A Rock and a Hard Place

Far more attention needs to be given to the values and principles-both business and ethical-that business people hold, for the simple reason that they make up the foundation upon which decisions are made. Solving business/ethical issues and challenges is every manager’s responsibility. Value-based decision-making demands basic ethics skills as well as business skills-the implication being that the decision maker knows and uses a process that consciously merges the business and ethical factors inherent in most situations. While not leading to perfect solutions, decisions flowing from both business and moral values can produce more effective, responsible, and defensible resolutions to most dilemmas.