A novel paper using Canada's real traffic accident data to propose a cost-prediction-based decision-making framework incorporating different ethical foundations for AVs. / Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) hold out the promise of being safer than manually driven cars. However, it is impossible to guarantee the hundred percent avoidance of collisions in a real-life environment with unpredictable objects and events. When accidents become unavoidable, the different reactions of AVs and their outcome will have different consequences. Thus, AVs should incorporate the so-called ‘ethical decision-making algorithm’ when facing unavoidable collisions. This paper is introducing a novel cost-prediction-based decision-making framework incorporating two common ethical foundations human drivers use when facing unavoidable dilemma inducing collisions: Ethical Egoism and Utilitarianism. The cost-prediction algorithm consists of Collision Injury Severity Level Prediction (CISLP) and Cost Evaluation. The CISLP model was trained using both Multinominal Logistic Regression (MLR) and a Decision Tree Classifier (DTC). Both algorithms consider the combination of relationships among traffic collision explanatory features. Four different Cost Evaluation metrics were purposed and compared to suit different application needs. The data set used for training and testing the cost prediction algorithm is the 1999-2017 National Collision Data Base (NCDB) which ensures the realistic and reliability of the algorithm. This paper is a novel paper using Canada's real traffic accident data to propose a cost-prediction-based decision-making framework incorporating different ethical foundations for AVs. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Moral distress in the healthcare field includes feelings of frustration, anger, guilt, anxiety, depression, despair, and powerlessness to carry out ethically appropriate actions to patients in line with personal values in the setting of external constraints. Psychiatry residents are particularly vulnerable to experiencing moral distress due to the coercive aspects of psychiatric treatment, constraints in the medical system, and the internal conflicts caused by a resident’s identity as a trainee physician and competing duties to an individual patient, healthcare organizations, health care professionals, and society. Psychiatrists make complex assessments that often cannot be made with absolute certainty, but regardless, they are tasked with the duty to identify and ultimately act on their risk assessments. These unrealistic societal expectations are especially difficult for psychiatry residents who have not yet had the experience to grow their knowledge and confidence in their decision-making skills yet still must make difficult decisions in their new role as physicians. Ethical decision-making can be used to alleviate moral distress, and a consistent utilization of an ethical decision-making framework can help guide decisions that are both objective and thoughtful. The ethical framework proposed includes considerations of the patient's capacity to consent or refuse medical treatment, the urgency of the medical condition, the feasibility of the actions needed to address the medical condition, and the countertransference of the treatment team. This framework helps guide clinicians by ensuring they understand and address the ethical considerations involved in treating patients and the moral distress that arises from these difficult choices. / Urban Bioethics

No / In light of the growing interest in "ethically questionable" consumer behavior, this study explores possible explanations of the occurrence of such behaviour, and subsequently develops a theoretical framework. The study is based upon data collected from 72 U.K. consumers, acquired from a projective approach with scenarios. Taking the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as an initial analytical framework, attitude, social influence, opportunity (as perceived behavioral control in TPB) and perceived unfairness are identified as the antecedents of ethically questionable behavior (EQB). Social influence is extended to include a broader range of external influences from subjective norm in TPB. Opportunity is considered to represent an aspect of perceived behavioral control as available resource to engage in EQB. Perceived unfairness is presented as an additional component and refers to the extent to which an actor is motivated to redress an imbalance that is perceived as unfair. Binary logistic models suggest that attitude and social influence consistently impact on EQB, as TPB would predict. Analysis of variance suggests that perceived unfairness and opportunity, though context specific, also show signs of significant influence on the acceptance and practice of this behavior. Additional to the construct of TPB, this study develops the dimension of perceived unfairness in the context of EQB decision-making. In the context of TPB, it provides further insight into our understanding of EQB, helping to provide a theoretical framework.

