Question

For the Results Lens, you were asked to focus on the abundance that you wanted to create. For the Relationship Lens, you were asked to consider what processes and safeguards were needed to ensure fairness. Finally, for the Reputation Lens, you were asked to consider the role of the individuals and the company as you sought ethical excellence. In thinking about the ethical dilemma you are resolving, which checklist did you find the most useful? Did checking against more than one list help you with a decision?

Each ethical lens has a slightly different definition for what counts as an ethical action. For the Responsibilities Lens, an ethical act is one that is done with care and concern for the other individuals. For the Results Lens, an ethical act serves the greater good, resulting in harmony and satisfaction for many. For the Relationship Lens, an ethical act cares for all members and institutions of the community. Finally, for the Reputation Lens, an ethical act supports and enhances the meaning you have given to your life. Did you find that looking at the problem from multiple lenses helped you clarify your decision or did the multiple vantage points make the process more difficult?

Answer 1

As a professional, there often comes a situation where the problems involve ethical concerns. It would be wise on the part of the professional to come up with a solution which does not cause any ethical breach and hence, ensures that the organization is safeguarded from the possible loss of reputation and money in the near future due to an incorrect and unethical decision. Any decision should also prove advantageous from all possible angles.

The Baird Decision making model helps come up with a solution after considering the problem from various angles namely, rights/responsibilities, relationships, results and reputation. The solution so arrived should be such that it encompasses all the possibilities considering the available information.

In resolving the ethical dilemma, there can be no single important checklist as a solution has to be obtained after considering all the factors that may be relevant. Some of the most important checklists that one needs to consider are the facts and documentation checklist (this will help in compiling all the necessary information and ensure that it has been considered), the stakeholders checklist (which will help in determining all the primary and secondary stakeholders), legal, ethical standards checklist (which will help to list down all the legal and ethical standards that need to be followed) and the course of action checklist (this will ensure that the all the available courses of action have been considered for making the decision).

Checklists provide a way to ensure that all the possible actions or steps required are taken while making a decision. To ensure proper decision making, it is always advisable to check against more than one checklist as it will provide a more comprehensive solution to the problem. The decision so obtained is also more likely to be right as it is bound to cover more facts and in turn provide a more detailed and accurate decision.

Looking at the same issue from multiple lenses provides a unique advantage where the same issue is considered multiple times from various angles. While doing so may seem time consuming and cumbersome initially, the results of the process will give better and more comprehensive results, considering the organization, the stakeholders, ethics, the legal and fiduciary duties and the impact of the same on the decision making process. It will also provide multiple possible courses of action, one of which will then be chosen depending upon the possible advantages and disadvantages associated with the same.