Ethical Decision Making

Ethical decision-making arises from two levels of moral reasoning: (1) the intuitive level consisting of one's personal feelings and ideas as to the "right" and "wrong" of a particular situation--feelings derived from beliefs formulated out of personal knowledge and experiences; and (2) the critical evaluative level consisting of reasoned judgements and evaluations of the situation.

As to the application of moral reasoning to a given situation, one's intuitive response is always immediate and personal, it is our initial impression or gut-feeling. It simply comes to us that this is correct or incorrect, right or wrong.

The critical evaluation level, on the other hand, is a decision we arrive at by applying ethical theory, moral principles, and professional rules, standards, codes, and laws to the specific situation which must be decided. Critical evaluation is seasoned thought.

Relevant to the application of moral reasoning is the fact that while ethical rules and standards are helpful to critical thinking, they can be inadequate for some situations. Similarly, theory can be too abstract making it difficult for one to derive practical and specific applications. Therefore, people place a heavy reliance on ethical principles for the resolution of

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hold their members accountable for unethical and/or immoral actions. A third reason why professional organizations develop compliance mechanisms is to help members avoid making unethical decisions or engage in unethical behavior. Knowledge of accountability stipulations, standards, and disciplinary actions can assist the poorly prepared to better identify the issues and the consequences following violation of ethical standards. Regarding problems with a profession policing itself, one difficulty is that there can be a conflict of interest. While an organization can genuinely desire to protect the public from unethical professionals, it can also have a genuine desire to protect its own public image. Taking action against unethical and/or immoral behavior can, in the eyes of some, mean tarnishing the public image by exposing its negative side. The result of this could be failure to take necessary steps for violating ethical standards of behavior. Another problem with an organization policing itself relates to bonds, friendships, business and professional ties and loyalties among organizational members. Thee factors can operate as obstacles to one professional reporting another because individuals feel that they "owe" it to
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Approximate Word count = 1425
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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