A Synthesis of Ethical Decision Models for Marketing

Abstract

The contributions of current models of ethical decision making are described and evaluated on a comparative basis. From the synthesis of these frameworks an integrated model is derived. The integrated model combines both cognitive-affect and social-learning theory to produce a more complete perspective of the ethical decision process. This perspective acknowledges that ethical decision making is affected by both external (environment, peers, situation) as well as internal (moral value structure) constructs.

Resolving ethical dilemmas: Exploring the role of moral principles

“…Thus, they guide normative ethical standards (Ferrell & Gresham, 1985), those standards of intention and action that are accepted by an individual or social group, and reflect core underlying values (Haidt, 2007). Beyond guiding our own decisions and behaviors, they similarly guide evaluations concerning the motives and behaviors of others (Ferrell, et al, 1989). Moral principles are thought to be so ingrained and so tied to our beliefs about ourselves as members of a valued group that they will be almost inevitably primed during the moral decision making process and will thus guide moral behaviors as well (Haidt, 2007;Horgan & Timmons, 2007).…”

“…Although other individuallevel variables (e.g., knowledge) and other factors such as social, organizational (Ferrell & Gresham, 1985), and situational factors (Jones, 1991) are acknowledged to also play an important role in moral decision making and particularly in the eventual expression of moral actions, it is generally agreed that underlying moral principles are a significant influence on moral decision making and behavior (Barnett, et. al., 1994;Ferrell, et al, 1989;Kleiser , et al, 2002 . The research summarized in this report reflects a separate line of laboratory investigation that is also a vital piece of the overall research program as the laboratory studies provide us greater control over situational factors and a higher number of participants than is possible in the field studies of this ARP.…”

“…Egoism is based upon self-interest and involves evaluating the correctness of a behavior in terms of the consequences of the behavior to the evaluator. The second class of moral philosophy is Deontological in which moral obligations and commitments are deemed to be sacrosanct (Ferrell, et al, 1989). Here the intentions that motivate a behavior, rather than its consequences, are the core of the orientation.…”

Untitled

“…Models of ethical behavior have incorporated group variables through the proposition that, if interaction with peers is more significant that interaction with management, then such a peer group will have more influence on both an individual's ethical decision making (Ferrell and Gresham, 1985;Ferrell, Gresham and Fraedrich, 1989), and the use of informal norms for use of codes among peers (see Hunt and Vitell, 1986;Zey-Ferrell et al, 1979). Thus, we hypothesize that: H8: The extent to which an individual's work group uses the code of conduct will predict the use of formal codes by that individual.…”

“…First, shared cultural norms and values in an organization appear to predict ethical behavior (Ferrell et al, 1989). Jansen and Von Glinow (1985) argue that there is a need for the organizational culture practised in an organization to match the values espoused by organizational members.…”