Ethics

# Ethics

**November 10, 2022**

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# Plan for today

.box-2.medium.sp-after[Ethics in the nonprofit sector]

.box-6.medium.sp-after[Ethical frameworks]

.box-3.medium[An ethics toolkit]

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# Ethics in the nonprofit sector

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# What is ethics?

> “…well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues…”

.box-2.medium[How to decide the "right" thing to do]

???

<https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/what-is-ethics/>

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# General types of ethical problems

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# General types of ethical problems

.box-2.small[Covering up harmful mistakes to protect the organization]

.box-2.small[Diverting nonprofit funds for personal use]

.box-2.small[Misleaading donors on how funds will be spent]
]

.box-2.small[Using nonprofit office supplies for personal things]

.box-2.small[Conscious use of nonprofit funds in an inefficient manner]

.box-2.small[Contracting to a relative of a board member]
]

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# Nonprofit ethical accountability

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# Ethical accountability

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# Creating ethical nonprofits

.center.smaller[[The Mott Foundation's code of ethics](https://www.mott.org/about/values/)]

.center.smaller[[Merit Leadership](https://meritleadership.com/)]

.center.smaller[[CARE's EthicsPoint hotline](https://secure.ethicspoint.eu/domain/media/en/gui/100612/index.html)]

???

<https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/tools-resources/code-of-ethics-nonprofits-why-your-nonprofit-may-want-adopt-statement-of-values>

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# Ethical frameworks

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> I’ve just been sent a baby present from a key supplier. It’s a small gift, a sign of goodwill thanks to work I’ve done to improve an unstable relationship between our companies. My organization forbids employees from accepting gifts of any kind from suppliers, but I also know that my boss accepted a similar gift just two weeks ago. If I keep the gift, nobody will know, but if I send it back, I’ll probably hurt someone’s feelings.

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# Why use ethical frameworks?

.box-inv-6.medium[There is never one right answer to an ethical problem]

.box-inv-6.medium[There are different ways of thinking about problems]

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# My favorite four frameworks

???

- Utilitarianism/teleology - good ends
- Deontology - good, universal means
- Virtue ethics - making the best possible version of yourself
- Empathy and decency - making the best possible version of others

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# Teleology / Utilitarianism

.box-6.SMALL[Decisions should be based on *results*; results should create most good and least evil]

.box-6.SMALL["The ends justify the means"]
]

.box-6.SMALL[Decisions should be based on *the greatest good for the most people*]

.box-6.SMALL[Literal moral calculus using "utils," or happiness points]
]

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# Teleology / Utilitarianism

.center[
<iframe width="889" height="500" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YuVreCbQOwc" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
]

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# Deontology

> Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law.
]

.pull-right[
.box-inv-6.SMALL[Decisions should be based on *whether they are the right thing to do,* regardless of consequences. The circumstance shouldn't matter]

.box-inv-6.SMALL[All actions should be universalizable—what I do, anybody else can do]
]

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# Deontology

.center[
<iframe width="889" height="500" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2S_XuJTOEJY" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
]

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# Virtue ethics

.box-inv-6.SMALL[Decisions should be made by people with *benevolence* who possess specific virtues]

.box-6.smaller[Fortitude (courage)]

.box-6.smaller[Temperance (moderation)]

.box-6.smaller[Prudence (wisdom)]

.box-6.smaller[Justice]
]

.box-6.smaller[Honesty]

.box-6.smaller[Responsibility]

.box-6.smaller[Respect]

.box-6.smaller[Fairness]

.box-6.smaller[Compassion]
]

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# Moral contractualism & decency

.box-inv-6.small[We should design rules that can't be rejected by the people we share the world with.]

.box-inv-6.smaller[T. M. Scanlon's *What We Owe To Each Other* (2000) and Todd May's *A Decent Life* (2019)]
]

.box-inv-6[Human relationships are central—what decision best enables and enhances our social contract?]
]

???

<https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/9/26/20874217/the-good-place-series-finale-season-4-moral-philosophy>

<https://godplaysdice.com/2019/11/05/book-review-a-decent-life-by-todd-may/>

<https://godplaysdice.com/2018/05/30/who-is-my-neighbor/>

Todd May and The Good Place

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.box-inv-6.medium[You find $50 on the floor after class. Do you track down the person it might belong to, or keep it?]

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# Teleological / utilitarian logic

.box-inv-6.less-medium[Maximize happiness and minimize pain by analyzing consequences]

.box-inv-6.small[Getting more money gives you more utility, but it is offset by guilt]

.box-inv-6.small[Consequences: get richer, get caught, feel happy, feel sad, person who lost the money really needed it, you really needed it, waste time finding person]

.box-6.small[Stick all that information into a magic formula in your head. If keeping it gives you the most utility, keep it. Otherwise don't.]

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# Teleological / utilitarian logic

.box-inv-6.less-medium[Achieves the "greatest good for the greatest number"]

.box-inv-6.less-medium[Foundation for public policy]

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# Deontological / Kantian logic

.box-inv-6.less.medium[No need for moral calculus. Give the money back.]

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# Deontological / Kantian logic

.box-inv-6.less-medium[The rules and process matter]

.box-inv-6.smaller[You can't lie to a murderer at the door because lying cannot be universalized]

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# Virtue ethics logic

.box-inv-6.less-medium[An action is good if it maintains integrity and builds character]

.box-6[Pretty much every agreed-upon virtue (honesty, responsibility, respect, fairness, compassion, etc.) says to give the money back]

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# Virtue ethics logic

.box-inv-6.less-medium[Virtue ethics isn't very normative or universal]

&nbsp;

.box-6.less-medium[How would you feel if your response appeared in the media?]

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# Moral contractualism.smaller[&nbsp;& ]decency logic

.box-inv-6.less-medium[**We owe things to each other.**]

.box-inv-6.SMALL[Consider why the $50 is there. Someone who was planning to use it for something useful probably dropped it on accident. Reduce suffering by finding them.]

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# An ethics toolkit

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# The Ethics Toolkit

.pull-left.color-7[
- **Gather the facts**
- **Define the ethical issues**
- **Identify the affected parties**
]

.pull-right.SMALL.color-7[
- **Identify the consequences** .small[(utilitarianism)]
- **Identify the obligations** .small[(deontology)]
- **Consider your character and integrity** .small[(virtue ethics)]
- **Consider what would be decent and most helpful for others** .small[(moral contractualism)]
]

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.center.smaller[(Words like "results", "outcomes", "effect", "consequences")]

.center.smaller[(Words like "rights", "justice", "fairness", "rules")]
]

.center.smaller[(Words like "character", "integrity", "reputation")]

.center.smaller[(Words like "obligations", "expectations", "society")]
]

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> Your organization is receiving a large donation to support research. Though you are not sure, there are some indications that the family who is providing the donation received their money through smuggling drugs. They may also be involved in money laundering.

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> Your organization runs community health clinics in rural Haiti. To stay caught up with relevant research and to network with potential donors and volunteers, your staff attends annual conferences at expensive Swiss chalets. Is this ethical?

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> Your organization received too much money for a program that's already well-funded. Should you divert the money to a different under-funded program?