In my last column several practical ethical questions were posed serving as “tests” as to whether an action or decision was advisable and ethically appropriate. Those ethical tests included the test of common sense, test of one’s best self, test of making something public, test of ventilation and the test of the Big Four, falling victim to greed, speed, laziness or haziness. (insert link?)
Other ethics tests are also useful and practical, and they do not require deep knowledge of philosophy, religion or law.
Test of Purified Idea
A course of action or decision might be thought to be “purified,” that is, cleansed or made acceptable when a person with authority says or implies that it is appropriate. Such a person might be an accountant or a lawyer or some other official. It is advisable to be cautious using this type of thinking. If you look hard enough, you always can find a someone in authority to endorse almost any idea if it is phrased just right. Remember, these people are not the final arbiter of what is right or wrong. Likewise, if a superior says an action is acceptable or ethical, this does not make it so. The proposal may still be questionable or wrong even though others have sanctioned it with their approval. This is a common ethical mistake one can make, and we must be reminded that the individual himself/herself is the one to be held accountable if the decision proves to be indefensible.
Golden Rule Test
The Golden Rule is one of the strongest tests one might use. In many different faith traditions, a version of the Golden Rule exists. It is universal in that it requires no specific religious belief or faith. Essentially, it guides you to “do unto others what you would expect them to do to you.” Several studies have found this to be the most powerful and useful guidelines. The Golden Rule is a straightforward, easy to understand, principle or test. It guides actors towards behaviors, actions or decisions that they should be able to express as acceptable or not based on some direct comparison with what they would consider ethical or fair. It also has been called the ethics of reciprocity, arguing that if you want to be treated fairly, treat others fairly; if you want your privacy protected, respect the privacy of others. The key to this test is the issue of impartiality.
Leadership expert, John C. Maxwell, has said that there are four reasons why all decision makers should adopt the Golden Rule: it is easy to understand; it is accepted by most people; it is a win-win philosophy; and it acts as a compass when you need direction.
The Gag Test
A judge argued once that a person’s clearest signal that a dubious action is going too far is when you “gag” as the prospect of carrying it out. Admittedly, this test can only capture the grossest of unethical behaviors, but there are some who may need such a crude kind of test. Though this test is intended to be more humorous than serious, a few might find it helpful.
Other Tests
There are numerous other ethics tests such as these. Briefly, some of these include The Veil Test: what would I do if I did not know which one of those involved was me? The Humanity Test: do I treat others not just as “means” but also as an end in themselves? The Role-Model Test: what would my role model do? The Compass Test: what does my conscience or gut feeling say? The Shoe Test: how do I look at it when I put myself in the shoes of the other people involved? The Generalization Test: would it be acceptable if everyone would do what I do?
None of these ethics tests alone offers a perfect way to determine what is ethical or not. If several tests are used in combination, especially the more powerful ones, they do provide a means of practically examining proposed actions or decisions before engaging in them. To the fundamentally unethical person, however, these tests would not be of much value.
References
Archie B. Carroll and Jill A. Brown. Business & Society: Ethics, Sustainability & Stakeholder Management. 12th Edition, forthcoming, 2027.
Archie B. Carroll, “One rule can best guide practices,” in Archie B. Carroll, Business Ethics: Brief Readings on Vital Topics, 2009.
John C. Maxwell, There’s No Such Thing as “Business” Ethics: There’s Only One rule for Making Decisions, 2003.
Muel Kaptein, “29+1 Ethics Tests,” KPMG, Post | LinkedIn.
Professor emeritus, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia, USA. Dr. Carroll received his three academic degrees in management (1965; 1966; 1972) from the College of Business, The Florida State University (Tallahassee, Florida USA). He is founding author and now co-author of BUSINESS & SOCIETY: ETHICS, SUSTAINABILITY & STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT (2023), 11th edition, with Jill A Brown; Co-author of CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY: THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE which won the 2014 BEST BOOK AWARD at the Academy of Management--Social Issues in Management Meeting; and Author of BUSINESS ETHICS: BRIEF READINGS ON VITAL TOPICS. Carroll won the first Lifetime Achievement Award in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from the Institute of Management, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Management, International Association for Business & Society, and the Southern Management Association. He has published over 100 articles, and his citations exceed 100,000 according to Google Scholar Citations.