1. Recognize an ethical
situation and the ethical
issues involved.
Use our personal ethics to
identify ethical situations and
issues. Some businesses and
professional organizations
provide written codes of
ethics for guidance in some
business situations.
2. Identify and analyze
the principal elements
in the situation.
Identify the stakeholders—
persons or groups who may
be harmed or benefited.
3. Identify the alternatives,
and weigh the impact of
each alternative on various
stakeholders.
Select the most ethical
alternative, considering all the
consequences. Sometimes there
will be one right answer. Other
situations involve more than
one right solution; these
situations require an evaluation
of each and a selection of the
best alternative.