Center for Workplace Learning & Performance
Administrative Professional Series Level II
Everyday Ethics
Discussion
Diane M. Brown, M.B.A.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
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Course Overview
Goal
To heighten awareness of ethics and provide a decision-making model for taking the right
action
Learning Objectives
•
•
•
•
Know where to find PSU policies
Be familiar with the Ethics and Compliance web page
Learn eight steps to ethical decision making
Build confidence in your decisions
What Topics Should We Stay Away From Today?
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Why Talk About Ethical Behavior?
http://mediacommons.psu.edu/free-media-library/ AP Photo Archive: License: PSU user
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Ethics Pre-Assignment

What did you think of the video clip from the TV show, The Office?
o Time Theft
o Conflict of Interest
Safety in the Workplace
Stealing and Honesty
o Not Recycling
o
o

How easy or hard was it to find Penn State’s ethics-related policies?

Let’s review the list of everything you found (separate handout).
 Have you checked out the new Ethics & Compliance webpage?
http://www.universityethics.psu.edu/UniversityEthics/
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How Do You Determine the Right Thing To Do?
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Would you be comfortable reading about your actions in the “Headlines?”
What would you do?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIOov3QVRzQ
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Take the Ethics Challenge
Below are ethical dilemmas followed by several courses of action. Select the response that bests
describes what you would do. Once you have completed the Ethics Challenge, discuss with
your small group. Then, we will discuss as a large group.
1. I am a young professional in the Admissions department and have quickly learned the
pressures from parents who want their child accepted to the university. One thing is certain,
no matter how good the university or the people are, there will be those that try to cut
corners. A previous boss wanted to “doctor” an application to help her qualify for
admissions. I was flabbergasted, but still learning the ropes. So I would…
___
Say nothing. I didn't want to be cause problems. And after all, wasn’t I helping
someone?
___
Quit my job.
___
Say nothing even though I know it’s against policy.
___
Report it to my boss’s supervisor.
2. I decide to stay at work after 5 p.m. to catch-up on some paperwork. I notice that a hardworking colleague is making excessive copies of a church flyer. She is a single parent with
three children. The following two weeks I notice the same thing happening. So I would…
___
Ask my coworker if she is aware that using the copier for personal use is not allowed.
___
Report the incident to my manager.
___
Say nothing because I have used the copier for personal use, too.
___
Say nothing because it is none of my business.
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Take the Ethics Challenge (cont’d.)
3. A student applies to volunteer for my program. It is somehow indicated that the person is a
very religious, perhaps evangelical, Christian and they wish to be matched with an
international person (who will be of a different religion or non-religion.) As I have
encountered many people who wish to proselytize through our programs, I would…
___
Deny the request without discussing the situation.
___
Agree to the request without discussing the situation.
___
Not jump to the conclusion this would happen just because it happened in the past.
___
Indicate to them, without insulting or presuming incorrectly, that proselytizing in our
programs is not tolerated.
4. I have worked with Bill for five years. Lately, every time I walk past Bill’s desk, he is either
on a personal phone call with his mom, who is ill, or on Facebook. I would…
___
Ask my manager to take appropriate action.
___
Mention to Bill that he is in violation of the company’s “conflict of interest” policy.
___
Talk with Bill about what is happening in his life.
___
Say nothing.
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Eight Steps to Sound Ethical Decision Making
•
Gather the Facts
•
Define the Ethical Issues
•
Identify the Affected Parties
•
Identify the Consequences
•
Identify the Obligations
•
Consider Your Character & Integrity
•
Think Creatively about Potential Actions
• Check Your Gut
Written permission provided by Dr. Linda Trevino to use the model, Eight Steps to Sound Ethical Decision Making
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“The Layoff” Case Study
You are the plant manager in one of ABC Company’s five plants. You have worked for the
company for 15 years, working your way up from the factory floor after the company sent you
to college.
Your boss just told you in complete confidence that the company will have to lay off 200
workers. Luckily, your job won’t be affected.
But, a rumor is now circulating in the plant and one of your workers (an old friend who now
works for you) asks the questions, “Well, Pat, what’s the word? Is the plant closing? Am I
going to lose my job? I’ve got a kid in college, I need to know!”
