Andreas Schneider: Professional Ethics

I. Ethics in Theory

Kant: Individual Responsibility

Moral law cannot be justified by reason it can only be obeyed for its own sake. A good person acts out of duty. Not because he or she fears punishment or hopes for rewards. 

Categorical imperative: 

"Act as if your actions should be taken as an indicator of a general law of behavior" or "think what would happen if everyone did this."

Kant's contemporaries (1750)

• Rousseau
• Goethe
• Casanova
• (Boston Tea Party)

Weber: Organizational Responsibility

• Behavior in organizations is not guided by individual ethics, but by written rules of the organization.
• Rules follow an organizational logic, they are rational.
• Even though the bureaucratic machinery itself is value free, persons on top define purpose, values, and ethics.
  
  

Combining Organizational and Individual Potentials

• Organizations have to work in a way that allows individuals to show ethical behavior.
  
  

II. Practical Example: Ethical dilemmas in the car repair shop

III. Groupwork

How to create an environment for professional ethics ?

Situation: Our colony just had an emergency landing on Jupiter. As a sociologist you are assigned to a planning committee that should set up new businesses. Your task is to implement policies encouraging ethical behavior. Pick a business of your choice (repair shops for popular small space ships, private mental health hospitals, universities, law firms etc.) and address the following points:

Concerning individual ethics:

1. How to ensure education of the employees?
2. How to show employees their ethical responsibilities?

Concerning organizational ethics:

1.a What are the goals of your organization?
1.b How are these goals implemented in regulations?

2. How do you enable individuals to show personal ethics within the organization?