Doing Right Things:
Ethics and Decision Making in
Human Organizations
MPA 8002
The Structure and Theory
of Human Organization
Richard M. Jacobs, OSA, Ph.D.
THE CHALLENGE OF ETHICS
For generations, managers and leaders have
wondered not only about what they might do
when confronted by particularly troublesome
dilemmas in their organizations. Sensing
their responsibility to make things better,
these women and men have also struggled to
do what they believe and hope is the right
thing to do.

the concept of ethics...
…assumes that there exist
norms
principles
values
...that have, are, and always will
provide the foundation for a good life

these norms, principles, and values
do not come from a religious, moral,
political, or social source...
…but are the product of rational
reflection upon human existence
…and exist independent of any
religious, moral, political, or social
system (i.e., are universally true)

these norms, principles, and values
are normative for decision making...
…while they do not specify what the
decision should be
…they do provide a principled framework
to engage in making good decisions
…for which managers and leaders bear
responsibility
Some basic ethical principles...

mutuality

generalizability

caring

respect

honesty

mutuality:
Are all parties operating under the
same understanding of the rules of
engagement?

generalizability:
Does a specific action follow a
principle of conduct that is applicable
to all comparable situations?

caring:
Does this action evidence authentic
concern for the legitimate interests of
others?

respect:
Does this action demonstrate due
consideration for the dignity and rights
of others?

honesty:
Is this decision and the process
leading to it straight-forward and
forthright?

Although these basic principles
constitute the fundamental elements
embedded in an ethical decision...
…these principles do not provide a
comprehensive ethical framework...
…for use when managers and leaders
engage in the decision-making
process.
An executive ethical decision-making
process (Barnard, 1968)...
1. Recognize that people come to
organizations with personal motives.
2. Direct efforts to induce cooperation
towards a common effort.
3. Uphold the organizational purpose.
4. Design impersonal goals that
translate the organization’s purpose
into meaningful projects.
Questions for ethical decision
making (Lax & Sebenius, 1986)...

Are the rules understood and
accepted?
…in poker, for example, bluffing is a
defined part of the game

Is the decision defensible under
tough scrutiny in the public forum?
…it is highly probable that an
important decision will be “spun” in
ways that distort what managers and
leaders intend

Would you want someone to make
the very same decision...
…if it impacted you?
…if it impacted members of your
family?

Should everybody act this way?
…should children be trained to act this
way?
…should people in organizations
behave this way?
…should society be organized this
way?

What are the alternatives?
…what are the pro’s and con’s
associated with each alternative?
…can differences be negotiated so that
the decision rests on a firmer ethical
ground?
Ethics is “inquiry into the right thing”
and acting conversant with it...
When managers and leaders endeavor
to inquire into the right thing...
…“we are inquiring not in order to know
what virtue is but in order to become
good”
…neither “to fall under any art or precept…
but to consider what is appropriate to the
occasion” (Aristotle, Ethics II.2, p. 183)
A paradigm for ethical decision making
(Aristotle, Ethics III.2-5)...
knowledge of
the good

quantitative and qualitative
factual data that describe
“what is truly the case”

abstract, theoretical
concepts identifying “the
truly good”
For managers and leaders, the primary
sources of knowledge are research and
experience.
techniques that
foster the good

technical skills

repertoires honed through
experience
For managers and leaders, techniques are
learned in formal and informal apprenticeships
where reflection on practice facilitates the
development of expertise.
In light of what the good requires:

deliberation concerning the
facts and ideas of this case

deliberation concerning the
techniques that will foster the
good
practice
Aristotle’s ethical decision-making
paradigm...
knowledge
practice
techniques
ideas concerning what is
good, proper, and just
a practical judgment about
what must be done in this
situation, given what theory
and best practice suggest
discrete skills to achieve what
is good, proper, and just
For Aristotle, ethical practice is
not...
dictating to others what the good is
and what they ought to do
 mindlessly enacting routines
inculcated in training programs

For Aristotle, ethical practice is...
being deliberate by integrating a
rational principle with a proven
technique through discursive thought
(ratiocination)
 responding:


to the right person  at the right time
 to the right extent
 in the right way
and, thus...
 evidencing a virtuous character
revealed in practical wisdom when
making decisions
 bearing responsibility for the choices
made
 inculcating virtue throughout the
organization as a shared purpose
For Aristotle, then, it is not so much what
managers or leaders do that is crucial for
ethical decision making...
...what is crucial is why managers or
leaders do what they do
...and the quality of character revealed in
very practical decisions.
“…that is not for everyone, nor is
it easy; wherefore goodness is
both rare and laudable and
noble.”
Aristotle, Ethics, II.9
Seven ethical virtues...

