Ethical Decision Making

by Vasudev Das (Bhakti Vasudeva Swami) First, I would like to thank Professor Max Bazerman for generating the theme Blind Spots: Were Not as Ethical as We Think for discussion because it is very relevant to effective and sustainable development. Every organization needs ethical decision-making to thrive (Velasquez, Moberg, Meyer, Shanks, McLean, DeCosse, Andre, & Hanson, 2010). There are organismic and sociological factors which militate against ethical decision-making. Discernibly, endogenous factors such as bias, anger, greed, lust, the minds demands, integration of the three gunas or qualitative modes of material nature (namely, the modes ignorance, passion, and goodness), identity crisis, pathological state of consciousness, low self-control, phenomenological mindset, and maladjustment play some role in ethical decision-making. Essentially, it is germane to be sure that our decision-making process has passed the litmus test of social and psychological sanity so as to be effectively positioned on the pivot of ethical thinking inasmuch as decisionmakers imbued with phenomenological mindset, maladjustment, pathological state of consciousness, bias, identity crisis, etc. may not facilitate ethical decision-making in organizations. Policy should be promulgated that mandates policy formulators to undergo psychological tests to ensure that such decision-makers have zero insanity. A people-oriented mindset of decision-makers will undoubtedly enhance

ethical decision-making. Furthermore, since sonic therapeutic intervention has been proven as an antidote to depression, stress, lust, anger, low selfcontrol, etc., it is worthwhile for decision-makers to be administered with sonic therapy, inasmuch as it would improve ethical decision-making. Cultivation of transcendental knowledge in self-realization enhances emancipation from identity crisis. If decision-makers rise above their mundane or bodily consciousness, and see all and sundry or at least members of their constituency as supramundane entities with intrinsic connectedness, then that will help to invoke ethical decision-making. Ethical decision-making necessitates that decision-makers would have to walk their talk, and that requires high self-control. G eneral Arjuna (Prabhupada, 2011) posed a query to his mentor as to why people are impelled to act against their better judgment. According to applied Vedic science (Prabhupada, 2011), endogenous lust is the root cause of unethical decisions. Applied Vedic science (Prabhupada, 2011) asseverates that sonic therapeutic intervention is a guaranteed strategy to check lust, which is a major impediment to ethical decision-making. References Prabhupada, A.C.B.S. (2011). Bhaktivedanta VedaBase. Los Angeles, CA: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Velasquez, M., Moberg, D., Meyer, M.J., Shanks, T., McLean, M.R., DeCosse, Andre, C. & Hanson, K.L. (2010). A framework for thinking ethically. Santa Clara University. Retrieved on May 10, 2011, from http:// www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/framework.html

A contribution by Bhakti Vasudeva Swami (a.k.a. Vasudev Das) to Harvard Business School Working Knowledge seminar on Blind Spots: Were Not as Ethical as We Think Link Article number (comment number) 12, at: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6563.html