Ethical.Framework.for.
Decision.Making
Introduction
We closed the last chapter on a note about building a good ethical framework and its central role in securing the information infrastructure. A good ethi- cal framework is essential for good decision making. Decision making is a staple for human beings. As we get more and more dependent on computer technology, we are slowly delegating the right to make rational decisions and the right to reason. In so doing, we are abdicating our responsibilities as human beings. Human autonomy, the human ability to make rational deci- sions, is the essence of life. If you cannot make personal decisions, based on the principle of duty of care, for your day-to-day living, you may as well be called the living dead. We are focusing on decision making in this chapter and how character education, that is ethics education, and codes of conduct help in creating an ethical framework essential for good decision making.
Principle.of.Duty.of.Care
Duty of care is our individual implicit responsibilities to other individuals in our society in whatever we do. The principle of duty of care is also the for- malization of these individual responsibilities towards one’s community and society. Human beings are social animals that must exist in communities. So as members of these communities in which we live, we shoulder these social responsibilities to be mindful of others within our communities in whatever we do . Our working life, therefore, bears this responsibility.
Since a working life involves a continuous sequence of daily decision mak- ing, we will look at the process of decision making as the cradle of the care of duty, because no decision should and, indeed, must be taken without it. Wrong decisions, lacking the responsibilities in the duty of care, should lead to the feeling of guilt about the wrong decisions and how to avoid them. By the very nature of a working life, workers are decision makers. From the time one checks in at the place of work until the end of the working day, and even beyond, a worker must make hundreds of decisions. A good decision must take into account the principle of the duty of care and be anchored by an ethical framework.
Work.and.Decision.Making
Good decisions are not only based on an ethical framework, but also on the decision maker’s abilities. The decision maker’s abilities are based on the following basic requirements, namely (Kizza, 2002):
1. .A.set.of.highly.developed.skills.and.deep.knowledge.of.the.domain:.
Skills and deep knowledge of the domain are both acquired and devel- oped over an extended period of formal schooling and experience at work. Acquiring a sophisticated level of knowledge is crucial because skills based on shallow knowledge of the domain could be damaging in cases involving decisions that require understanding, analysis, and adoption of concepts to suit the environment or the problem.
2. Autonomy:.When at work, both employers and employees make de-
must decide on the tasks to assign to the employees, who must decide on how to approach the assigned task. Both decisions must result in a
finished task. Both the employee and employer have a variety of op- tions to choose from, based on their experiences and knowledge. The
choice of options to finish the task carries with it a certain degree of
autonomy. The more knowledgeable and experienced the worker is the more options he or she can provide and, therefore, the more autonomy he or she enjoys.
3. Observance.of.a.code.of.conduct:.In Social.and.Ethical.Issues.of.the. Information.Age (Kizza, 2002), I point out that a working individual normally observes four codes of conduct: professional, personal, insti- tutional, and community. These codes are intertwined. In some cases,
they are so intertwined that it is difficult to extricate one from the others. Let us first look at each one of these individually and then discuss how
to manage the maze made by these codes (Kizza, 1996):
• The.professional.code: Consists of a set of guidelines to which the professional must adhere, spelling out what he or she ought to do and not do. Its purpose is to protect both the image of the profes- sion and that of the individual members. Thus it is a requirement for the profession that members adhere to the code.
• A.personal.code: Consists of a set of individual moral guidelines focusing on the very moral fabric an individual acquires from child-
hood, and it supplements the professional code significantly.
• The.institutional.code: A code imposed by the institution for which the professional is working. This code is meant to build and maintain
the public’s confidence in the institution and its employees.
• The.local.code: A community standard code developed over a pe-
riod of time based on either the religion or culture of the indigenous people in the area. It may be imposed by civil law or the culture of the community in which the professional works.
Not every worker observes the four codes at any one time. However, a worker must be prepared to observe all four.
Let us consider an example to explain the working of these four codes. Suppose a physician is working in a community hospital where the hospital and the community do not support euthanasia. If the doctor is asked by her patient to assist him in taking his own life, the doctor must examine all four codes before coming to a decision. First, the professional code
may not support euthanasia, whether her individual moral code does or not. So because the institutional, community, and the professional code
do not support euthanasia, the doctor may not find it in her best interest
to grant the patient his wish, even if she agrees with the patient. As we discuss later, the requirement that any action taken by a professional must fall within the intersection of the four sets of codes may present moral dilemmas for the professional in the decision-making process and, consequently, tarnish the professionalism of the individual.
Pillars.of.a.Working.Life
A good working life is supported by four pillars: commitment, integrity, responsibility, and accountability (Kizza, 2002).