courage

anger

liberality

truth

magnificence

indignation

pride
COURAGE
…the quality of being fearless or
brave when facing and dealing
with anything recognized as
dangerous, difficult, or painful
LIBERALITY
…the noble quality whereby one
is generous in thought and
evidences the absence of
prejudice and partiality when
considering substantive
matters
MAGNIFICENCE
…the condition or quality of
grandeur, splendor, and glory
uplifting the human spirit
PRIDE
…the quality, state, and behavior
evidencing an accurate
perception of one’s dignity and
worth
ANGER
…the feeling engendered by a
real or supposed injury for
which one seeks satisfaction
TRUTH
…the quality or state of sincerity,
genuineness, honesty,
trustworthiness, and loyalty
emerging when one acts in
accord with verified
experience, facts, or reality
INDIGNATION
…the contempt, disgust, and
abhorrence caused by the
disapproval of something mean,
disgraceful, or unjust
Aristotle’s theory of the
“Golden Mean”...

A virtue is a mean, delicate to
achieve...
…found somewhere between an
excess (a positive vice)
…and a deficiency (a negative vice)
…which reflects the true character of
the person making the decision
Manager/Leader Virtue:
fear
COURAGE
confidence
as a vice:
a defect
as a virtue:
a “golden mean”
as a vice:
an excess

Courage, then, is virtuous when it is
a practical judgment of the intellect
wherein the defect of paralyzing fear
and the excess of exuberant
confidence are balanced as
managers/leaders act rightly.
Manager/Leader Virtue:
meanness
LIBERALITY
prodigality
as a vice:
a defect
as a virtue:
a “golden mean”
as a vice:
an excess

Liberality, then, is virtuous when it is a
practical judgment of the intellect
wherein the defect of meanness and
the excess of prodigality are balanced
as managers/leaders act rightly.
Manager/Leader Virtue:
niggardliness
MAGNIFICENCE
vulgarity
as a vice:
a defect
as a virtue:
a “golden mean”
as a vice:
an excess

Magnificence, then, is virtuous when
it is a practical judgment of the
intellect wherein the defect of
niggardliness and the excess of
vulgarity are balanced as
managers/leaders act rightly.
Manager/Leader Virtue:
humility
PRIDE
vanity
as a vice:
a defect
as a virtue:
a “golden mean”
as a vice:
an excess

Pride, then, is virtuous when it is a
practical judgment of the intellect
wherein the defect of humility and the
excess of vanity are balanced as
managers/leaders act rightly.
Manager/Leader Virtue:
equanimity
ANGER
irascibility
as a vice:
a defect
as a virtue:
a “golden mean”
as a vice:
an excess

Anger, then, is virtuous when it is a
practical judgment of the intellect
wherein the defect of equanimity and
the excess of irascibility are balanced
as managers/leaders act rightly.
Manager/Leader Virtue:
modesty
TRUTH
boasting
as a vice:
a defect
as a virtue:
a “golden mean”
as a vice:
an excess

Truth, then, is virtuous when it is a
practical judgment of the intellect
wherein the defect of modesty and the
excess of envy are balanced as
managers/leaders act rightly.
Manager/Leader Virtue:
spite
INDIGNATION
envy
as a vice:
a defect
as a virtue:
a “golden mean”
as a vice:
an excess

Indignation, then, is virtuous when it
is a practical judgment of the
intellect wherein the defect of spite
and the excess of envy are balanced
as managers/leaders act rightly.
A virtue-based process of ethical
decision making...
• Enables managers and leaders...
...to stand for something when people
prefer that managers and leaders
stand for everything
...to do right things when people prefer
that managers and leaders do things
right
Integrating reflective practice and
ethical decision making...

Reflective practice and ethical decision making
require intellectual exercise and discipline
…reflective practice focuses upon practice
episodes to ascertain how one’s beliefs and
assumptions as well as one’s background and
experiences impact organizational functioning
...ethical decision making endeavors to promote the
good amidst conflicting and contradictory
choices
The concept...

reflective practice
…the intellectual exercise through which
managers and leaders focus upon events in
order to ascertain how one’s beliefs and
assumptions as well as one’s background and
experiences impact organizational functioning
Reflective practice inculcates the intellectual
discipline needed to discern “what is” in practice
episodes as well as to engage in the self-growth
necessary if one is to manage and lead others.
Reflective practice...