What will you say?
Written permission provided by Dr. Linda Trevino to use the model, Eight Steps to Sound Ethical Decision Making
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Walk the Talk

What’s your moral compass?

What will you do differently?

Will you “walk the talk?”
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Works Cited
Nelson, K. A. & Trevino, L. K. (1995). Managing Business Ethics Straight Talk About How to do
it Right, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk about How to Do It Right
By Linda K. Trevino and Katherine A. Nelson
Eight Steps to Sound Ethical Decision Making
1. Gather the Facts
The philosophical approaches don’t tell us to gather the facts. But they seem to assume that we’ll
complete this important step. You might be surprised at how many people jump to solutions without
having the facts. Ask yourself, “How did the situation occur? Are there historical facts that I should
know? Are there facts concerning the current situation that I should know?”
Fact gathering is often easier said than done. Many ethical choices are particularly difficult because of
the uncertainty involved in them. Facts may simply be unavailable. For example, in our layoff case, Pat
may not have good information about the legal requirements on informing workers about layoffs. Also,
she may not have enough information to determine how long it would take these 200 workers to find
new jobs. But, recognizing these limitations, you should attempt to assemble the facts that are available
to you before proceeding.
2. Define the Ethical Issues
Many of us have knee-jerk responses to ethical dilemmas. We jump to a solution without really
thinking through the issues and the reasons for our response. For example, in the layoff case, one person
might say, “Oh, that’s easy. Pat has to keep her promise to her boss and protect her job.” Another
person might say, “Pat just has to tell the truth to her friend.”
So, our second recommendation is, don’t jump to solutions without first identifying the issues or
points of conflict in the dilemma. The issues often go back to the deontological, or principle-based,
theories. In the case above, one issue has to do with the workers’ right to know about the plant closing
in advance. How much advance notice is appropriate? What does the law say? Another issue has to do
with the company’s right to keep the information private. What is the company’s obligation to its
workers in this regard? At a more personal level, there are the issues related to honesty, loyalty, and
promise keeping. Is it more important to be honest with a friend or to keep a promise to one’s boss?
Does one owe more loyalty to a friend or to one’s boss? Points of conflict may go back to the conflict
between consequentialist and deontological approaches. For example, if I tell the truth (consistent with
the principle of promise keeping) bad things will happen (negative consequences).
Also, our inclination is to stop with the first ethical issue that comes to mind. For example, in our
layoff case, we might be inclined to stop with the issue of loyalty to a friend. Challenge yourself to think
of as many issues as you possibly can. Here’s where talking about the problem with others can help.
Present the dilemma to coworkers, to your spouse/partner or to friends you respect. Ask them whether
they see other issues that you may have missed.
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3. Identify the Affected Parties
Consequentialist and deontological thinking both involve the ability to identify the parties affected by
the decision. The consequentialist will want to identify all those who are going to experience harms and
benefits. The deontologist might want to know whose rights are involved and who has a duty to act in
the situation.
Being able to see the situation through others’ eyes is a key moral reasoning skill. Lawrence Kohlberg
called this skill role taking. Frequently, you have to think beyond the facts provided in a case in order to
identify all affected parties. It often helps to being with the individuals in the case who are immediately
affected (e.g., Pat, the workers, Pat’s boss) and then to progressively broaden your thinking to
incorporate larger groups. For example, in this case, you might include the other workers, the local
community, the rest of the company, and society in general. As you think of more and more affected
parties, additional issues will probably come to mind. For example, think about the local community. If
this is a small town with few other employers, fairness to the entire community becomes an issue.
Shouldn’t they have as much time as possible to plan for the impact of this plant closing? Try to put
yourself in their shoes. How would they argue their case? How would they feel?
Stakeholders are all of those who have a stake in what the organization does and how it performs.
