Ethical Decision-Making
What is it?
Ethical decision-making refers to standards of behavior that tell us how human beings ought to act in the many situations in which they find themselves — as friends, parents, children, citizens, business people, teachers, and professionals.
Why does it matter?
Many decisions require that you balance the potential benefits of one decision against the likely costs of another. Making ethical decisions can be especially difficult when competing obligations and duties conflict with clients' wishes, children's safety, agency policies, and personal values. The following resources should improve your ability to make ethical decisions.
Practice strategies that work
The best ethical practices are consistent and transparent; others should not have to guess why a decision was made regarding an ethical dilemma. This is accomplished by this process:
- Identify the ethical dilemma
- List the possible choices including the pros and cons of each choice and outcomes
- Consult with others on the possible choices
- Decide
- Finally evaluate if your choice was the best ethical decision
Additional Resources
Harvard University's Justice with Michael Sandel — What's the Right Thing to Do?
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics — Engages individuals and organizations in making choices that respect and care for others.
The NY Times Ethicist — A weekly column on ethical quandaries by Kwame Anthony Appiah, from The New York Times Magazine.
Ethical Decision-making — This worksheet provides a cost-risk analysis to evaluate and navigate ethical dilemmas in the field.
Abused and Used — A Disabled Boy’s Death, and a System in Disarray.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks — Tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew. It’s a story inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans, the birth of bioethics, and the legal battles over whether we control the stuff we’re made of.
Harvard University's Justice with Michael Sandel — What's the Right Thing to Do?
Five Days at Memorial — Fink exposes the hidden dilemmas of end-of-life care and reveals just how ill-prepared we are for the impact of large-scale disasters—and how we can do better.
Spotlight — The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and the subsequent cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.
A Lion in the House — Five families struggle with the ups and downs of cancer treatment over the course of six years.
Harvard University's Justice Course — A 24 lecture series with Michael Sandel, author of the book Justice.
Being Mortal — The film investigates the practice of caring for the dying, and shows how doctors are often remarkably untrained, ill-suited and uncomfortable talking about chronic illness and death with their patients.
Playing God — When people are dying and you can only save some, how do you choose? Maybe you save the youngest. Or the sickest. Maybe you even just put all the names in a hat and pick at random. Would your answer change if a sick person was standing right in front of you?
Adoptive Couple v Baby Girl (ICWA) — This is the story of a three-year-old girl and the highest court in the land. The Supreme Court case Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl is a legal battle that has entangled a biological father, a heart-broken couple, and the tragic history of Native American children taken from their families.
Harvard University's Justice Course — A 24 lecture series with Michael Sandel, author of the book Justice.