is constructed on the reality that professional
knowledge is different from scientific knowledge

accounts for the fact that there are no infallibly
efficacious theories or skills to manage and lead
human organizations
Reflective practice requires managers and
leaders to confront ill-defined, unique, and
changing problems as managers and leaders
decide on courses of action.
The reflective practice model...
antecedents
cultural milieu
theoretical
knowledge
craft knowledge
self knowledge
critical knowledge
theories of practice
practice episodes
mindscapes
intentions
action platforms
actions
realities

ethical decision making
…the intellectual exercise through which managers
and leaders render practical judgments of the
intellect about what ought to be the case, given
what is, so as to promote the good
Ethical decision making inculcates the
virtues needed for managers and leaders to
engage others in a collaborative toward
attaining what ought to be the case.
Aristotle’s ethical decision-making
paradigm...
knowledge
practice
techniques
ideas concerning what is
good, proper, and just
a practical judgment about
what must be done in this
situation, given what theory
and best practice suggest
discrete skills to achieve what
is good, proper, and just
Reframing ethical decision
making...

Reframing ethical decision making requires
intellectual exercise and discipline

Reframing uses metaphors to focus upon
organizations in order to ascertain how various
beliefs and assumptions as well as backgrounds
and experiences impact organizational functioning

Ethical decision making navigates a pathway
toward the good amidst the conflicting and
contradictory choices available
Reframing ethical decision making
from a structural point of view...
Frame:
Metaphor:
Structural
Factory
Guiding Ethic:
Management/
Leadership:
Excellence
Authorship
(individualistic)  Creativity
 Commitment
 Craftsmanship
Reframing ethical decision making from
a human resources point of view...
Frame:
Metaphor:
Guiding
Ethic:
Human
Resources
The extended
family
Caring
(community)
Management/
Leadership:
Love
 Cooperation
(Barnard)
 Compliance
(Etzioni)
Reframing ethical decision making from
a political point of view...
Frame:
Metaphor:
Guiding
Ethic:
Management/
Leadership:
Political
Jungle
Justice
(individual and
collective)
Power
 Empowerment
Reframing ethical decision making from
a symbolic/cultural point of view...
Frame:
Metaphor:
Guiding
Ethic:
Symbolic
Cathedral
Temple
Faith
Management/
Leadership:
Significance
 Human
possibilities
 Purpose
(Barnard; Vaill)
Using ethical decision making...
effective managers and leaders are
whose primary concerns are
…virtuous
…reflective
…wise
…decisive
…“what ought to be”
given “what is”
…doing right things
…balancing the
common and
collective good
Abusing ethical decision
making...
ineffective managers and leaders
whose primary concerns are
…implement ideas
mindlessly
…deny responsibility
…point the finger of
blame at others
…doing things right
…self-protection
…one’s desires and
wishes
Ethical decision making...
…is not a learned behavior or lifestyle
worn like a set of clothes, but...
 a matter of focus:
seeking constantly to do what is
right and necessary in the system
 a matter of time:
devoting inordinate amounts of
time to doing right things
 a matter of feeling: putting one’s whole psyche,
energy, and conviction into it
This module has focused on...
ethical decision making and how
managers and leaders can utilize it
in practice episodes...
ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
“By acting virtuously in our transactions with
other human beings we become virtuous or
unvirtuous. The states of character arise out of
activity. It makes no small difference, then,
whether we form habits of one kind or another
from our very youth; it makes a great
difference, or rather, all the difference.”
Aristotle, Ethics, II.1, p. 183
Although existing in a pluralistic and secular
world, organizations cannot impose a
particular religious, moral, political, or social
ethical framework upon employees...
…managers and leaders, however, can and
should make their purpose clear, hold
subordinates accountable, and engage
them in dialogue about the ethical choices
that arise in practice.
The outcome of ethical practice is the gradual
transformation of an impersonal workplace into a
viable community of people...
...who respect and recognize in one another the
virtues that make being human and contributing
to a cooperative endeavor meaningful.
Work, then, is not simply “a job” but an
opportunity to learn about and engage in
living a truly good life.
The next module will focus on...
scenario building
for successful organizational change
...and how managers and leaders use
frame analysis to forge a pathway that
improves organizational functioning.
References

Aristotle. (1958). The Nicomachean ethics (W. D. Ross,
Trans.). In J. D. Kaplan (Ed.), The pocket Aristotle
(pp. 158-274). New York: Simon & Schuster.
 Barnard, C. I. (1938/1968). The functions of the
executive. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
 Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (1997). Reframing
organizations: Artistry, choice and leadership (2nd edition).
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
 Etzioni, A. (1975). A comparative analysis of complex
organizations. New York: Free Press.
References

Lax, D. A., & Sebenius, J. K. (1986). The manager as
negotiator. New York: Free Press.
 Sergiovanni, T. J. (1989). Informing professional practice
in educational administration. Journal of Educational
Administration, 27(2), p. 186.