Similar to “A Framework for Ethical Decision Making”, this article touched on virtues, utilitarianism, and rights & responsibilities. Ethics is defined a little differently. It states, “Ethics is the study of why certain decisions are understood to be morally right or morally wrong, and the reasoned views behind making these judgements.” One thing I noticed, though, is that feelings, religion, law, and cultural norms are nowhere within this definition either.

In the second video regarding the different frameworks discussed, the man speaking goes into a topic I find especially intriguing. He mentions that “Without informed consent, in many places, a doctor cannot perform operations even if they know it could save someone’s life. People are allowed to decline medical interventions.” I have heard of such stories and believe that a person should be able to choose for themselves in this circumstance. While painful, I think it’s not a doctor’s decision on whether or not a person should continue to live or die. It’s definitely not an easy view.

That said, this is a difficult stance to hold. The moment I imagine a loved one or friend in those circumstances, I immediately have second thoughts on my stance, which helps me understand a doctor’s struggles. We as people might want someone to get the help we think they deserve, but it’s really their choice. That is a tough pill to swallow, and it highlights just how complex ethical decision-making can be. I feel even better than I did after reading the last article about ethics, so I know it’s starting to click.

Frameworks for ethical analysis. Science Learning Hub. (n.d.). https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/2146-frameworks-for-ethical-analysis

Ethics is something that I have always struggled with. By that, I don’t mean that I am an unethical individual or someone who commits bad acts or something. I just mean that I’ve always had a hard time understanding what exactly it means. Even having read this article, “A Framework for Ethical Decision Making”, I am still a little unclear, but I definitely have a better understanding now. Starting with what ethics is NOT helped tremendously in narrowing down some of my misunderstandings.

I often have conversations with friends or loved ones regarding choices within my life and the ethics surrounding them. In most cases, religion, feelings, law, and societal norms are brought up. While these may have some overlap with ethics, each of these things is not the end-all, so to speak. It’s not entirely 1-to-1 like I and others sometimes treat it, either. The definition in the article states, “Ethics refers to standards and practices that tell us how human beings ought to act in the many situations in which they find themselves.”

So to me, this is still somewhat subjective, and there’s no real answer to those standards and practices outside of our knowledge, skills, and habits. That being said, the lens within the article provides a solid foundation for the knowledge required to act ethically. I suppose that may allude to more objectivity. On top of that, those questions dive even more into specifics depending on your circumstances, so I’ll give them a try at the next talk I have with family and friends. I’m curious to see the outcome of these and if it leads to a deeper conversation.

A Framework for Ethical Decision Making. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. (2021, November 8). https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/a-framework-for-ethical-decision-making/

After having read this article, it’s apparent to me that group development and teaming is an essential part of our lives. Without it, I doubt we’d have as many innovations and advancements as we have in the last few decades. This is incredibly useful info regarding my prospective career in software engineering because that’s almost always a team job. People combine their brains to implement one single functioning system.

Hearing about the Tuckman’s stage model regarding group development and team work made it incredibly clear what went right and wrong throughout the two universities shared experience. This is something that I will try to do myself when meeting for my next lab this week.

I’m curious to see the results and if we perform better or worse as a result. I’m assuming the outcome will be good but we already have a good thing going, so perhaps bringing something like this into the mix now might cause confusion. I’ll update next week during my DEJ post if I remember.

Natvig, D., & Stark, N. L. (2016). A project team analysis using Tuckman’s model of small-group development.

The first thing that caught my eye while reading, “How to link personal values with team values.” was the values cards scenario. I actually did something like this while studying abroad this summer during my 6-credit Internship course on leadership. Like the workshop mentions, we started out with a large group of 50 values. Once we read through them for a bit, we narrowed them down by writing 7 core values down on different sheets of paper. After that, we placed a trash can in the middle of the room with our desks surrounding it, and one by one we got down to our top 3 values. During each round of value elimination we had a time crunch meaning there was less thinking and more acting. You just went with what you wanted to go with and kept it pushing.

I know the workshop in the article mentions people being surprised by all the other values people had, but with this activity we did, I was actually surprised on what my top 3 ended up being. It led to some really quick introspection and questioning on what really mattered most to me.

It was nice to read about the meaning behind our values as well. Seeing how powerful they are in shaping our actions, behaviors, and even during conflict made me all the more happy that I was able to identify a few of my important ones this year. It’s only a matter of time before I start applying them to the workforce as well, so this was great timing for an article on value-based teamwork.

Jaffe, D. T., & Scott, C. D. (1998). How to link personal values with team values. Training & Development, 52(3), 24–30

While reading “Why Ethical People Make Unethical Choices” by Ron Carucci, I paused for a moment. I asked myself, “Would I ever make an unethical choice in the workplace given the opportunity to?” Then I sat for a moment and really tried to answer honestly. I put myself in the shoes of those Wells Fargo employees, even tried to empathize with them, having done what they did. For the right amount of money? If my coworker friend of 20 years was also doing it? I concluded that I just wouldn’t. No matter how bad things were or if I didn’t have a penny to my name, I wouldn’t. Then I continued reading… Bosses who set unrealistic goals with harsh consequences if not accomplished. Miscommunication or the lack of communication from leaders with people who are in need of help concerning ethics in the workplace. Bad role models surrounding ethical decisions. Okay, on second thought, maybe I am susceptible to such unethical choices. It seems as though this isn’t as black and white as I originally thought. People don’t just wake up one day different on their ethical standpoints and morals. It seems to be more of a continuation and ongoing process of events that lead to the bad choices being made. There are a myriad of reasons a person makes an unethical choice, and it doesn’t always boil down to even what I read in the article, I bet. I do believe, having read this though that my views on those Wells Fargo employees changed. For the better, too, because I now see just how complex such cases are, along with the importance of being knowledgeable on ethics within the workplace and in leadership.

Carucci, R. (2016, December 16). Why Ethical People Make Unethical Choices. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/12/why-ethical-people-make-unethical-choices