Guy, "Guidelines for Making Simple Rational Decisions"
Notable because simple ethical decision-making can be regarded as a special case of simple rational decision-making
SOURCE FOR THE PROCEDURE
Guy, Mary E. "Decision Making." Ethical Decision Making in Everyday Work Situations. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1990: 25-44.
According to Guy, ethical decision-making procedures are specialized versions of more general
rational decision-making procedures.
THE PROCEDURE ITSELF
- Define the problem.
- Isolate the key factors in the situation.
- Identify the limits of the situation.
- Identify the goal to be achieved.
- List all possible solutions that will address the problem and achieve the goal.
- Evaluate each alternative to determine which one best meets the requirements of the situation.
- Measure the benefits, costs and risks of each.
- Identify the likely intended and unintended consequences of each.
- Identify the one course of action that is most likely to produce the desired consequences within the constraints of the situation.
- Make a commitment to the choice and implement it.
WALT'S CHECKLIST
The same checklist was applied to all procedures.
- This method is most useful when the DECISION-MAKER ...
- has high initial sensitivity to relevant "features" [step 1]
- has plenty of time for investigation and analysis [steps 3 and 4]
- is skilled in causal or consequential reasoning [steps 4b and 5]
- is willing to frame the issue in numerical or quasi-numerical terms [step 4a]
- This method is most useful in a SITUATION ...
- that will change little over time
