04 HMT423 Lecture IV Ammar Latif

8/6/2019 04 HMT423 Lecture IV Ammar Latif

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Lecture IV

The Bridge from Personality toProfessionality of Ethics.

Ammar Latif

[email protected]


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Lecture IV ~

* Until now we have been talking mostly

about personal ethics ie/ relating to the

individual.

* How do we look at ethics in a professional

setting?

* How do we apply the theories we have

learnt?* How to put principles into

action?


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Lecture IV ~

* Why look at personal ethics at all?

* Because this is the starting ground for it

all....

* By developing ethical philosophies we can

guide our actions in the world.

* Looking at personal ethics enables us to

formulate a philosophy of ethics.


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Lecture IV ~

* Or in other words by

being aware of our general level of

ethics &

making decisions according to these

personally held ethics,

an ethics philosophy is gradually developed

over time.


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Lecture IV ~

* How to become more aware of our

ethics?

* Simplicity in itself!

* Self-reflection is the key...

This involves

Objectively looking at one's actions

and guiding thoughts &

Assessing whether the decision

made

are ethically sound.


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Lecture IV ~

* Ethics questionnaires are a good way of

determining where ye stand on an ethics

issue.

* The following 7 step framework helps in

being clear about your own view of things.

All about making better decisions.

In the light of an increased knowledge

of ethics.


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Lecture IV ~ 7 StepFramework for better decisions.

* 1) Stop & think,

* 2) Clarify goals,

* 3) Determine facts,

* 4) Develop options,

* 5) Consider consequences,

* 6) Choose &

* 7) Monitor & modify.


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Lecture IV ~

* 1) Stop & think.

Thinking ahead.

Stop the momentum of events for long

enough to permit calm analysis.

Prevents rash decision.

Prepares for more thoughtful solutions

to problems.

Instills discipline.


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Lecture IV ~

* 2) Clarify goals.

This is necessary for choosing.

Be clear about short & long term aims.

Sometimes immediate gratification can

prevent the achievement of long term

goals.


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Lecture IV ~

* 3) Determine facts.

Intelligent choices are based on

accurate information.

Need to resolve what is known with

what needs to be known.

Good judgment exercised in terms of

Reliability & credibility,

Authenticity, accuracy &

Multiple perspectives.


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Lecture IV ~

Good to seek out informed opinions.

Evaluate information critically.


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Lecture IV ~

* 4) Develop options.

Good to make a list of available

options.

This consists of identifying a set of

actions to possibly pursue.

Seeking advice at this stage is very

useful.

If one or two options

are available, think again!


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Lecture IV ~

* 5) Consider consequences.

Must be done to maintain ethicality of

decisions.

Involves filtering (what does this

mean?) the optional choices through

your ethical paradigm.

Look at things from a purely ethicsperspective.

A new light.


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Lecture IV ~

* 6) Choose.

At this stage if things are not

manifestly clear then

Talk to people whose judgment ye

respect.

Place yourselves in an ethical

person's shoes.


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Lecture IV ~

* A question to ask yourself?

Would ye be comfortable with your decision

being public?

* Golden Rule > Do unto others as ye

would have them do unto ye.


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Lecture IV ~

* 7) Monitor & modify.

Sometimes wrong decisions are made.

Maintain a sense of scrutiny.

Re-evaluate decisions in the light of

hind sight (it's always 20/20).

Did the decision have the desired

effects?


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Lecture IV ~ Rationalisations.

* What is a rationalisation?

What people say to themselves before

they want to feel good about something

they are going to do.

* Shaky ethical ground.

* These are easy to fall into the habit of

using.

* Need to be careful!


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Lecture IV ~ title....

* If Its Necessary, Its Ethical - This rationalization rests onthe false assumption that necessity breeds propriety. The

approach often leads to ends-justify-the-means reasoning

and treating non-ethical tasks or goals as moral

imperatives.* The False Necessity Trap - As Nietzsche put it,

"Necessity is an interpretation, not a fact." We tend to fall

into the "false necessity trap" because we overestimate

the cost of doing the right thing and underestimate the

cost of failing to do so.


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*If Its Legal and Permissible, Its Proper - Thissubstitutes legal requirements (which establish minimal

standards of behavior) for personal moral judgment.

Ethical people often choose to do less than the maximally

allowable, and more than the minimally acceptable.

* Its Just Part of the Job - Conscientious people who want

to do their jobs well often fail to adequately consider the

morality of their professional behavior.


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* Its All for a Good Cause- People are especiallyvulnerable to rationalizations when they seek to advance

a noble aim. "Its all for a good cause" is a seductive

rationale that loosens interpretations of deception,

concealment, conflicts of interest, favoritism and violationsof established rules and procedures.

* I Was Just Doing It for You - This is a primary justification

for committing "little white lies" or withholding important

information in personal or professional relationships.


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* Im Just Fighting Fire With Fire - This is the falseassumption that promise-breaking, lying and other kinds

of misconduct are justified if they are routinely engaged in

by those with whom you are dealing. Remember: when

you fight fire with fire, you end up with the ashes of yourown integrity.

* It Doesnt Hurt Anyone - Used to excuse misconduct,

this rationalization falsely holds that one can violate

ethical principles so long as there is no clear and

immediate harm to others.


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* Everyones Doing It - This is a false, "safety in numbers"rationale fed by the tendency to uncritically treat cultural,

organizational or occupational behaviors as if they were

ethical norms, just because they are norms.

* Its OK If I Dont Gain Personally - This justifies improperconduct done for others or for institutional purposes on the

false assumption that personal gain is the only test of

impropriety.

A related but narrower view is thatonly behavior resulting in improper

financial gain warrants ethical criticism.


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* Ive Got It Coming - People who feel they areoverworked or underpaid rationalize that minor "perks"

such as acceptance of favors, discounts or gratuities

are nothing more than fair compensation for services

rendered.* I Can Still Be Objective - By definition, if youve lost your

objectivity, you cant see that youve lost your objectivity!

Does the person providing you with the benefit believe

that it will in no way affect

your judgment?

Would the person still provide the

benefit if you were in no position to

help?


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Lecture IV ~ On being good.

* Ethical decisions have consequences,

and one long-term consequence is to make

you into a person of character.

But what is character?

It is the sum of ones distinctive traits,

qualities and predilections, and amounts to

ones moral constitution. Character is ethicsin action.


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Lecture IV ~

* "Ones character is ones habitual way of

behaving," education scholars Thomas

Lickona, Eric Schaps and Catherine Lewis

have written.

* "We all have patterns of behavior or

habits and often we are quite unaware ofthem.


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Lecture IV ~

* When Socrates urged us to Know thyself,

he clearly was directing us to come to know

our habitual ways of responding to the

world around us."* Conscience is the awareness of a moral

or ethical aspect to ones conduct; it urges

us to prefer right over wrong. Because noteveryone has good character, not everyone

has a reliable conscience.


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Lecture IV ~

* After all, a bad person with no conscience

at all feels just as good as a person with a

clear conscience.

* Having a bad conscience is notnecessarily a bad thing - its a sign that one

at least knows right from wrong.

* That is the crux of an ethical philosophy.


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Lecture IV ~

* When Socrates urged us to Know thyself,

he clearly was directing us to come to know

our habitual ways of responding to the

world around us."* Conscience is the awareness of a moral

or ethical aspect to ones conduct; it urges

us to prefer right over wrong.Because not everyone has

good character, not everyone

has a reliable conscience.


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Video Analysis & discussion~ The Story of Cosmetics.

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04 HMT423 Lecture IV Ammar Latif