People and organizations make thousands of decisions each day. Whether they are
selecting which career path to pursue, which accounts to take, what types of products to
make or how many employers to hire, decisions are integral to organizations functioning
appropriately. They must make calculations about which choices are the best in both the
short and long terms. Many theories exist about which types of decision-making models
are most effective, but there is an equally important component, and that is ethics. In this
course, evidence-based decision-making has been a central topic, and ethics are key to
understanding and fulfilling this concept. At its core, sustainable decision-making relies
upon ethics because without that, organizations ultimately collapse. Although selfish,
short-sighted, purely profit-driven behavior can generate great success for a few years,
these practices create rot within companies. Leaders and employees act without thought to
the future or to those impacted by their decisions, and these attitudes ultimately lead to
poor customer service, unsatisfactory products, and negative public images. Ethical
decision-making ensures that the goals and values are upheld and that all stakeholders are
considered in the decision-making process. This paper will address the importance of
ethical decision-making, including how it works in different scenarios, why companies
must hire people based on ethics, and why ethics has become more important in the
increasingly connected world of the internet age.
Ethical decision-making ties into the broader theme of evidence-based decision-making
and leadership. When companies prioritize ethics in their organizations, they do so because
they believe that ethical behavior is not only sound morally but also from a business
perspective. Businesses deal with hard numbers and facts and they must act in accordance
with their shareholders’ interests. Therefore, the ethical behaviors they insist their
employees and leaders follow must align with evidence that these decisions make sense for
all who will be impacted, including the company. As Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert I. Sutton
(2006) write regarding evidence-based management, “[I]t makes sense that when managers
act on better logic and evidence, their companies will trump the competition” (p. 1).
Therefore, companies must implement rigorous ethical training for their managers and
directors. Before ethical habits can be imparted to employees, a company’s leadership
must be in line with this way of thinking. Companies should clearly define their values in a
mission statement that is shared with all members of the organization and should highlight
the benefits of moral behavior, particularly among staff members who are in leadership
positions. According to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (2014), these
benefits include increased customers and therefore increased profits, lower employee
turnover, lower recruitment costs due to qualified professionals seeking opportunities with
the company, high interest from investors that drives up share prices and reduces the
likelihood of takeover (p. 1).
Companies should also partner with human resources training specialists to define the type
of ethical cultures they wish to establish and formulate plans for how to ensure that they
will be able to maintain them as the company grows. These HR specialists can help
companies screen potential managers and directors for the right values and attitudes. If
someone interviews for a position and emphasizes profits alone or has engaged in
gray-area business practices in the past, then he or she cannot be relied upon to live up to
the company’s standards or to guide employees in these principles. By hiring managers
who agree with the organization’s principles, the executives can trust that the core message
is being lived out throughout the company. When managers act and lead ethically,
employees are more likely to follow suit, bringing greater benefit to their companies. The
Small Business Chronicle writes that, “Employees are less likely to take company
property, including office supplies, or make larger claims on expenses for travel or other
business-related activities, including the cost of conducting some non-business activities.
Employees who act ethically also do not take excessive breaks or spend company time and
resources engaging in personal activities, lowering their productivity and the profitability
of the business” (p. 1).
The University of California San Diego asserts that ethical decision-making is not only
ethical but also effective. It breaks down this area into three components: commitment,
consciousness, and competency, and these lenses are a key takeaway of this author’s
research. In the first category, the organization must be committed to making the ethical
choice, regardless of the cost. This means that even if the organization must spend more
money or will lose clients because of its choice, it will still do it in order to honor its
values. The second category requires an attentiveness to the moral standards of the
company among all employees, as well as a high level of awareness so that all decisions
can be evaluated through that lens. Finally, all employees must be able to access and
analyze all relevant information, consider the risks, and create alternative plans that align
with the company’s morals if their first efforts do not work. One gathers from this
framework that ethics and morals must be at the heart of a business’s operations. Ethical
decision-making does not happen spontaneously or without an ethical culture supporting it.
(University of California San Diego p. 1). Christine Chmielewski (2004) also addresses the
need for staff members to be mindful of ethical values when they are making decisions.
She notes that people are influenced by their colleagues, so everyone should be in
alignment on how to approach projects and problems in order to uphold the company’s
