OS 230 Organizational Ethics

Week 6

9 months in Albany GA,1962

Dr MLK and Chief Laurie Pritchett

1963 Birmingham Campaign

Dr MLK and Wyatt Walker

Fred Shuttlesworth

Eugene “Bull” Connor

May 1963 Birmingham AL

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development

Morality vs Ethics

• Ethics is the societal approach to making the right decision.– Ethics is defined by the context (guidelines,

time and place) in which they develop and can vary between contexts

• Morality drives the individual’s decision – An individual’s morality can change over their

lifespan and it transcends cultural norms

Lawrence Kohlberg

• A Harvard psychologist who argued that Individuals develop morality in stages.

• Each stage is more advanced and requires more complex reasoning than the one before

• As you advance in the stages you become less self-centered and develop broader definitions of morality.– There are Three Levels and of Two Stages each or

Six Stages.

Lawrence Kohlberg

• Identified stages that we move through as “morally” developing beings

Moral Development

1. Amoral Stage

2. Pre-Conventional Stage

3. Conventional Stage

4. Post-Conventional Stage

Amoral Stage • Totally egocentric• No concept of moral

right or wrong• Kids want to be

fulfilled regardless of the moral cost.

Pre-Conventional Stage

• Kids learn a fear of punishment & obedience

• Focus is on self-interest

• Usually develops in early childhood (preschool)

Conventional Stage

• Kids learn to conform to others

• Rules and laws are upheld based on norms

• Obedience without question – law & order

• Usually begins around middle school – adolescence

Post-Conventional Stage

• Young adults develop their own ideas on important issues

• Alternatives (from parents) are considered

• “Social Contract” rather than rigid edicts

• Ideas are based on universally accepted principles

• Usually occurs around college-age BUT …

Heinz's Dilemma

• Heinz's wife was near death, and her only hope was a drug that had been discovered by a pharmacist who was selling it for an exorbitant price.

• The drug cost $20,000 to make, and the pharmacist was selling it for $200,000. Heinz could only raise $50,000 and insurance wouldn't make up the difference.

• Heinz offered what he had to the pharmacist, and when his offer was rejected, Heinz said he would pay the rest later. Still the pharmacist refused. In desperation, Heinz considered stealing the drug.

Heinz's Dilemma

• On a piece of paper:

• Would it be wrong for him to do that?Should Heinz have broken into the store to steal the drug for his wife? Why or why not?

• It is not what you think that’s important.

• It is your justification that’s important in Kohlberg's theory

Stage One (Obedience) Level I or Preconventional thinking

• Heinz should not steal the medicine because he will be jailed – he is a bad person

• Heinz should steal the medicine because it is only worth $20,000 and not how much the druggist wanted for it; Heinz offered to pay for it and he was not stealing anything else.

Stage Two (Self Interest) Level I or Preconventional thinking

• Heinz should steal the medicine because he will be much happier if he saves his wife, even if he will have to serve a prison sentence.

• Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine because prison is an awful place, and he would languish more in a jail cell than he would over his wife's death.

Stage Three (conformity) Level II or Conventional thinking

• Heinz should steal the medicine because his wife expects it; he wants to be a good husband.

• Or: Heinz should not steal the drug because stealing is bad and he is not a criminal; he has tried to do everything he can without breaking the law, you cannot blame him.

Stage four (law-and-order) Level II or Conventional thinking

• Heinz should not steal the medicine because the law prohibits stealing, making it illegal.

• Or: actions have consequences.

Stage five (human rights) Level III, Postconventional or Principled reasoning • Heinz should steal the medicine because

everyone has a right to choose life, regardless of the law. Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine because the scientist has a right to fair compensation. Even if his wife is sick, it does not make his actions right.

Stage six (universal human ethics)Level III, Postconventional or Principled reasoning • Heinz should steal the medicine, because

saving a human life is a more fundamental value than the property rights of another person.

• Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine, because others may need the medicine just as badly, and their lives are equally significant.

Criticisms of Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

• Moral reasoning may not necessarily lead to moral behavior

• There is an overemphasis on justice– Factors such as compassion, caring and other

interpersonal feelings may play an important part in moral reasoning.

• Does Kohlberg's theory overemphasize Western philosophy?– Individualistic cultures emphasize personal rights

while collectivist cultures stress the importance of society and community.

