PLUS ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING MODEL 2

PLUS Ethical Decision-making Model

Modern business organizations appreciate the value of ethical business practices. Such
practices are not only good for the organizations image but also helps it avoid costly legal and
financial disputes. Ethical decision-making involves choosing an option that is consistent with
ethical principles. Unfortunately, most of the situations that organizations face involve options
that may be consistent with one set of ethical principles but inconsistent with others. Such
situations present ethical dilemmas whose resolution is not easy. Ethical decision-making models
are meant to help one make appropriate decisions when faced with such ethical dilemmas. This
article looks at some ethical dilemmas and how they can be resolved using PLUS ethical
decision-making model.

PLUS decision-making model is one of the most popular ethical decision-making
frameworks used in organizations. Its main strengths are clarity and cohesiveness. The acronym
PLUS represents ethical filters that are meant to guide one in the decision-making process. P
represents the organization’s Policies and Procedures, L ensures the decision is Legal, U stands
for Universal (ensures the decision meets industry’s best practices), and S stands for Self (makes
sure the decision is fair and just) (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). With these filters as guide, the
seven steps of decision-making process can be integrated with PLUS decision making model to
make sure that the final decision arrived at is ethical.

The first step involves defining the problem. A problem may be looked at as a situation
that violates any of the PLUS filters (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). Second one is to seek resources
to help in making the decision. The resources include people and organisation’s policies and
guidelines. Third step involves identification of alternative solutions to the identified problem.

PLUS ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING MODEL 3
The fourth step involves evaluation of the alternatives. At this stage the decision maker evaluates
whether the alternatives are consistent with the PLUS filters. Steps five and six are making and
implementation of the decision respectively. The last step is to evaluate the decision made. This
evaluation mainly checks if the decision made addresses the PLUS consideration that was
identified in the first step (Ferrell & Fraedrich, 2015). Thus, PLUS ethical model provides a
simple and clear guide for ethical decision-making when one is faced with an ethical dilemma.

One of the areas where PLUS model is used is in big organizations which often face great
ethical dilemmas. An example of these organizations is Apple. Even though it is not the biggest
smartphones manufacturer, it is the most profitable and also the most valuable one. Its success
can be attributed not only to superior design and smart marketing but also strong encryption that
ensures that data of iPhone users is secure. Strong data protection measures, however, have it the
phone of choice for criminals and terrorists because it is almost impossible for law enforcement
authorities to access their communications once their phones are locked by a password. To make
such access possible, law enforcement agencies have on multiple occasions gotten court orders to
compel Apple to facilitate their access to phones of terrorists and suspected terrorists and other
criminals (Etzioni, 2018). An example is the court order issued to Apple in the wake of San
Bernardino attack in California in 2016 which required it to write a software to allow FBI access
the locked iPhone of one of the terrorists who had been killed (Etzioni, 2018).

Such requests pose an ethical dilemma for Apple because allowing such access would
involve giving law enforcement agencies the tools to access data of any iPhone user. One the
other hand, refusing the request makes it very hard for law enforcement agencies to gain valuable
information on terrorist and criminal activities. The seven steps of the PLUS ethical decision-
making model can be used to solve this ethical dilemma.

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The first step involves definition of the problem. The request to have Apple write a
software that would allow it access phones of terrorists whose phones have been captured by FBI
certainly violates Apple’s policies and procedures. It is, however, legal because it was made by a
court. Apple’s acquiescence to the order would mean violating its commitment to universal
principle of data protection of its devices’ users (Shah, 2015). Lastly, the decision to allow FBI
and other law enforcement officials to access the terrorists phone is certainly fair and just given
the atrocities that the terrorist committed. Having defined the problem, the second step is look
for resources to help in solving the problem. Apple’s guidelines and policies clearly state its
commitment to data privacy (Shah, 2015). The third step involves exploration of alternative
solutions to the problem. In this case there are three main alternatives. The first one is for Apple
to comply with court order and write a software which will allow law enforcement agencies to
get access to phones that have been locked by a password. The second alternative is to
completely ignore the order and the last one is to encourage law enforcement agencies to use
third party technical vendors to access iPhones without the involvement of Apple. In evaluating
these alternatives as stipulated in the fourth step, the first one will involve Apple violating two
PLUS filters (P and U). The second alternative will involve violation of L filter. In evaluating the
third alternative we find that it does not involve violation by Apple of any of the PLUS filters.
Additionally, it helps the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to get access to information
that they need to keep Americans safe. In accordance with the fifth and sixth steps, this is the
decision that should be taken and implemented. In evaluating this decision, I believe that it is the
best one among the alternatives considered. It does not violate any of the PLUS filters and,
therefore, is an ethical one.

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As this analysis of the use of PLUS ethical decision-making model shows, the model
presents a straightforward forward way of arriving at an ethical decision. Thanks to the various
steps employed, alternatives that are not consistent with PLUS filters are eliminated thus leaving
only an ethical alternative.

PLUS ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING MODEL 6

References

Etzioni, A. (2018). Apple: Good business, poor citizen?. Journal of Business Ethics, 151(1), 1-11.

Ferrell, O. C., & Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making & cases. Nelson
Education.

Shah, R. (2015). Law enforcement and data privacy-a forward-looking approach. Yale LJ, 125, 543.