“The great conversation across the centuries.”
Dr. Helen Eckmann
James L. Consulting
www.JamesLConsulting.com
Michael J. Sandel, “Justice”
“For if we turn our gaze to the arguments about justice
and animate contemporary politics – not among
philosophers but among ordinary men and women – we
find a more complicated picture. It is true that most of
our arguments are about promoting prosperity and
respecting individual freedom, at least on the surface.
But underlying these arguments, and sometimes
contending with them, we can often glimpse another
set of convictions –about what virtues are worthy of
honor and reward, and what way of life a good society
should promote” (Sandel, 2009 p. 8).
Sandel’s Harvard Website +
 http://www.justiceharvard.org/
 Interview on Colbert Report
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-reportvideos/392600/july-20-2011/michael-sandel
Why We Do What We Do
Values
Thoughts
Decisions
Behaviors
The Good Society –
(Business & Government)
No Agreement For 2,500 Years
 Aristotle – “so some can
live the good life”
 Locke – “life, liberty and
property”
 Rousseau – “same as the
state of nature”
 Adam Smith – “absolute
economic freedom”
 Marx – “economic
equality”
 M.L. King – “natural
rights”
Four Parameters
• What is true on the macro is true on the micro.
• If it is true in a personal situation it is also true in
a professional situation.
• If a decision is based upon technical information
then no leadership or ethics are involved.
• Ethics is about decision making of non-technical
issues and opportunities.
Span of Control
 Concentric circles
 Interior working to the family/organization moving to
the society/government
Family
Organization
Me
Society/
Government
Learning To Decide
“What Is Good”
Balcony
Dance Floor
Heifetz, R. Linsky, M. (2002). Leadership on the line. New York. Harvard University Press.
Learning To Decide
“What Is Good”
Tension Thinking
Learning To Decide
“What Is Good”
Frameworks Affect Outcomes
Senge (2006). The fifth discipline; The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday Publishers.
Three “Buckets of Moral Reasoning”
Deontological
Teleological
Virtue
• “I am ethical if I follow the
rules.”
• “I am ethical if I do the best for
myself or for as many people as
possible.”
• “I am ethical
if I do what a ‘best’
role model would do.”
Three “Buckets of Moral Reasoning”
 80% of all decisions have an ethical component.
 Each decision is made from one bucket.
D
T
V
Kant, I. (1959). Foundations of the metaphysics of morals. (L. W. Beck, Trans.). New York: Macmillan Publishers.
The Eight Dials of
Ethical Decision Making
Truth vs. Loyalty
Polite vs. Authentic
Justice vs. Mercy
Fair vs. Equal
Self vs. Community
Fantasy vs. Reality
Short Term vs. Long Term
Competition vs. Collaboration
Deciding between what I love and the truth.
Truth
Loyalty
Kidder, R. M. (1995). How good people make tough choices. New York: A Fireside Book, Simon & Schuster.
Deciding between giving others what they
“deserve” and “giving them another chance.”
Justice
Mercy
Deciding between what is good for the
smaller ‘group’ and the larger ‘group.’
Self
Community
Deciding between what is good right now
and what might be good in the future.
Short-Term
Long-Term
Deciding between saying or doing what I
think is true or what is politically correct.
Polite
Authentic
Deciding between who or what I think should
receive an “exception” and when everyone
should receive an equal amount.
Fair
Equal
Deciding between
Vision/Brainstorming/Possibility
and being practical and grounded in reality.
Fantasy
Reality
Deciding between “going my own way” and
“going the way of the group.”
Collaboration
Competition
Testing Through Case Studies
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http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.altso.org
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Thank You!