Flowchart

Rahanu, Davies and Rogerson, "The Five-step Process of Ethical Analysis"

award Notable because it gives a role to moral intuition, and because it considers "themes" common to many of the ethical codes developed by the information professions

SOURCE FOR THE PROCEDURE

indentRananu, Harjinder, Jennifer Davies and Simon Rogerson. "Ethical Analysis of Software Failure Cases." Proceedings of ETHICOMP 96. Eds. Porfirio Barroso, Terrell Ward Bynum, Simon Rogerson and Luis Joyanes. Madrid: Complutense University, 1996: 364-383.

THE PROCEDURE ITSELF

Disclaimer
  1. Analyze the case.
    1. What are the relevant facts?
    2. Who are the stakeholders?
    3. Isolate the ethical issues.
  2. Apply formal guidelines.
    1. Consider common themes from corporate or professional codes of conduct.
      • personal integrity and claims of competence
      • personal responsibility for work
      • responsibility to employer or client
      • responsibility to the profession
      • confidentiality of information
      • conflicts of interest
      • the dignity or worth of people
      • public safety, health and welfare
      • participation in professional societies
      • increasing public knowledge about technology
    2. Does the act violate or conform to the Golden Rule?
    3. Who benefits from the action? Who is harmed by the action?
  3. Apply ethical theories.
    1. Apply duty-based ethical theory.
      • Fidelity: Is there a promise that should be kept?
      • Reparation: Is their a wrong that should be righted?
      • Justice: Are there goods that should be distributed fairly?
      • Beneficence: Can the lot of others be improved?
      • Gratitude: Is an expression of gratitude appropriate?
      • Non-injury: Can others be protected from injury?
    2. Apply rights-based ethical theory.
      • Is the right to know respected?
      • Is the right to privacy respected?
      • Is the right to property respected?
    3. Apply consequence-based ethical theory.
    4. Apply normative principles.
      • Apply the principle of nonmaleficence.
      • Apply the principle of informed consent.
  4. Apply relevant laws.
    1. Consider laws passed to regulate the information industry.
    2. Beware of the rare law that enforces unethical behavior.
  5. Apply informal guidelines.
    1. Recalling your first impressions or reactions, what did your moral intuition say about the action or policy under consideration?
    2. Apply the Mother test: Would you tell her? Would she be proud or ashamed?
    3. Apply the TV test: Would you tell a nationwide audience of your actions?
    4. Apply the Smell test: Do you feel "in your bones" that there is a problem?
    5. Apply the Other Person's Shoe test: What if the roles were reversed?
    6. Apply the Market test: Could you advertise the act to give you a marketing edge?
  6. Make a defensible choice.

WALT'S CHECKLIST

The same checklist was applied to all procedures.
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