Laszlo Zsolnai ‘Ethical Decision Making.’ , in Interdisciplinary Yearbook of Business Ethics, ed. Laszlo Zsolnai, Peter Lang, Oxford – Bern – Berlin – Bruxelles – Frankfurt am Main – New York – Wien, 2006. (This book may be available at: Amazon)
The self-centeredness of modern organizations leads to environmental destruction and human deprivation. The principle of responsibility developed by Hans Jonas requires caring for the beings affected by our decisions and actions. Ethical decision making creates a synthesis of reverence for ethical norms, rationality in goal achievement, and respect for the stakeholders. The maximin rule selects the “least worst alternative” in the multidimensional decision space of deontological, goal-achievement and stakeholder values. The ethical decision maker can be characterized as having the ability to take multiple perspectives and make appropriate balances across diverse value dimensions.
Modern organizations should develop a critical sensitivity to and empathy toward human and non-human beings with which they share a common environment.