Ethical Decision Making: Your Moral Conscience
Summary
TLDRThis video script by Global Ethics Solutions delves into the importance of establishing a moral and ethical worldview in the workplace. It emphasizes the necessity of acknowledging the existence of right and wrong and finding a balance between adhering to moral principles and exercising practical judgment. The script advocates for recognizing and acting upon the guidance of one's conscience, and it distinguishes between moral absolutes and relativism. It argues for the adoption of moral absolutes as a foundation for ethical behavior, suggesting that these universal standards are essential for a successful and principled life, both professionally and personally.
Takeaways
- π Understanding the existence of right and wrong is crucial for ethical decision-making in the workplace.
- π Balancing moral principles with practical judgment is key to maintaining a morally balanced life.
- π Your conscience, influenced by self-awareness and moral beliefs, guides your ethical choices.
- π« Ignoring your conscience can lead to ethical missteps, so it's important to listen and act on its guidance.
- π€ Moral absolutes provide a stable framework for ethical behavior, unlike moral relativism which can be unstable and subjective.
- π Society relies on a shared set of moral absolutes, such as honesty and integrity, for the functioning of laws, families, and culture.
- π Recognize that moral absolutes are universal and not just a matter of personal or cultural preference.
- π‘ Ethical balance involves integrating core values like honesty, truth, and integrity into all aspects of life.
- π Perspective is essential for ethical decision-making, allowing you to see the bigger picture within a principled framework.
- π Accepting responsibility for ethical shortcomings and making efforts to improve is part of being ethically balanced.
- π‘ Your character, as a moral anchor, should remain constant regardless of circumstances, guiding your actions.
Q & A
What are the two key steps in understanding one's moral and ethical worldview according to the script?
-The two key steps are: 1) Deciding whether there is a concept of right or wrong, and 2) Knowing how to apply these moral principles, either by obeying every rule strictly or allowing personal discretion and situational context to define what's right or wrong.
Why is it important to have a clear stance on the existence of right and wrong in a professional setting?
-In a professional setting, having a clear stance on right and wrong is crucial because it guides one's work choices and attitude. Employers and society expect individuals to affirm the existence of moral standards to ensure ethical conduct in the workplace.
What role does one's conscience play in making ethical decisions?
-One's conscience plays a pivotal role in making ethical decisions by providing a self-awareness of one's behavior and measuring it against deeply held moral beliefs. It acts as an internal guide to distinguish right from wrong.
How can one ensure they are listening to their conscience and not just their emotions?
-To ensure one is listening to their conscience, they must learn to discern the still, small voice of truth from their emotions. It is critical to pay attention to the warnings of the conscience, especially when making choices that could be unethical.
What is the significance of morality in holding laws, families, and culture together?
-Morality is significant because it provides a shared sense of right and wrong that underpins the stability and cohesion of laws, families, and culture. It is not a negative term but a necessary guide for ethical living.
What is the difference between moral absolutes and moral relativism as discussed in the script?
-Moral absolutes are principles that are considered universally right or wrong, independent of situation or context. Moral relativism, on the other hand, holds that ethics are based on the situation and that morals can change over time, denying the existence of absolute moral truths.
Why should ethical relativism be rejected in the workplace according to the script?
-Ethical relativism should be rejected in the workplace because it undermines the foundation of ethical behavior by suggesting that morals can change based on circumstances. This can lead to inconsistent and potentially harmful decisions.
What are some examples of moral absolutes mentioned in the script?
-The script mentions that stealing, lying, and doing harm to others are considered moral absolutes, as they are universally recognized as wrong across different societies and cultures.
How can one become ethically balanced in a morally complex business world?
-To become ethically balanced, one should integrate moral absolutes like honesty, truth, and integrity into all aspects of life, both on and off the job. This involves reducing emotional and self-interested rationalizations, taking responsibility for ethical shortcomings, and maintaining a consistent character as a moral anchor.
What are the four keys to ethical balance suggested by the script?
-The four keys to ethical balance are values, perspective, responsibility, and character. Values are the fundamental principles one lives by; perspective allows for flexible and morally principled interpretation; responsibility is the effort to change and improve; and character is the consistent moral anchor that doesn't change with circumstances.
Outlines
π§ββοΈ Ethics in the Workplace: Balancing Morality and Practicality
This paragraph emphasizes the importance of having a clear moral and ethical worldview in the workplace. It outlines two key steps for understanding one's ethics: first, deciding whether there is an absolute right or wrong, and second, knowing how to apply these principles in various situations. The paragraph suggests that a balance between moral principles and practical judgment is crucial for success and personal integrity. It also highlights the role of conscience in guiding ethical decisions and the importance of listening to and acting on its warnings. The discussion touches on the discomfort some may feel with the terms 'moral' and 'morality,' but argues that these concepts are essential for maintaining the structure of laws, families, and culture. The paragraph concludes with a call to consider moral absolutes over moral relativism, asserting that universal moral standards like honesty and integrity are foundational to ethical living.
π Achieving Ethical Balance: Values, Perspective, Responsibility, and Character
The second paragraph focuses on achieving ethical balance through four key components: values, perspective, responsibility, and character. It stresses the necessity of having core values that guide one's ethical decisions and actions. Perspective is described as the ability to interpret and analyze situations within a moral framework, allowing one to see the bigger picture and act ethically within it. Responsibility is portrayed as the commitment to recognizing and correcting ethical shortcomings, while character is the consistent moral anchor that should remain unchanged regardless of circumstances. The paragraph ends with a call to action for individuals to integrate these elements into their lives, both professionally and personally, and to move away from self-interest and rationalization towards a more ethically grounded existence.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Ethical worldview
π‘Conscience
π‘Moral absolutes
π‘Moral relativism
π‘Ethical balance
π‘Self-awareness
π‘Legalism
π‘Responsibility
π‘Character
π‘Values
π‘Perspective
Highlights
There are two key steps in understanding your moral and ethical worldview: acknowledging the existence of right and wrong, and knowing how to apply it.
