ETHICAL REASONING:

• Ethical reasoning concerns to the rights and wrongs of human conduct.

• Each person has standards that are defined by their personal values
which come into play when the person faces certain dilemmas or
decisions.
• Commonly, ethical differences occur as a result of individual
interpretation of a subject or event, or may be political or religious in
nature. 
• Ethical reasoning holds two roles in life:
• Highlighting acts that enhance the well-being of other people.
• Highlighting acts that harm the well-being of other people.
THREE CRITERIA IN ETHICAL REASONING:

• there are three criteria for ethical reasoning:

• be logical,
• Assumption and premises , both factual and inferred
• factual,
• Factual evidence cited to support a person’s judgment should be accurate, relevant, and
complete.
• Consistent
• Ethical standards used in reasoning should be consistent. When inconsistencies are
discovered in a person’s ethical standards in a decision, one or more of the standards
must be modified”
Moral responsibility

• moral responsibility is the status of morally deserving praise, blame, reward,

or punishment for an act or omission performed or neglected in accordance with
one’s moral obligations
• Elements of moral responsibility
• Causality
• If a person has some causal connection to the event, then he is morally
responsible for that event
• Knowledge
• The person must know what he was doing or what the situation was
• Freedom
• The person freely acted in the situation
The Three Major Ethical Approaches Managers Might Use
in Making Ethical Choices

There are three major ethical approaches that managers might use in making an
ethical choice 

• Ethical relativism : a self-interest approach

• Utilitarianism: a consequentialist (result based) approach/Utilitarian or
Consequence-Based Approach
• Universalism: a Deontological (duty based) approach
Ethical Relativism: A Self-Interest Approach

• Ethical relativism holds that people set their own moral standards for judging their actions.
Only the individual’s self-interest and values are relevant for judging his or her behavior.
Moreover, moral standards, according to this principle, vary from one culture to another.
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
• According to moral relativist there no objective right or wrong which means that what is
right for one person is not necessarily right for another person or the thing right in one
circumstance may not be right in another circumstances.
• Example:
• Alcohol is forbidden in Islam and unethical in Pakistan but in foreign or Europe it is
acceptable to drink
• Handshake b/t opposite gender is unethical in Pakistan but ethically right in any other
country
Utilitarianism or Consequence-Based Approach

• A utilitarian or consequence-based approach would focus at the possible choices

for taking a certain action or decision in light of outcomes rather than intensions
• The utilitarianism principle basically holds that an action is ethically right if it
produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people. An action is morally
right if the net benefits over costs are greatest for all affected compared with the
net benefits of all other possible choices.
• Example
• Suppose your car breaks are fail and you have two ways on one way there are
5 kids and on another there is one kid so, you choose 2nd way to safe 5 kids at
the cost of 1
• Use of this principle generally applies when resources are scarce, there is a
conflict in priorities, and no clear choice meets everyone’s needs
Universalism: A Duty-Based Approach

• Universalism is a principle that considers the welfare and risks of all parties when
considering policy decisions and outcomes. Also needs of individuals involved in
a decision are identified as well as the choices they have and the information they
need to protect their welfare.
• It judge the actions whether it is right or wrong on the basis that they are
concerned with our duty
• Actions must be according to a principle which can be treated as a universal law
• This principle involves taking human beings, their needs, and their values
seriously. It is not only a method to make a decision; it is a way of incorporating a
humane consideration of and for individuals and groups when deciding a course
of action.