Companies’ entrepreneurial actions entail all sorts of conquences among these ethical consequences. While the media reports on unethical activities and blames companies for those actions, the global market economy, with few exceptions, does not value ethical behavior. Consequently, businesses continue to prioritize the pursuit of profits over the consideration of ethical issues. Research suggests that this situation together with traditionally vertical leadership structures produces conflicts in decision-making processes between profit and ethical value goals. New styles of leadership and decision-making are needed to overcome this conflict. Thus, the aim of this project is to identify the characteristics of shared leadership that are perceived as positively influencing corporate decision-making processes with regards to the integration of ethical considerations. A case study approach is chosen to study the phenomenon in a real-life context. A German small-size company practicing shared leadership funcions as the case study. The report presents a framework to analyze various factors regarding. Empirical data from interviews and on-site observations are analyzed using a framework created based on previous research, highlighting inputs, processes and outputs of the decision-making processes in shared leadership. The findings show that individuals’ personalities, intra-team relations, organizational culture, rules and the use of a decision-making tool aiming at consent are important influencing factors of decision-making in shared leadership.

Background Brand loyalty has been studied by a large number of scholars over the past few decades, including its impact on consumer purchase behavior and as a core concept when creating brand value. Having ethical business practice helps retain customers trust and enforce their loyalty to the brand. However, brand’s unethical behavior has always been a topic discussed by society, especially for the soft drinks industry. Problem Previous research has shown that there is a link between brand loyalty, brand trust and brand attachment. It has also been implied that consumers with high commitment to a brand might justify a brands unethical behavior. However, there is a lack of research within the field of brand loyalty and ethical business practices within the beverage industry. Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand how millennials with different levels of brand loyalty respond to unethical marketing activities to soft drink brands within the beverage industry. Furthermore, this research would like to give an insight to whether consumers care about ethical brands within this industry or not. Additionally, this study can help brands in the beverage industry to build their marketing strategies and maintain their consumer relationship. Method This study used a qualitative research method, where 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sampling method, with millennials as research objects. Additionally, the brand Pepsi has been used as a case to measure the participants brand loyalty in order to classify them to one of the three levels of loyalty in the conceptual framework.  Conclusion The results show that the more loyal consumers are towards brands, the less impact the brand’s unethical behavior has on them. For consumers with low loyalty, the chances of turning to alternatives when brands have ethical issues are greater. Whereas consumers who are on the Satisfied level have a neutral opinion towards the brand when it comes to unethical issues. While, consumers with high brand loyalty may ignore the brand's unethical behavior because of their loyalty and love for the brand. Brand image, product quality, product safety, environmental footprint and how brands handle the unethical issues have been identified as important factors when consumers make the purchasing decision.

Cultural competence and ethical decision making are two separate, yet intrinsically related concepts which are central to services rendered by all health care professionals. Cultural competence is based on ethical principles and informs ethical decision making. In spite of this important connection, the interrelationship of these two concepts does not receive the attention it deserves in the literature. This issue is addressed by appraising the training and assessment of cultural competence and ethical decision making in the health care professions. The integrated relationship of these two concepts is illustrated within the broader contexts of higher education, research and clinical practice. Health care professionals who incorporate cultural competence and ethical decision making will be empowered to provide the best services to their clients/ patients in multicultural contexts to ensure optimum outcomes.

