: Church Law/Interpretation
- Antinomian: Strictly Existential ethics (meaning do at the moment what ever the hunch is to
do).

Trying to find the balance, he comes up with Situational (or Middle ground). He teaches,

- Respect the teaching authority of religious leaders.
- Secondly, circumstances color and act.
- Therefore, apply the law of love to the situation at hand, “Do the loving thing.”

Then this becomes,

- Pragmatic, and
- Relative