Ethics Week 1: Utilitarianism vs Deontology

Week 1

• Utilitarianism and consequentialism consider outcomes for short and long-term decisions
• Virtue ethics focuses on the actions of virtuous people
• Moral Foundations Theory is a framework for evaluating ethical decisions
• Care/Harm, Fairness/Cheating, Liberty/Oppression, Loyalty/Betrayal, Authority/Subversion, and Sanctity/Degradation are core moral concepts
• Utilitarianism emphasizes maximizing overall societal good
• Deontology focuses on duties and moral principles
• Virtue Ethics focuses on character traits and how they shape actions

Utilitarianism (Consequentialism)

• Focuses on the results or consequences of decisions and actions.
• Aims to maximize benefits and minimize harm to society.
• Calculates the net good for society overall (greatest good for the greatest number).

Deontology (Duty/Principle-based)

• Judges actions based on broad, abstract principles or duties (honesty, responsibility, etc.).
• Some principles are binding, regardless of consequences.

Virtue Ethics

• Emphasizes character traits or habits (virtues).
• Considers what a virtuous/good person would do.
• Motivation and intentions also determine the goodness of a person's actions.

Week 2

• Process Fairness (PF): Fairness in the process/procedures of making decisions
• Outcomes Fairness (OF): Fairness of the outcome/rewards.
• Factors affecting process and outcome fairness include: involvement, decisions, implementation, and communication.
• Perceptual Gaps: discrepancy between outcomes and perception of those outcomes in decision making.

Week 3

• Individual biases affect decision-making, including: want/should conflicts, cognitive load, construal level, depletion, and joint versus separate evaluation.

Week 4

• Organisation Culture: Shared values and beliefs influencing employee behaviour.

• Levels of Culture:

  • Artefacts: visible symbols.
  • Espoused Values: stated beliefs.
  • Basic Assumptions: underlying beliefs.

• Implicit Bias/Prejudice, In-Group Favoritism, Overclaiming Credit, Conflict of Interest, Motivated Blindness, Indirect Blindness, Overvaluing Outcomes are biases or issues affecting decision making.

Week 5

• Corporate Governance: Control mechanisms for self-interested managers.
• Board responsibilities include decision-making, oversight, advisory, approving strategy, and testing performance measures.

Independence:

• Boards are expected to be independent, free from conflicts, and capable of opposing management when necessary.

Week 6

• Board size and composition: Importance of having appropriate diversity of experience and qualifications.
• Board independence: Absence of conflict of interest with the company or its management.
• Ways to build trust: Similarity, increasing exposure, reciprocity, self disclosure.

Week 7

• Enablers: Factors that facilitate speaking up and acting on values.
• Allies, Mentors, Selection and sequencing of audiences, Critical importance of Information, and Questions not statements.

Week 9

• Crisis Management: Standards and conduct required by firms for critical incidents.

Week 10

• Crisis Management: understanding crises and how they affect organisations.
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues are important to address during crises.

Week 11

• How to approach a crisis - assess the situations and develop multiple viable solutions.
• Execute quickly, and consider possible challenges.

Week 13

• No content.

Trust Radar and Other Topics

•  Importance of Expertise, Empathy, Commitment, and Transparency in crisis responses.
• Key considerations for dealing with crises, including assessing the situation, developing solutions, and executing quickly.