The purpose of this research is to examine how the ethical decision making of a salesperson is influenced by job characteristics, and how ethical decision making then influences job outcomes. This research is important because the field of ethics draws from diverse disciplines that have minimal agreement with each other. While calls have been made for a uniform standard of ethics, a better decision may be for each discipline to look internally to determine both what ethics is and how it functions in relation to other variables on in each disciplines unique field. This study examines first how the exogenous job characteristic variables of perceived organizational support, sales force control system and ethical values of the salesperson affect ethical decision making. Perceived organizational support and the behavioral-based sales force control system are hypothesized to positively influence ethical decision making. The link between perceived organizational support and ethical decision making has been observed in the field of accounting, and sales research has found that perceived organizational support leads to organizational citizenship behavior, which contains ethical decision making under its umbrella. Behavior-based sales force control systems are predicted to lead to ethical decision making because this type of control system has been shown to both lead to increased affective organizational commitment and reduce the benefits of acting unethically. The ethical values of the salesperson are predicted to moderate the relationships between the independent variables and ethical decision making. Ethical values and the independent variables in the study are influenced by similar antecedent constructs. The study also examines how ethical decision making influences the endogenous job outcomes variables of affective organizational commitment and salesperson performance. Ethical decision making is hypothesized to positively influence both performance and commitment. Ethical climates have been found to increase commitment, and performance is considered a key outcome of ethical decision making. Azjen’s (1985) theory of planned behavior ties the hypotheses together.

The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether adolescents make use of an ethical decision–making framework when they make choices in relation to sexual activities and the elements that make up this ethical decision–making framework. The adolescent stage of development is characterized by physical and cognitive changes, of which the development of sexual characteristics and morality are only parts. Both these developments are discussed at length within the context of adolescent sexual activity, and cognitive and moral development. Different influences on the morality of adolescents were identified, of which the faith community of adolescents were one. These elements also influence the ethical decision–making framework of adolescents on sexual activity. The influence of the religious community on the ethical decision–making framework of adolescents was also investigated on the basis of the faith community's message about sexual activities and the perceptual influence of the religious community on the morality of adolescents. The sexual activity of adolescents, adolescents? perceptions about these sexual activities as well as the messages and sources of information that are available to adolescents with regard to sex was identified by making use of Participant Observation Research. A small group of participants and observers used the PIRASH program to identify the above–mentioned information. The participants also identified the obstacles that adolescents must overcome to establish a healthy sexual life, and what their definition of a healthy sexual life is. Participants in this study agreed that their faith community did not provide enough information to adolescents about sex and sexual activities. Participants indicated this lack of information as their reason for using other sources of information about sexual activities. These messages conveyed by other sources, including those of the media, friends and parents vary from those the faith community has about sex. Adolescents have easier access to these other sources; therefore there is a difference between the faith community's view on sexual activity and that of the adolescents who form part of the faith community. It is concluded that it is necessary, almost urgently, for faith communities to establish the actual view of adolescents who form part of the community, on sexual activity, and to have a stronger influence on the ethical decision–making framework of adolescents. The ethical decision–making framework of adolescents can only be influenced if the faith communities speak more comfortably and more extensively with their adolescents about sex and sexual activities. Postmodern adolescents have access to a variety of sources with a variety of messages about sex and the importance of moral messages from the faith community cannot be underestimated. A secondary outcome of this study was to explore the possibility of Participant Observation Research as research methodology within Theological Ethics. / Thesis (M.A. (Ethics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether adolescents make use of an ethical decision–making framework when they make choices in relation to sexual activities and the elements that make up this ethical decision–making framework. The adolescent stage of development is characterized by physical and cognitive changes, of