Question

1. _____________________ describe the degree of concern people have about an ethical issue.

2. When addressing issues of high ________________, managers are more aware of the impact that their decisions have on others, they are more likely to view the decision as an ethical decision and they are more likely to worry about doing the right thing.

3. Due to _______________________, the intentional pollution of a metropolitan water supply would have greater ethical intensity than an incident of insider trading in which a few participants netted less than $10 000.

4. General Motors Holden had announced the company will stop making vehicles by the end of 2017 - ending 65 years of building cars in Australia. The decision means 2,900 people had lost their jobs - 1,600 from the manufacturing plant in South Australia and 1,300 in Victoria. Due to ______________________, this decision produced strong ethical intensity.

5. According to Kohlberg’s model of moral development, people at the _____________ level make decisions that are based on selfish reasons.

6. According to Kohlberg’s model of moral development, people at the _____________ level make decisions that conform to societal expectations.

7. According to Kohlberg’s model of moral development, people at the ______________ level always use internalised ethical principles to solve ethical dilemmas.

8. Doug has a low-paying job for a telecommunications company. Every day when he goes home from work, Doug puts a headset, a stapler or something similar in his lunch box and takes it with him. Doug sees nothing wrong with his behaviour since he feels inadequately paid. In terms of the stages of moral development, Doug is operating at which level?

   1. Conventional

   2. Legally mandated

   3. Pre-conventional

   4. Post-conventional

   5. Internalisation

Answer 1

1. "ETHICAL INTENSITY" describe the degree of concern people have about an ethical issue.

Rationale: Ethical intensity determines how important an ethical issue is for a group or an individual. The factors that effect the ethical intensity include :

(a) Magnitude of consequences

(b) Probability of effect

(c) Concentration of effect

(d) Temporal immediacy

(e) Proximity

(f) Social consensus

2. WHEN ADDRESSING AN ISSUE OF HIGH ETHICAL INTENSITY, managers are more aware of the impact that their decisions have on others, they are more likely to view the decision as an ethical decision and they are more likely to worry about doing the right thing.

Rationale: In an environment of high ethical intensity, managers generally become more aware how their decisions can have effect on others and therefore, they become more worried about making the right decision.

3. Due to ALL OF THE CHOICES CONTRIBUTING TO HIGH ETHICAL INTENSITY (LIKE SOCIAL CONSENSUS, MAGNITUDE OF CONSEQUENCES, TEMPORAL IMMEDIACY, PROBABILITY OF EFFECT), the intentional pollution of a metropolitan water supply would have greater ethical intensity than an incident of insider trading in which a few participants netted less than $10 000.

Rationale: All these factors contribute to high ethical intensity.

4. General Motors Holden had announced the company will stop making vehicles by the end of 2017 - ending 65 years of building cars in Australia. The decision means 2,900 people had lost their jobs - 1,600 from the manufacturing plant in South Australia and 1,300 in Victoria. Due to TEMPORAL IMMEDIACY, this decision produced strong ethical intensity.

Rationale: Temporal immediacy is one of the factors that determines the ethical intensity. It is defined as the time length between an act and the consequences the act will bring. Here, the act is "STOPPED BUILDING CARS" and the resulting consequences will be "PEOPLE LOSING THEIR JOBS".

5. According to Kohlberg’s model of moral development, people at the PRE-CONVENTIONAL level make decisions that are based on selfish reasons.

Rationale: The first two stages fall under PRE-CONVENTIONAL level. Stage 1 defines blind egoism and Stage 2 defines instrumental egoism and therefore, people make desions based on selfish reasons.

6. According to Kohlberg’s model of moral development, people at the CONVENTIONAL level make decisions that conform to societal expectations

Rationale: Stage 3 and Stage 4 fall under CONVENTIONAL level. Stage 3 defines social relationships perspective and Stage 4 defines social systems perspective and thefore, the decisions of people are based on social expectations.

7. According to Kohlberg’s model of moral development, people at the POST-CONVENTIONAL level always use internalised ethical principles to solve ethical dilemmas.

Rationale: Stage 5 and Stage 6 fall under POST-CONVENTIONAL level. Stage 5 defines contractual perspective and stage 6 defines mutual respect as a universal principle and therefore, people use ethical principles in order to resolve ethical dilemmas.

8. Answer : PRE-CONVENTIONAL

Rationale: At the pre-conventional level, people make selfish decisions.