5As of Ethics

Examine your motivations and commit to prioritizing what’s right over competing alternatives. Imagine a person who works at a clothing store. One day their boss asks them to memorize a misleading script to convince customers to sign up for a store credit card. The employee has good factual evidence that the script encourages customers to make a bad decision. This employee is considering what to do:

• “Lower Level” of Aspiration: “I don’t care if the card has high fees, hurts credit ratings, etc. I enjoy this job and the more cards I push the more likely I’ll get a promotion.” 
• “Higher Level” of Aspiration: “I’m determined to be fair to customers and to let them know what they’re agreeing to when they sign up for a card, even if that means that I get a poor evaluation at work and/or no promotion.” 

Once we know what we should do, we must be motivated to actually do it, we must care about doing the right thing. See the Moral Intent Video for more information about the motivation to act.

Evaluate the alternatives, and then choose the most ethical option(s). Imagine a person who works at a clothing store. One day their boss asks them to memorize a script to convince customers to sign up for a store credit card. This employee is considering what to do:

• “Lower Level” of Analysis: “Who’s to say what’s right in this situation? It’s not my place to impose my ideas on others.” 
• “Higher Level” of Analysis: “I evaluated pushing the card with the script and concluded it’s: dishonest and disrespectful; using customers for company gain; harmful to credit ratings; and not how I (or they) would want to be treated. I decide not to use the misleading script.” 

Not sure what’s right? Look to the 5Cs on the back of the Ethics Card. Rushworth Kidder talks about Right vs. Wrong decisions and Right vs. Right decisions. Sometimes we clearly know what is right but need the wisdom and courage to act (see “Action” below). Other times we are not sure what’s right. This may be because there are good aspects of multiple options and/or because we are biased in some way. There are some very well-respected approaches from the field of moral philosophy. that can help when we are unsure about what’s right. The 5th C “Consult” emphasizes the importance of recognizing harmful intuitions or biases that can affect our ability to make decisions, including social and organizational pressures (also known as Behavioral Ethics). Each of the 5Cs has pros and cons. Considering multiple approaches can help us take advantage of the strengths and balance out the weaknesses of these well-respected approaches.

Determine the steps needed to follow through effectively and ethically, then do them competently. Imagine a person who works at a clothing store. One day their boss asks them to memorize a misleading script to convince customers to sign up for a store credit card. The employee has good factual evidence that the script encourages customers to make a bad decision. This employee is considering what to do:

• “Lower Level” of Action: “I don’t know the necessary steps to make a difference, and even if I did, I just don’t have the skills to successfully follow through.” 
• “Higher Level” of Action: “I created a new script that is more upfront and accurate. I practiced it, got feedback from friends and colleagues and then discussed it with my supervisor. They were convinced and the result was less people negatively impacted by the cards.” 

Know what’s right, but need to move to action? Seeing the right path doesn’t necessarily lead to taking the right path. We need to actually follow through and act ethically (moving from theory to practice), often in consultation with others. This may be easy at times and at other times may require great courage. See the Moral Action Video for more information about following through with action. During this step it is once again essential to be aware of harmful biases and social and organizational pressures that can greatly impact our behavior. For a series of entertaining videos and information about these biases and pressures see: Ethics Unwrapped, Concepts Unwrapped

Reflect on what happened and make any positive changes while anticipating future situations. Imagine a person who works at a clothing store. One day their boss asks them to memorize a misleading script to convince customers to sign up for a store credit card. The employee has good factual evidence that the script encourages customers to make a bad decision. This employee created a new script that was more upfront and accurate. They practiced it, got feedback from friends and colleagues and then discussed it with their supervisor. The supervisor was convinced and the result was less people negatively impacted by the cards:

• “Lower Level” of Adaptation: “Time to move on to other things. I’ll never have to address something like that again.” 
• “Higher Level” of Adaptation: “Things went well, but I could team up with my supervisor and others to refine our ideas and make a case for standardizing a new script through corporate headquarters.” 

What can you learn from this process? After we have acted it can be essential to pause and “Take5” to reflect so that we can learn from our experiences for the future. Taking time to think about what happened, and how we decided to act, can help us to continue to make positive changes. See our Ethics Card. Note: Reflection should be infused throughout all 5As.