Business ethics: A model to position a relative business ethics decision and a model to strengthen its application

The maxims of normative ethics are often in conflict. Thus business practitioners facing ethical questions often find themselves operating in the area of relative ethics. There are arguably two dimensions to this area. One lies on a spectrum from weak companies in highly competitive industries to strong companies in protected industries. The second dimension places the would-be ethical manager in awkward situations imposed from either the hierarchy or from corrupt markets. This article develops an analysis model to portray this relative ethics dilemma. Then, an argument is made that the more the individual manager practices good ethics, the higher the level of ethics the individual is able to maintain. This article proposes an adaptation of the 1950s feedback model of group dynamics known as the “Johari Window” to show this improvement in ethical behavior.