Interactive Ethics

By Christina Miner

According to Thomas Schear, author of “Interactive Ethics: How Ethical & Unethical Decisions Are Really Made in Organizations”, the original Interactive Ethical Model starts with an ethical dilemma. The ethical dilemma then meets cognitions, where Kohlberg’s Stages and Levels of Moral Development determine how you respond to moral/ethical decisions. Some questions asked at this stage are: “are you fearful of punishment? Are you concerned about looking good to those around you? Do you aspire to a higher sense of responsibility to others?” Individual Moderators are the things we bring to the dilemma, which Schear describes as ego strength, field dependence, and locus of control. The organization brings their own issues to the table, called Situational Moderators. Schear describes these as immediate job context, characteristics of the work, and organizational culture. These factors lead to the ethical or unethical decision that is ultimately made by an organization.

Schear presents two models to better decision-making.

Josephson Institute of Ethics
1. Stop and Think
2. Clarify Goals
3. Determine Facts
4. Develop Options
5. Consider Consequences
6. Choose
7. Monitor and Modify

Developed by Jon Pekel and Doug Wallace
1. Identify the Key Facts
2. Identify and Analyze the Major Stakeholders
3. Identify the Underlying Driving Forces
4. Identify/Prioritize Operating Value and Ethical Principles
5. Decide Who Should Be Involved In Making the Decision
6. Determine and Evaluate All Viable Alternatives
7. Test Preferred Alternative With a Worst-Case Scenario
8. Add a Preventative Component
9. Decide and Build a Short and Long-Term Action-Plan
10. Use Decision-Making Checklist

“But in the end it is hoped that through understanding and the insights gained from the model that the reader can learn how to make more ethical decisions as part of an organization that supports that path in every possible way.”

This information is extremely valuable to all PR practitioners because as people that work for a client we can easily be put into a situation where we our values can be put into question. Do you promote an item that goes against your personal views? Do you “spin” something so that your client makes more money and you don’t lose your job? These are issues that could face each one of us and by using Schear’s book (and others) as a tool we can be prepared to handle these decisions.