Decision-Making Model Term Paper

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Decision Making Model

Decision making is an important everyday activity which can have far-reaching implications on personal and business matters. People face challenging situations often that require them to make decisions. These decisions usually follow a pattern that has something to do with an individual's personal values and beliefs. Ethical decision making model is one of the most commonly used models today because it takes into account the interests of others. There are some important steps involved in making an ethical decision. These steps begin with identifying the problem, the issues involved, ethical perspective on it, possible solutions and identifying the best solution.

The Josephson Institute of Ethics gives a model of decision making which involves three key steps. This model states that ethical decisions must be based on the golden rule of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." (Smith) The model expects people to take into account the interests of everyone who are likely to be affected by the decision. However since we cannot possible make everyone happy with our decisions, we must learn to prioritize the interests involved. The model states "We cannot demonstrate equal love or caring to every person affected by our decisions. Sometimes we must prioritize certain interests over others and advance the well-being of some people, even at a cost to others." (Smith)

The second important part of the model suggests that we base our decisions on ethical considerations.

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Even though we all are well aware of the rule of ethics that states, "Ethical values and principles always take precedence over unethical ones," it requires a rationalization process to transform unethical desires into ethical ones. What is meant by this is that ethical conflicts arise "from the clash between what they want or 'need' and ethical principles that might deny them their desires." We then need to rationalize our desires in order to transform "self-interested, unethical motives into others-centered, ethical ones." (Smith)

The third important step according to the model is rejection of an ethical principle for the greater good and long-term The model asserts that "it is ethically proper to violate an ethical principle only when it is clearly necessary to advance another true ethical principle, which, according to the decision-maker's conscience, will produce the greatest balance of good in the long run." The model is definitely based on sound ethical principles because it recognizes the conflict that arises from competing ethical values. The model asserts that we must learn to arrange ethical principles in order of priority in order to be able to decide which route to take when more than one ethical consideration is at stake.

This model came in handy recently when I faced a complex situation at work. Mary is one of the junior staff members who is also one my close friends at work. I also happen to….....

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