which the development of sexual characteristics and morality are only parts. Both these developments are discussed at length within the context of adolescent sexual activity, and cognitive and moral development. Different influences on the morality of adolescents were identified, of which the faith community of adolescents were one. These elements also influence the ethical decision–making framework of adolescents on sexual activity. The influence of the religious community on the ethical decision–making framework of adolescents was also investigated on the basis of the faith community's message about sexual activities and the perceptual influence of the religious community on the morality of adolescents. The sexual activity of adolescents, adolescents? perceptions about these sexual activities as well as the messages and sources of information that are available to adolescents with regard to sex was identified by making use of Participant Observation Research. A small group of participants and observers used the PIRASH program to identify the above–mentioned information. The participants also identified the obstacles that adolescents must overcome to establish a healthy sexual life, and what their definition of a healthy sexual life is. Participants in this study agreed that their faith community did not provide enough information to adolescents about sex and sexual activities. Participants indicated this lack of information as their reason for using other sources of information about sexual activities. These messages conveyed by other sources, including those of the media, friends and parents vary from those the faith community has about sex. Adolescents have easier access to these other sources; therefore there is a difference between the faith community's view on sexual activity and that of the adolescents who form part of the faith community. It is concluded that it is necessary, almost urgently, for faith communities to establish the actual view of adolescents who form part of the community, on sexual activity, and to have a stronger influence on the ethical decision–making framework of adolescents. The ethical decision–making framework of adolescents can only be influenced if the faith communities speak more comfortably and more extensively with their adolescents about sex and sexual activities. Postmodern adolescents have access to a variety of sources with a variety of messages about sex and the importance of moral messages from the faith community cannot be underestimated. A secondary outcome of this study was to explore the possibility of Participant Observation Research as research methodology within Theological Ethics. / Thesis (M.A. (Ethics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Titel: Beslutsfattande och Interpersonell påverkan Nivå: Examensarbete företagsekonomi, 15 hp Syfte: Vårt intresse för etiskt beslutsfattande väcktes ur uppfattningen om att fastighetsmäklare generellt sett har lågt förtroende bland allmänheten samt att försäljares etiska snedsteg ofta täcker tidningars förstasidor. Syftet med studien är att skapa ökad förståelse för hur den interpersonella dimensionen påverkar det etiska beslutsfattandet hos medarbetare inom säljorganisationer. Studiens forskningsfrågor har varit följande: 1. Kan oetiskt beteende påverka de andra medarbetarna? 2. Vilken av de etiska teorierna egoism, utilitarism eller dentologi/pliktetik är den mest centrala när det kommer till beslutsfattande för individer? 3. På vilket sätt påverkar en rättvis arbetsmiljö medarbetarnas beslutsfattning vid etiska dilemman? Metod: Vår Studie baseras på en deduktiv forskningsansats och en kvalitativ forskningsmetod. Vi har utfört semistrukturerade intervjuer med tio fastighetsmäklare från fyra olika svenska städer där vi använt oss av en operationaliserad intervjuguide. Vårt empiriska material har sedan analyserats med en analysmetod av Sarah Philipson, ”A well grounded theory”. Resultat & slutsats: Studien visar att den interpersonella dimensionen på ett fastighetsmäklarkontor har en stark påverkan på beslutsfattningen vid ett etiskt dilemma. Detta då merparten av de tillfrågade mäklarna främst bollade frågor med varandra, stämde av med sina kollegor, värderade och uppskattade kollegornas åsikter samt drog lärdom av varandra vid en uppkommen situation. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Eftersom vår studie visat att medarbetarnas beteende, ”peer behavior”, varit av vikt vid den enskildes beslutsfattande så vore det intressesant att studera denna faktor allt närmre genom att förslagsvis studera chefers medvetenhet om betydelsen av medarbetarnas beteende på arbetsplatsen. Möjligtvis för att utveckla rekryteringsåtgärder/program för att säkerställa etiskt beteende inom fastighetsmäklarbranschen genom att belysa vilka medarbetaregenskaper som är betydelsefulla för att höja kvalitén på den etiska beslutsfattningen på ett kontor. Avslutningsvis vill vi uppmuntra till vidare forskning inom både den strukturella dimensionen och den interpersonella dimensionen och en jämförelse mellan dessa för att öka förståelsen kring etisk beslutsfattning. Uppsatsens bidrag: Vår studie bidrar med ökad förståelse för hur den interpersonella dimensionen påverkar det etiska beslutsfattandet hos medarbetare inom fastighetsmäklarföretag. Vi har skapat en modell som beskriver sambandet mellan interpersonellt etiskt klimat och etiskt beslutsfattande inom fastighetsmäklarbranschen. Nyckelord: Etik, Etiskt klimat, Etiskt beslutsfattande, interpersonella dimensionen, fastighetsmäklare.