Research Paper on:
Ethical Decision Making

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
it is suggested that the process consist of three questions, which are: What should I do, what will I do, and how does the decision I make compare with my  personal orientation (Schafer, 2002)? Of course, the process is easier said than done. Ethical decisions generally create fear, and this is a fear of change in the status quo (2002).  People strive to maintain equilibrium in their lives and rarely act in a manner that disrupts that equilibrium so when confronted with an ethical decision, an individuals ability to make  objective decisions does becomes warped by this tendency to maintain the status quo (2002). This is likely why it takes so long for whistle blowers to surface in firms  that are committing illegal acts. People do not want to rock the boat. They are afraid of losing their jobs, but also afraid of what such information could do to  a firm and the lives of all employees. To some extent, they keep information hidden because of the fear of reprisal. Many ethical dilemmas contain both short- and long-term solutions  and there is generally an inverse relationship between short-term and long-term ethical solutions (Schafer, 2002). Short-term solutions may benefit an individual but harm society; however, long-term decisions may hurt the  individual but benefit the community (2002). Hence, it is sometimes hard to make a decision based on ethics if it might hurt someones career. Above all, an ethical decision  consists of a series of choices, and is not just one decision (Schafer, 2002). Making poor primary ethical decisions increases the number of choices one has but there will  be a future impact on those choices (2002). A negative primary ethical decision spring-loads the ethical trap, and this results in an increased potential for legal or administrative action or