Moral Ethical Conflicts
You may be wondering why making an ethical decision is difficult or why there are so many media stories about ethics violations. There are many factors that contribute to poor ethical decisions, including an agency’s failure to provide a Code of Ethics, lack of training, a weak understanding of laws, and a weak personal moral constitution. But the main contributing factor is the conflict between social norms and contradictory laws.
Agencies may create social pressures, such as an increased appetite for new business or revenues, keeping a positive public image, serving only a specified group of people, use of technology, privacy concerns, and a weak leadership. When these social norms or pressures conflict with laws, regulations, or agency rules, you may find yourself in the middle of a moral–ethical conflict.
An extreme yet common example of a moral–ethical conflict is the concept of murder. Murdering another human being is a violation of the law, and it generally violates social norms or morals; however, murder may be considered self-defense or even be permissible for those involved in war. These conflicts create ethical concerns for the individual. Let’s take a look at your individual responsibility as it relates to making ethical decisions.