– Eastern cultures may have different moral outlooks that Kohlberg's theory does not account for.

The Blowout• You are the coach of a high school girls’ basketball team. This is

your best season ever, and you are getting ready for the state play-offs. You teach an aggressive brand of basketball that involves playing full-court defense and fast-breaking at every opportunity. As a result, your team scores lots of points. You tell the young women on your squad that they may not always win but that you want them to play hard and to always strive for excellence.

• Your last game of the regular season is with the worst team in your league, one with many starters who had not played basketball before this year. Not only are they less experienced and talented than your players; they are much shorter as well.

• Within minutes the game turns into a rout. By halftime the score is 50 to 4. Some state high school athletic associations have “mercy rules” that shorten or end lopsided games. Your state does not. This is the last chance your team will have to “tune up” before moving on to much stiffer competition. In the second half will you deliberately try to keep the score down by changing how your team plays?

Would you run these ads?• You are the sales manager for a local radio station that has seen a dramatic

downturn in ads and revenue as the local economy loses industries and small businesses.

• One of your biggest advertisers has been MighTY Mortgage. MighTY Mortgage spots feature the company president, Tom Tyler promising to “save our friends lots of cash.” In these commercials Tyler claims that his company offers the lowest mortgage rates and will pay to have homes appraised.

• Two weeks ago state regulators charged MighTY Mortgage with a variety of unethical and illegal practices. The firm offers no proof that its loan rates are the lowest and charges enough in fees to more than cover the cost of the “free” appraisals. Investigators also found that, in most instances, MighTY failed to properly disclose loan terms to borrowers.

• The state wants to revoke the company’s license, fine Tyler $250,000, and make sure the mortgage lender pays restitution to borrowers. However, final action has not been taken and won’t be for several months.

• After temporarily pulling his ads, Tom Tyler wants to go back on your station’s airwaves with a new set of commercials. The new spots still promise to save listeners lots of money but no longer mention free appraisals. Instead of claiming to offer the lowest interest rate, MighTY Mortgage now says it offers a low interest rate.

• Would you broadcast the new commercials for MighTY Mortgage?

Military Conundrum

• The Vietnam Mad Minute

• The Afghan Wedding

• The Ethics of the Sniper

• The Rules of Engagement

Torrington Rape Discussion

• Similarities to Steubenville OH

• The Coach, The Superintendent, The Police, The Standards, The Media Handling

• The Victims, The Accuseds

Torrington Facts• Three days after Steubenville OH convictions, 2 18YO & 2 17YO Torrington football

players charged with raping 2 13YO girls.• Social media accused one of the two 13YO victims of being a "whore," a "snitch," with

claims the girls "destroyed" the players' lives. “Community football worship??”• One accused, Gonzalez, was Torrington's MVP in 2012, after he was charged with

three felonies and two misdemeanors in February 2012• The former coach, Dunai, did not suspend him. He said, "I reeled the kid in after that,

and he walked the line." He said he believed in 2nd chances. Dunai later resigned.• The next coach, McKenna, said he wasn't made aware of those assault and robbery

charges currently pending against Gonzalez. He said he would have suspended Gonzalez.

• One athletic director said his former school wouldn't have allowed Gonzalez to play football last season and pointed to a line that's crossed from drinking or vandalism to an assault or robbery. Another pointed to a web of legal issues that don't allow some schools to punish a student-athlete if adjudication has been completed. Schools and school districts have rules for in-season and out-of-season sports. Different coaches have different rules. It is, the former AD said, one of the murkiest areas of high school athletics.

• Students rallied for Gonzalez at a charity dodgeball tournament the school's principal had billed as an event that would show the community the positive things about Torrington High.

• So what do we do about it? You are the school administrator.

New London Land Seizure

Home of Suzette Kelo at Fort Griswold which symbolized the controversy

The land was taken for “private” economic development

The taking was under the authority of the New London Development Corporation – to whom the city ceded its authority to act in the city’s interest.

The taking was upheld all the way to the US Supreme Court by 4-3 (CT) and 5-4 (US) decisions.

The backlash was quick and furious. 44 states changed laws, President Bush issued executive order limiting eminent domain seizures.

”Never, ever delegate the powers of eminent domain,'' Beth Sabilia, the mayor at the time of the property-rights battle said in the aftermath.

The financier of the development never got their funding and the area is barren today