Stakeholders can include owners, managers, customers, employees, suppliers, the community, the
government, the natural environment and, of course, stockholders. In the context of ethical decision
making in business, we should identify the stakeholders affected by the decision and ask how they are
affected. Try to make your thinking as broad as possible here. Some of the stakeholders affected by the
decision may not even be born yet. The best concrete example of unborn stakeholders might be “DES
daughters.” In the 1940s, DES, a synthetic estrogen, was prescribed for pregnant women who seemed to
be in danger of miscarrying. By 1971, it became clear that DES produced a birth defect in the daughters
of these women. Because of the birth defect, DES daughters were more likely to develop vaginal cancer,
especially between the ages of 15 and 22. They also had a higher than normal rate of cervical cancer.
Once stakeholders are identified, role-playing can help you to see the issue from different stakeholder
perspectives. In your classroom or your department, get individuals to seriously play the relevant roles.
You may be surprised at how perspectives change based upon this simple exercise. What decision
would you reach if you were someone else in the situation? This step incorporates the Golden Rule:
Treat others as you would like others to treat you. Imagine yourself as each of the players in a decision
situation. What decision would they reach and why?
Another consideration may be to ask whether you can “test” a potential decision with affected parties
before your prospective course of action is made final. The objective is to gauge how various audiences
will react, and to be able to adjust to fine-tune a decision along the way. One question you could ask
yourself is, how would this or that stake holder react if this decision were made public? For example,
imagine that ABC Co. (in our layoff case) had another thriving plant in another location. However, in
the decision- making process, it was assumed that employees wouldn’t want to relocate because of their
ties to the local community. Wouldn’t it be best to ask them their preferences than to assume what they
would want to do?
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4. Identify the Consequences
After identifying the affected parties, think about the potential consequences for each of these parties.
This step is obviously derived from the consequentialist approaches. It isn’t necessary to identify every
possible consequence. But, you should try to identify consequences that have a relatively high
probability of occurring and those that would have particularly negative consequences if they did occur
(even if the probability of occurrence is low). Who would be harmed by a particularly decision or
action? For example, in our case, telling the truth to the worker might cause Pat to lose her job, which
would have negative consequences for her entire family (especially if she’s a single mother). However, it
would give her co-worker (and presumably others who would be told) the benefit of more time to look
for a new job, perhaps saving many families from negative financial consequences. Can you determine
which solution would accomplish the most net good? A popular version of utilitarianism asks the
questions, “Which decision or action will produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people?”
Would telling a lie to your friend benefit the most people? Or would it be better for all affected parties if
you tell the truth?
Long-term versus short-term consequences. In business decisions, it’s particularly important to think in
terms of short-term AND long-term consequences. Are you confident that your position will be as valid
over a long period of time, even if circumstances or people change? In this case, is the long-term health
of the company and the people who will remain employed more important than the short-term
consequences to the 200 workers who will be laid off?
Symbolic consequences. In business, it’s also extremely important to think about the potential symbolic
consequences of an action. Every decision and action sends a message; it stands for something. What
message will be sent by a particular decision or action? What will it mean if it is misunderstood? For
example, if Pat doesn’t tell her worker the truth, and he finds out later that she knew, what will the
symbolic message be to this worker and the others who work for Pat—that she’s more interested in
saving her own hide than in taking care of them?
Consequences of secrecy. If a decision is made in private in order to avoid some negative reaction,
think about the potential consequences if the decision were to become public. For example, the public
has been outraged by the fact that tobacco companies may have hidden their knowledge of the negative
health effects of cigarette smoking.
5. Identify the Obligations
Identify the obligations involved and the reasons for each. For example, consider Pat’s obligation
toward the affected parties. When identifying Pat’s various obligations, be sure to state the reasons why
she has this duty or obligation. Think in terms of values, principles, character, or outcomes. For
example, if you’re considering Pat’s obligation to keep her promise to her boss, your reasoning might go
like this: “Pat shouldn’t break her promise to her boss. If she does, the trust between them will be
broken. Promise-keeping and trust are important values in superior/subordinate relationships.”
This step, and the obligations you identify, may vary depending on the people involved and the roles
they play. For example, our faith in our financial system depends in part upon auditors’ obligation to
tell the truth about a company’s financial difficulties. Similarly, our faith in science as an institution
depends on the integrity of the scientific data and how scientists report it. So, the auditor and the
scientist have a particularly strong obligation to tell the truth.
