-Moral awareness is the first step along the path to ethical behavior. -It begins when an individual realizes that a moral principle is in danger or notices an ethical code being violated. -Awareness of ethical dilemmas in a situation is far from automatic. Many authorities allow unethical behavior to go on not because they are being malicious but simply because they don’t realizing that an ethical standard is in jeopardy. 2 -The video I’m about to show is a great example of low moral awareness. In this clip the boss exemplifies low moral awareness because he is shocked to learn from his employees that obvious unethical business practices immoral.
3 -The moral intensity surrounding a situation can have a huge impact on moral awareness. – Its the potential for harm and the social pressures that are present in a situation. -The potential for harm can be quite broad. It encompasses the amount of harm that could be caused to others. -For example, an action that would affect ten people is more intense than an action affecting one. Similarly, an action with a 90% chance of causing harm is more intense than an action with only 10% chance of causing harm. -Moral intensity also considers the amount of time that will pass between the decision and the consequences. -Social pressure is the other half of moral intensity. -The standards of society can determine the intensity of an action.
-For example an employee considering stealing from their company realizes how big of a deal this is, because society considers it as being wrong. The proximity between the decision maker and those affected by the action also plays a part in moral intensity. For example Intensity is high if our neighbors or coworkers are affected, but much lower if a stranger is affected. 4 -Moral attentiveness is the second component of moral awareness and it can be described as the lens through which we see the world -Its giving ethical issues a particular significance, vividness, and recognition. -A person with moral attentiveness naturally recognizes and evaluates ethical dilemmas.
