Principles for Responsible Management Education …
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while ethics is part of the philosophy that deals with the reflection on the notions and
principles that reinforce life moral.
Ethics is formed in each individual in a different way, however Kohlberg (1969)
studies proposed 6 stages of formation of ethical reasoning in three categories:
Pre-conventional level—egocentric individual
Stage 1—obedience to the rules (to avoid punishment)
Stage 2—submission to the group (for rewards and exchanging favors)
Conventional level—exterior-oriented
Stage 3—expectation of others (to avoid rejection)
Stage 4—fulfillment of duty (to avoid censorship/compliance with rules)
Post-conventional level
Stage 5—legalistic orientation (maintaining the common good by contracts and laws)
Stage 6—awareness or principles (valuing fidelity to choices above standards).
According to Treviño et al. (2006), most adults remain in the conventional stages
(3 and 4) and stage 6 is considered “almost theoretical” because it is a rare evidence
to be found.
Once an initial understanding of what is ethical is established and how people
can take lines of reasoning from there, it is possible to insert the issue of decision
making from the perspective of ethics, as discussed below.
2.2 Ethical Decision Making in Organizations
Individuals in an organization (for the most part) are concerned about what others
think about them and comply with rules-based obligations or the fear of being reprimanded, and decision makers seek solutions that aim for organizational success, but
suffer from the dilemmas of ethical issues (Pinto 2004). According to Cortés-Mejía
and Moreno-Salamanca (2017) when a strategic action is taken at managerial level,
the decision-maker usually holds a moral judgment of the possible consequences.
They also describe that it is a daily task to understand the biases and factors that
shape the way decisions are made, as they affect you and especially other people.
There is then a trend in behavioral ethics where individuals use predictable systematic ways to make ethical decisions and judge the decisions of others who disagree
with benefits for all concerned (Bazerman and Gino 2012).
Regarding ethical behavior in decision making, a structure used to analyze individual ethical behavior is that of Rest (1986) based on four elements: moral conscience, moral judgment, moral motivation and moral behavior. Moral awareness is
the first element in the decision-making process, where the individual identifies relevant moral issues within the context. The second element (moral judgment) refers
to the moment after the decision-maker identified that there is a moral issue in some
situation and this increases the possibility of opting for an ethical decision. Moral
687
while ethics is part of the philosophy that deals with the reflection on the notions and
principles that reinforce life moral.
Ethics is formed in each individual in a different way, however Kohlberg (1969)
studies proposed 6 stages of formation of ethical reasoning in three categories:
Pre-conventional level—egocentric individual
Stage 1—obedience to the rules (to avoid punishment)
Stage 2—submission to the group (for rewards and exchanging favors)
Conventional level—exterior-oriented
Stage 3—expectation of others (to avoid rejection)
Stage 4—fulfillment of duty (to avoid censorship/compliance with rules)
Post-conventional level
Stage 5—legalistic orientation (maintaining the common good by contracts and laws)
Stage 6—awareness or principles (valuing fidelity to choices above standards).
According to Treviño et al. (2006), most adults remain in the conventional stages
(3 and 4) and stage 6 is considered “almost theoretical” because it is a rare evidence
to be found.
Once an initial understanding of what is ethical is established and how people
can take lines of reasoning from there, it is possible to insert the issue of decision
making from the perspective of ethics, as discussed below.
2.2 Ethical Decision Making in Organizations
Individuals in an organization (for the most part) are concerned about what others
think about them and comply with rules-based obligations or the fear of being reprimanded, and decision makers seek solutions that aim for organizational success, but
suffer from the dilemmas of ethical issues (Pinto 2004). According to Cortés-Mejía
and Moreno-Salamanca (2017) when a strategic action is taken at managerial level,
the decision-maker usually holds a moral judgment of the possible consequences.
They also describe that it is a daily task to understand the biases and factors that
shape the way decisions are made, as they affect you and especially other people.
There is then a trend in behavioral ethics where individuals use predictable systematic ways to make ethical decisions and judge the decisions of others who disagree
with benefits for all concerned (Bazerman and Gino 2012).
Regarding ethical behavior in decision making, a structure used to analyze individual ethical behavior is that of Rest (1986) based on four elements: moral conscience, moral judgment, moral motivation and moral behavior. Moral awareness is
the first element in the decision-making process, where the individual identifies relevant moral issues within the context. The second element (moral judgment) refers
to the moment after the decision-maker identified that there is a moral issue in some
situation and this increases the possibility of opting for an ethical decision. Moral