McDonald, "A Framework for Ethical Decision-making"

SOURCE FOR THE PROCEDURE

THE PROCEDURE ITSELF

1. Identify the problem.
   1. Be alert; be sensitive to morally charged situations. Use your moral intuition.
   2. Gather information and don't jump to conclusions.
      • While accuracy is important, there can be a trade-off between gathering more information and letting morally significant options disappear.
      • Sometimes you may have to make supplementary assumptions because there is insufficient information and no time to gather more information.
   3. State the case briefly with as many of the relevant facts and circumstances as you can gather within the decision time available.
      • What decisions have to be made?
      • By whom?
2. Specify feasible alternatives.
   1. State the live options at each stage of decision-making for each decision-maker.
   2. You then should ask what the likely consequences are of various decisions.
3. Use your ethical resources to identify morally significant factors in each alternative.
   1. Apply accepted principles.
      • Respect autonomy.
      • Don't harm.
      • Do good.
      • Be fair.
   2. Consider what a person of high moral integrity would do.
   3. Use ethically informed sources (policies, codes, laws, moral traditions).
   4. Consider context, including past and present relationships among stakeholders.
   5. Consult with associates, trusted friends, advisors or ethics committees.
4. Propose and test possible resolutions.
   1. Perform a sensitivity analysis. Which factors would have to change to get you to alter your decision?
   2. Are you making it easier or harder for others to do the right thing? Are you setting a good example?
   3. What would a virtuous professional, one with integrity and experience, do in these circumstances?
   4. What if everyone in these circumstances did this?
   5. Does it seem right? Are you still satisfied with your choice?
      • If you are still satisfied, then go with your choice.
      • If not, consider the factors that make you uncomfortable with a view to coming up with a new general rule with which you are satisfied.
5. Make your choice.
   1. Live with it.
   2. Learn from it.

WALT'S CHECKLIST

• This method is most useful when the DECISION-MAKER ...
  • can tolerate ambiguity, complexity or conflict [step 4]
  • cultivates personal virtues [step 4c]
  • has easy access to advisors, consultants or role-players [step 3e]
  • has high initial sensitivity to relevant ethical "features" [step 1a]
  • has plenty of time for investigation and analysis [steps 2 and 3]
  • is skilled in causal or consequential reasoning [step 2b]
  • is skilled in the application of general ethical principles to specific cases [step 3a]
• This method is most useful in a SITUATION ...
  
  • where much is at stake
  • where the decision-maker is also a stakeholder [step 5]
• This method is most useful when STAKEHOLDERS ...
  • share ethical codes or policies [step 3c]
  • share ethical principles [step 3a]
  • share laws and legal precedents [step 3c]

Index