The concept of ethics is a difficult one to master, because it can often include situations in the real world which are not easy. For instance, you might have to report a friend who is cheating to someone in charge, and he would get in trouble. Johnson describes four components for ethical decision making which can be followed to make ethical actions easier to understand. These four components are sensitivity, judgment, motivation, and character. An example of how they can be used is in the case of local government corruption in my native country, which can sometimes be a problem.
Ethical behavior might sound like it is just about doing what feels right to avoid getting in trouble, but that is not true. Johnson spends a lot of time describing how complicated ethics can be. For example, he says that instead of just relying on feelings about the right thing to do, we should notice that emotions are an "instantaneous, affective intuitions about right and wrong" created by our background and not a universal justice (Johnson, 2015, p.67). What this means is that we cannot just ask ourselves if action feels good or bad, and then act in the right way. Instead, we need to use logic and rational thought to "modify our attitudes after reflecting on them" (Johnson, 2015, p.67). In this way, we can be sure that our actions are actually helpful and not just a "gut instinct" (Johnson, 2015, p.67).
In my country, although the government is fair for the most part, there can sometimes be problems when local government workers take advantage of things and act in ways that are not ethical. For example, there might be a case where the man in charge of giving out building permits and assigning jobs for the government is the father of a man who owns a big construction company. This man might give his son all the work and make sure that he pays an expensive price for the work as well. In this way, his son will get rich, and he will also feel good and benefit. However, it might not really be illegal if his son's company really does do a good job as well.
References
Johnson, C.E. (2015). Organizational Ethics: A Practical Approach. New York, SAGE.