Public work choices and attitude must take a clear stand on the philosophical argument of right and wrong.
Balance is crucial between living by moral principles and using practicality in facing dilemmas.
Our conscience, driven by self-awareness and moral beliefs, helps make ethical decisions.
Listening to your conscience is essential, especially when making bad choices.
Morality is necessary for practical discussions of ethics; it holds laws, families, and culture together.
Moral absolutes versus moral relativism is a key debate; relativism suggests ethics are based on situational norms.
Moral absolutes are a reality in the workplace and should not be undermined by relativism.
Society shares common moral beliefs, indicating the presence of moral absolutes.
Stealing, lying, and harming others are universal social moral absolutes that are wrong.
The challenge is to maintain moral absolutes in a busy and morally complex business world.
Integrity, honesty, and truth should be integrated into all aspects of work and life.
Emotion and self-interest should be removed to prevent rationalization and unethical behavior.
Accept responsibility for ethical shortcomings and strive for improvement.
Character should remain a constant moral anchor, unaffected by changing circumstances.
Four keys to ethical balance are values, perspective, responsibility, and character.
Values are the fundamental principles that guide ethical living.
Perspective allows for flexible and morally principled interpretation and analysis.
Transcripts
brought to you by global ethics
solutions
[Music]
there are two key steps in getting to
the heart of your moral and ethical
worldview that you must get past in
order to fully consider this topic
first you land one side or the other
regarding the age-old philosophical
argument that asks is there really any
right or wrong
although you are certainly free to
believe however you want in private your
public work choices and attitude must
take a clear stand on the issue when you
show up for work in the morning your
employer and our society expects that
you have answered this question in the
affirmative
second you have to know how to apply it
do you obey every rule to the point of
legalism or do you allow the situation
and your personal discretion to define
what's right or wrong
it's really about balance you must
strive for a good balance between living
your life by solid resolute moral
principles and using a healthy measure
of good judgment and practicality in
facing your dilemmas
having a good handle on these two topics
will make you morally balanced mentally
and spiritually balanced and more
successful in your job
in the introduction of this course it
was stated that we all have ethics
because we all have a conscience we use
it to make ethical decisions your
conscience tells you right from wrong it
does this because you have a
self-awareness of your behavior and then
you measure it by your deeply held moral
beliefs in short you know that you and
your conscience compares your ethical
options against your moral beliefs
so the question is
what do we do with it your conscience is
there but the fact remains that you can
lose your ability to hear it over time
listening to your conscience and not
just relying on your emotions is
something that you have to learn
it is especially critical that you hear
the warnings of your conscience when
you're making a bad choice it may not be
the loudest thing you hear but a still
small voice that you can barely make out
but you know is the truth
of course when you hear your conscious
speaking you must take the next step and
act appropriately keep in mind that the
words moral and morality sometimes make
people uncomfortable if you feel
uncomfortable try to understand why it
is absolutely necessary to use those
terms in a practical discussion of
ethics ethics without a sense of
morality is meaningless and empty think
about how a sense of morality holds our
laws
families and culture together it's not a
dirty word but something that every
person has and needs to guide their
ethical lives
[Music]
let's talk about moral absolutes versus
moral relativism
relativism is a philosophical position
that maintains that there are truths and
values but denies that they are absolute
it believes that ethics is based on the
situation that there are no moral rights
and wrongs that right and wrong is based
on social norms and that morals change
over time now ask yourself these
questions imagine you lived and worked
in a world that was devoted of moral
absolutes
what kind of society would it be would
you want to live and work in a place
that only had a morally relative
position on everything
let's fact the facts moral absolutes are
a reality that must be dealt with in the
workplace you must live in the here and
now and not in the philosophical realm
the bottom line is that ethical
relativism undermines the whole thing
and should be rejected
understand that moral absolutes are
everywhere our society shares a
surprising amount of common moral
beliefs you can see the evidence all
around you no matter what our
backgrounds beliefs or experiences our
basic moral standards of right and wrong
we are much the same there are moral
absolutes and not social norms
stealing is wrong
lying is wrong doing harm to others is
wrong
these universal social moral absolutes
have stood the test of time
[Music]
the challenge for you is to grab on to
moral absolutes in a busy hectic morally
mushy business world take a good look at
yourself and get ethically balanced take
things like honesty
truth and integrity seriously and
integrate them into everything you do
both on and off the job get rid of the
emotion and self-interest that leads to
rationalization
stop thinking about yourself and start
looking outward stop making excuses and
accept responsibility
moral absolutes are not your enemy
relativism is and it usually hurts you
rather than helps you
so if you want to become ethically
balanced consider these four keys
values perspective
responsibility
and character
values are the fundamental principles
that you live by that make you ethical
you must have deeply held core values
that show themselves in your everyday
decisions perspective requires the
ability to be flexible and interpreting
and analyzing things within a morally
principled framework
you are able to see the big picture and
work within it ethically balanced people
accept responsibility for their ethical
shortcomings and make a genuine effort
to change for the better responsibility
is an effort to do what it takes to
change and move forward don't forget
that your character is the real you
behind the facades and outward
appearances your character should not
change with the circumstance but be a
constant moral anchor
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