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6. Consider Your Character and Integrity
In thinking about what you should do in an ethical dilemma, it may also be useful to consider what
your relevant community would consider to be the kind of decision that an individual of integrity would
make in the situation. You have to begin by identifying the relevant community. Then, you have to
determine how community members would evaluate the decision or action you’re considering.
A method that can help you with this process is known as the disclosure rule. It asks whether you
would feel comfortable if your activities were disclosed in the light of day in a public forum like The New
York Times or some other medium. Obviously, The New York Times assumes a general community
standard. It’s important for you to determine which medium is the appropriate one in your situation.
But, in general, if you don’t want to read about it in The New York Times, you probably shouldn’t be
doing it. If you would be embarrassed to have someone read about your activities in the newspaper—or
if you’d be uncomfortable telling your parents, children, spouse, or clergy about your decision—you
probably should rethink it.
Boris Yavitz, the former dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, offered another
version of the test for New Yorkers: “Unless you would do it in Macy’s department store window at
high noon, don’t do it.” And Thomas Jefferson expressed it like this: “Never suffer a thought to be
harbored in your mind which you would not avow openly. When tempted to do anything in secret, ask
yourself if you would do it in public. If you would not, be sure it is wrong.”
This kind of approach can be especially valuable when a decision needs to be made quickly. Suppose
someone in your organization asks you to misrepresent the effectiveness of one of your company’s
products to a customer. You can immediately imagine how a story reporting the details of your
conversation with the customer would appear in tomorrow’s paper. Would you be comfortable having
others read the details of that conversation? The ideal is to conduct business in such a way that your
activities and conversations could be disclosed without your feeling embarrassed.
Another method might be to ask a question asked by the Seneca people (one of the original five
nations of the great Iroquois Confederacy located in the northeastern United States and Southeastern
Canada) in their guidelines for self-discipline: “how will I be remembered when I’m gone?” Americans
don’t often think about this question, but it’s a good one. Will you be remembered as an individual of
integrity or not?
7. Think Creatively about Potential Actions
Before making a final decision, be sure that you haven’t unnecessarily forced yourself into a corner.
Are you assuming that you have only two choices, either “a” or “b”? According to Jack Edwards, Vice
President of Cummins Engine Company, who spoke at the 1994 Conference Board meeting on ethics, it’s
important to look for creative alternatives. Perhaps if you’ve been focusing on “a” or “b”, there’s
another answer “c.” For example, he told the story of an American business person who received an
extravagant gift from a foreign supplier. This situation could easily be conceptualized as an “a” or “b”
situation. Should I accept the gift (which is against company policy) or should I refuse it (which will
likely be interpreted as a slap in the face by this important supplier). This “c” solution was to accept the
gift as a gift to the company that would be displaced in the headquarters entrance.
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In another overseas location, the company was having difficulty with local children cutting through a
wire fence and stealing valuable electronic components. The “a” or “b” solution was to arrest or not
arrest these young children when they were caught. After involving the community, the managers
involved were able to arrive at a “c” solution. They discovered that the children were stealing because
there weren’t enough classrooms at the local school, leaving the children with little to do but get into
trouble. Cummins made classrooms available on their site. The mayor provided accreditation, books,
and teachers. This “c” solution cost the company very little and accomplished a great deal. Three
hundred and fifty students were accommodated, the stealing problem disappeared, and Cummins
became a valued corporate citizen.
8. Check Your Gut
The emphasis in these steps has been on a highly rational fact gathering and evaluation process once
you know that you’re faced with an ethical dilemma. But, don’t forget your gut. Intuition is gaining
credibility as a source for good business decision making. In ethical choices, if your gut is bothering you,
it probably means that something isn’t right. In fact, it may be your only clue that you’re facing an
ethical dilemma to begin with and it can be a source of empathy for those affected by a decision or
action. So, pay attention to your gut. But, don’t let your gut make your decision for you. Once you
know you’re facing an ethical dilemma, use the rational decision-making tools developed here to guide
your decision making.
Written permission provided by Dr. Linda Trevino to use the model, Eight Steps to Sound Ethical Decision Making
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