Writing Assignment - Model in Action - Essay Example

Running Head: Ethical Decision Making process al Affiliation Ethics as applied to the business firms is the study of good and evil, right and wrong, and just and unjust actions of businessmen (Steiner G & Steiner J,1997). Ethical decision making process is quite crucial for any business planning as it directly links with the integrity of the organization. The importance of this process has been reiterated by Manuel Velasquez (1983) as he argued that when harm or wrongdoing with regard to organizational ethics occurs, individual members are morally responsible in proportion to the degree each participated in policy formulation, implementation, or oversight.

Trinity College of Management was in the process of formulating a business proposal to attract funds from a funding agency. The project was the continuation of a public welfare program.. However the College fell short on the target of the number of beneficiaries in the previous year’s implementation. Though this short fall was quantitatively less, it was limiting the chance of the college getting continued funds. The ethical decision making process involved in the scenario was the analysis of the alternatives proposed to solve the problem.

Three alternates were suggested, of which the first was to have relentless efforts in order to achieve the shortfall in the number of beneficiaries by the time the proposal was submitted. Another possible option was to hype figures in the proposal than the actual achievements and the last alternative was to keep the proposal going with the actual figures. These alternates were evaluated in the ethical decision making process. Though no ethical issue was realized in the first and the third alternatives, the suggestion to hype the figures involved an ethical issue and had to be evaluated for its intensity.

The hype in the number of beneficiaries was found to be miniscule in comparison with the total achievement and the total cost involved. The moral cause of the project was not affected hugely due to the shortfall and thus the hype was found not to be a major ethical concern. The individual factors for alternative evaluation include Quantitative factors and Qualitative factors. (Nair & Oommen, 1994).The proposal for the trial to achieve the shortfall failed in this evaluation process as the quantitative factor of operational cost for its implementation could not be afforded.

A minor qualitative factor of the inter-organizational relationships was realized in the second option but the success of the project implementation and the resultant improvisation in the relationships with the funding agency would nullify this factor. Neither the qualitative nor the quantitative factors seemed to affect the third alternative. The organizational factors including manpower and resources nullified the feasibility of the first alternative. The organizational factors affecting the second and the third suggestions were already analyzed in the individual factors analysis.

As far as the Opportunity analysis was concerned, the third alternative could have resulted in the rejection of the fund .Only the suggestion to hype the figures could successfully pass the opportunity analysis and this alternative could evolve as a feasible solution among the others as a result of the decision analysis. Scott R (2002) has explained various principles of ethical decision making. Business Ethics Evaluation of the solution to keep the proposal going with the hyped figures was further evaluated using these principles.

The moral consistency with the Social standards and the organizational standards could be ensured with transparency in the intention of the option. However the principle of utilitarianism substantiated the lacunas of the suggested solution as it addressed the genuineness of the social cause intended and it proved to be a more practical solution with not even scare traces of Amoralism. Finally the decision to keep the proposal going with the hyped figures was evaluated as an ethical decision.WORKS CITEDOommen, P. T., & Nair, N. S. (1994).

Leadership, Business management, pp.D.M-3Steiner G & Steiner J(1997) Business, Government and Society, MCGraw-Hill, 1997, p-180Scott R, (2002), Ethical Decision-Making: The Link Between Ambiguity and Accountability, Air and Space Journal, Retrieved November 08, Nov 2008, from http://www.airpower.au.af.mil/airchronicles/cc/scott.htmlVelasquez, Manuel (1983) Why Corporations Are Not Morally Responsible for Anything They Do, Business and Professional Ethics Journal, 2, (3 )