Lesson 2 - A Thought Experiment : The Burning Building

In scenario 1, the Majority of the people said they will go right to save as many lives
as possible.
In scenario 2, how would you decide?

The majority of the people said they will save their own family members first

before saving others.

Was your decision based on duty, consequences, virtue, or your emotions?

The majority said it was an emotional decision to save the daughter.

Moral Intensity
Individual's perception of moral intensity could impact their ability to

recognise an issue and affect the ethical judgment and behavioural

intention.

In another word, the moral intensity is the degree that people see an issue as
an ethical one. The more intense your relationship with the person involved,
the more influence it has on your decision since these are personal related
matters.
Determinants of Moral / Issue Intensity

Lesson3 - Deciding What is Right

A Psychological Approach
In Module 3 we learned about the philosophical approach to ethical theories such as
Deontology, Teleology & Virtue that guide what an individual SHOULD/OUGHT to
do in ethical dilemmas.
In this module, we learn about the psychological approach in deciding what is
right.

The psychologist has observed from real-life situations that people often
resolve ethical dilemmas based on personal values derived from their families,
society, culture, political and religious upbringing, and NOT based on code of
ethics, mission and vision statements, professional code of conduct, etc.
Mental and Emotion processes do play a part in decision making.

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
- Individual character
- Mental
- Emotional

Lesson 4 - Kohlberg’s Cognitive Moral Development Theory

KOHLBERG'S THEORY

One important theory that explains how people actually make ethical
decisions is Lawrence Kohlberg’s Cognitive Moral Development theory.

The theory focuses on the thinking process that occurs when a person
decides whether a behaviour is right or wrong.
Kohlberg's theory is concerned with how employees justify and rationalise
their actions in an ethical dilemma. For example, how do we reason and not
whether the reason is right or wrong. It can help banks to further
understand how employees can make decisions at 3 stages of moral
development.
Why do good people do bad things?

Kohlberg's Theory explained that good people do bad things because their
decision is highly influenced by their level of moral development.
 Kohlberg carried an experiment called

"Heinz Dilemma"
Pre - Conventional
Act to avoid punishment. Reasoners at this level judge the morality of an
action by its direct consequences and is solely concerned with the self in an
egocentric manner.
In Heinz Dilemma, out of fear and reward, Heinz will not steal the drug
because he does not want to go to jail and he wants to please people /
society.
In a business setting, an employee who functions under pre-conventional
will please the boss or perform work diligently for rewards such as KPIs.

Conventional
Act to gain acceptance, socialization and conformity with expectations from
colleagues, organisational culture and society values.
In Heinz Dilemma, out of cultural expectations / norms, Heinz will steal the
drug to save his wife and family.
In a business setting, the positive or negative culture of an organisation will
influence the employee's behaviour.

Post - Conventional
Act based on justice and wisdom. Concerned with the human rights while
the guidelines (SOPs) are meant for the greater good.
In Heinz Dilemma, out of universal principle of justice, Heinz will steal the
drug because it is unjust to let someone to die just because they cannot
afford the medical treatment.
In a business setting, an employee who finds the SOP unfair, will believe
that such SOP should be re-evaluated.

"An individual's moral development can be influenced by corporate culture

especially ethics training."
When a person has to respond to an ETHICAL DILEMMA
situation,
HE or SHE is guided by:
Philosophical Ethical Theories
Ethical Theories:
Deontology (Duty) , Teleology (Outcome) & Virtue
(Character)

Psychological Factoers
Moral Development:
Pre-conventional, Conventional & Post Conventional

Lesson 5 - Case Study - Barclays Bank: Banking on Ethics

What did the barclays Bank do?
In 2012, Barclays Bank was fined over $440 million for
manipulating the LIBOR to be artificially low. Barclays
manipulation ended up affecting many things including currency
values, mortgages, student loans, and large corporate debts.

LIBOR is the rate used by banks as interest rates when they borrow
money from each other.
HOW BARCLAYS MANIPULATED THE LIBOR RATES?

Based on the case information provided, Barclays

demonstrated that they use pre-conventional morality to
judge their own actions.
 This morality is calculating, self-centered,
selfish, and is only concerned about how they will
be immediately punished or rewarded.

Why Pre-Conventionsal Morality?

PRE-CONVENTIONAL MORALITY
1. Preconventional morality is selfish and self-serving.
2. By manipulating the LIBOR to make things look more financially
stable, Barclays misled investors into thinking that they were
entering a safe market while affecting millions of other people at the
same time.
3. They maliciously manipulated the interest rates to serve their own
needs regardless of the effect that it had on everyday consumers and
the interest rates that affect their daily lives.

Why Are Barclays mew retail Incentives?

ARCLAYS NEW RETAIL INCENTIVES
Barclays restructured its sales incentives to discourage unethical

sales behaviours by shifting its staff behavior from PRE-

CONVENTIONAL to POST-CONVENTIONAL.

The revised sales incentives focus on covering overall staff

behaviours as well as customer satisfaction.

FIVE ETHICAL VALUES which Barclays embed
throughout the bank
1. Respect
We respect and value those we work with and the contribution they
make.
2. Integrity
We act fairly, ethically and openly in all we do
3. Service
We put our clients and customers at the centre of what we do
4. Excellence
We use our energy, skills, and resources to deliver the best,
sustainable results
5. Stewardship
We are passionate about leaving things better than we found them.