Ethical decision

An ethical decision is one that engenders trust, and it’s indicative of responsibility, fairness and caring. Making an ethical decision consists of reviewing among different options, eliminating those with an unethical standpoint, and finally choosing the best ethical alternative.

The words "ethics" and "morals" are frequently used interchangeably.

Ethics refer to behavior customary in our culture or society. Ethics may change as a person moves from one society to the next.

Morals refer to personal standards of right and wrong. Morals do not change as a person moves from one society to the next.

Ethical decisions come from a place of conscience. For many, conscience is simply an internal source of reward and punishment. But according to researcher Lawrence Kohlberg, conscience is only one of several ways in which [ethical] values are represented in the personality. Kohlberg believes there are higher levels of moral development and these are acquired in stages.

According to Kohlberg, punishment orientation is the stage in which actions are evaluated in terms of possible punishment, not goodness or badness. Obedience to power is emphasized. Similar to this is pleasure-seeking orientation in which right action is determined by one's own needs. Concern for the needs of others is largely a matter of potential reciprocation, not of loyalty, gratitude or justice.

The next stage in ethical decision-making is where motivation to make a choice is based on authority orientation or good boy/good girl orientation. In order, this is where emphasis is on upholding law, order and authority as doing ones' duty or in doing that which will please others and give immediate praise.

The final stages of moral development according to Kohlberg focus on individual decisionmaking. Social contract orientation is where one bases support of laws on rational analysis and mutual agreement. Rules are recognized as open to question but are upheld for the good of the community and in the name of democratic values.

The final stage is morality of individual principles where behaviour is directed by self-chosen ethical principles that tend to be general, comprehensive or universal. High value is placed on justice, dignity and equality.

Traditions, such as Confucianism, animism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism, have had a similar impact on their cultures. However, they all tend to emphasize different aspects of decisions than does Western academic ethics, which is said to suffer badly from a "God's Eye view" problem. By contrast, these non-Western traditions have emphasized the following:

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