Ethical Cycle, Assessment Example

For approximately half a century, the frequency and importance of ethical decision making has increased.  This is where the ethical cycle can  help.  It begins with identifying the moral problem and developing it according to three conditions; namely, stating what the problem is; identifying who is affected by its resolution; and “the moral issue of the problem”

(The Ethical Cycle).  When I was a member of a condo board, some members attempted to employ the ethical cycle when dealing with problems.  The statement of a moral problem we encountered a couple of years ago was that somebody bought a condo with reassurance  that the building allowed only 40+ purchasers with no children.  As soon as the owner moved in, she encountered unbearable noise from the condo above hers.  Two children ages four and two kept staying with their grandparents for several weeks at a time and were sometimes joined by their lone parent.  Their room was the master bedroom!  The negatively affected party was the owner of the condo below the noisy unit above hers.  She could not afford to move and the stress was slowly getting the best of her.  With no help from the manager—who sold her the condo under false pretenses—she wrote a letter to council.  I regret to say that we did not even bother to talk to the offending people, but told the victim she could move if she did not like it.  To me, there were two clear options; namely, the offending couple cease having all these people living with them or they should sell and move.  Any reflection by the board centered around the fact that the grandfather helped with the snow shovelling, etcetera.

The board was transparent because the complaint and decision were in the minutes posted in the mail room.  The complainant was negatively affected, which was unfair to her, especially since she was sold the condo under false pretenses.  (Rationalizing Unethical Behaviors, p.25).

References

Rationalizing Unethical Behaviors, Pg. 25.  Contemporary Issues in Business Ethics.

The Ethical Cycle, Pg. 19. Contemporary Issues in Business Ethics.