Codes, Values and Justifications in the Ethical Decision-Making Process

The resolution of ethical dilemmas often requires individuals to search for reasonable justifications to support their choices. Occasionally, such justifications must be made explicit to stakeholders inside or outside the organization. Other times, the justification for a decision will be known only by the decision-maker. In either case, the organizational code of conduct that governs the individual can play a vital role in providing guidelines about appropriate and inappropriate justifications. The present paper discusses the connections between organizational codes and employee justifications. Richard Coughlan is Associate Dean for Graduate and Executive Programs in the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond, where he teaches courses on business ethics and negotiations. He earned both an MBA and a Ph.D. at the University of Arizona. His research on ethics and decision-making has been published in leading academic journals including Journal of Behavioral Decision Makingand Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.