My entire ethics class is focused on learning how to make a difficult decision. Ethics education is not about teaching someone to have better morals, but about how someone can make decisions that align more closely with his or her own values. You see, I believe most people share a common set of values — even across cultures — but we don’t always make decisions that align with those values. We saw a great example of this in my law and ethics class last Monday. We were doing a case about a consultant that had been asked to lie to get competitive information. When we started class, the students were almost unanimous in their opinion that lying is the wrong choice; this reflected our shared value of honesty. But once we worked our way through the facts of the case, and the obstacles that the facts presented, the majority of the class voted for the consultant to lie. Thus, many students in the class were advocating for a decision that was inconsistent with their values. Figuring out why we do this, and how to stop it, is my goal for any ethics teaching I do.
All of this is reflected in the recent hazing incidents that have occurred at B.U. If asked out of context, the vast majority of people would agree that they would never treat other human beings in that way, and that if they saw it, they would stop it. But there are obstacles in the way of making choices consistent with our values. For example, tunnel vision on your goals, for which you all work so hard, makes it difficult to see what is going on around you. Allowing small bad choices makes it harder to turn back, hence the slippery slope leads us to that basement in a frat house. The key is to recognize the obstacles, which will allow you to stop and consider your values before you act, or fail to act. None of this is about you being a bad person, or immoral. It about recognizing why we decide the consultant should lie, when we all value honesty.
Making hard choices won’t get any easier when you leave B.U. and the stakes will be higher. All these negative headlines about our university should serve as a wake up call, and allow all of us, even those who have nothing to do with fraternities, sororities, or hockey teams, to start thinking more about how to make hard choices.
7 Comments
Yuchen Qin posted on April 15, 2012 at 2:56 pm
When concerning ethics, things sometimes get complicated. It is often the case for most companies, such as the sake of saving the environment while not sacrificing shareholders’ benefits at the same time. This should also be in good consideration for students concentrating in accounting, like me. Many companies fabricate financial statements, deceit or commit fraudulent behaviors. For us accounting-concentrators, no matter if we become accountants or auditors, it is our responsibility to prevent and stop those behaviors from happening. It is hard but the right thing to do .
Mohammad, Mohd Zain posted on April 15, 2012 at 9:59 pm
My opinion is that it is difficult to constantly align our actions with our ethics, especially in situations where we don’t feel as though we are in control. In the famed Milgram’s experiment where subjects were tested on how far they would inflict harm on another subject, the results surpassed the scientists’ expectations when almost 2/3 of the subjects pressed the highest voltage.
The main lesson we can learn from this experiment is that innocent people are able to do extensive damage when told to by someone in power. Therefore, even though people have their own set of values and ethics, it is difficult to exercise them in a situation where you feel as though you are not in control. As with the recent hazing incident at BU, if all the “hazers” were separated, I think it would be more difficult for each one to do what they did when they were in a group. The idea of shared responsibility is another factor as to why people would go against their values and ethics to harm others.
Phoebe Chao posted on April 17, 2012 at 8:48 pm
I think this topic of ethics and the choices we make is very interesting because it has a lot to do with, not just campus life but on a much broader scale, the business world at large. The comment above me makes an excellent point. I think the obstacles that concern our ethical beliefs are affected by groupthink. I know this has the ability to greatly affect behavior, decisions, and character. Sometimes this phenomenon can make individuals commit acts that one would never do on an individual level.
Depending on the situation, I think that before we make a solid decision, we step away as individuals and ask ourselves if the decisions we are about to make genuinely coincide with our own value sets.
Julianne Kodack posted on April 18, 2012 at 6:12 pm
In all cultures, everyone is taught to make good decisions in life. No culture wants anyone to lie and misbehave, but when it comes to certain situations, one must go in the opposite direction of our values. In college it can also be hard to stick by your values. We find ourselves in a place where you can essentially do anything.When we are not in tune with what are values actually are we end up losing sight on everything. We make choices that aren’t necessarily the best for us.We make decisions based on what the group wants so we do not feel left out, and although most people will say they will be the one to stop and say something if the event happen, they are sitting on the sidelines like everyone else. In life it only takes one mistake to turn everything from really great to really bad. This hazing was the one mistake and ruined the reputation of that frat here at BU for at least some time.
One must step back and take a look at your values and morals you have set for yourself and decide is this decision I am making in line with what I believe. In the end you need to be happy with the choices you make because you are the only one responsible for them.
Hope Blalock posted on April 21, 2012 at 3:17 pm
I agree that across the globe, all different culture have roughly the same moral values, which makes it seem like the “right” decision is always in line with whatever values an individual may have. However, as we all know, there are always exceptions to the rule and unusual circumstances (as the ones in the case mentioned above) can cause a shift in opinion. In unusual circumstances, we sometimes choose not what is “right” in our morals, but what is “right” from another point of view.
Jinfeng Cai posted on April 27, 2012 at 10:22 am
I agree Hope’s opinion that ethnics and moral values shared by humans despite their different backgrounds. However, it’s hard to draw a line between what is
”right” and what is “best” solution. In my point of view, it depends what would be our solution and response.
Stephanie Nowak posted on May 1, 2012 at 10:34 pm
I agree with all of the above comments. Values are values, lying is wrong, cheating is bad, forcing people into something is not acceptable. Yet across the globe all of these mentioned actions are done, not just in a simple way either, but in a complicated and definitely thought out way. I have to question the tendencies of certain individuals to fall victim to the “bad decision trend.” I do agree that people don’t always want to do they wrong thing, however I do believe that people should be held accountable for the decisions they make because each action was a thought out plan. My feelings here rests with the idea that people are entirely capable of avoiding situations that get them into a place where they need to lie or cheat. Most people however would think of this process of self reflection and internal thought a way more difficult and would rather go along with the crowed and take on the risk of getting caught. Not enough people want to challenge themselves to think in the long term with possible consequences down the road. This is where the trouble lies across cultures simple on the basis of human nature. I think in a way, society allows this as people making bad decisions get punished, and thats that. Where is the lesson there other than not wanting to get caught? Individuals need to push themselves to really hone in on their actions and thus potential consequences. Living in the moment is necessary, however there should be a way to live in the moment for the betterment of the future.