1

Set out the facts in a fair
and balanced way

Provide a short summary of
the ethical scenario.

2

List the main stakeholders

Who is the instigator of
the problem? In this scenario, did someone identify there was an ethical
issue? (Not always explicit in all scenarios).

Who are the people /
stakeholders directly involved?

Who are the people /
stakeholders indirectly implicated? Who is affected by this scenario?

3

Record the major ideals and
the rights that you see having a role in the decision.

Select one or two
ideals/rights that you see as central to the situation.

Has a person’s /
stakeholder’s trust been broken?

Ideals

·
Do the ideals of fairness / honesty / equality
/ duty or care have a role in the ethical decision?

Rights: Does this scenario include:

·
The right to know?

·
The right to privacy?

·
The right to property?

4

What obligations are there? To
whom or to what is an obligation owed, and what sort of obligation is it?

Laws

ACS code of ethics

Obligations

·
To the
profession and industry

·
To avoid
misleading people

·
To produce a
sound and safe product

·
To owners and
shareholders

·
To foster
professionalism

What type of ethical
infringement has occurred for each person / stakeholder?

Are there any laws that
have been broken?

5

What are the likely
consequences for each stakeholder (major, short term, long term)?

Who benefits from the
action?

Who is harmed by the
action?

6

Ethical theories

Act Utilitarianism

·
Does this act
increase (or decrease) the total happiness of the affected parties?

Kantianism

·
Categorical
imperative 1: What would happen if this decision is made universal?

·
Categorical
imperative 2: Does this decision ‘use’ anyone?

Rule Utilitarianism

·
Does this
action lead to the greatest increase (or decrease) in total happiness?

Social Contract Theory

·
Would other
people in the community / country agree with this decision?

(Also refer to Figure 1).

7

Summary

What is the best action? What
should be done?

Highlight the fact that
there is often no definite right or wrong.