The Morality of University Decision-Makers
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| Title: | The Morality of University Decision-Makers |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Hatier, Cécile |
| Source: | Studies in Higher Education. 2014 39(6):1085-1096. |
| Availability: | Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 12 |
| Publication Date: | 2014 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Decision Making, Ethics, Role Models |
| Geographic Terms: | United Kingdom |
| DOI: | 10.1080/03075079.2013.777408 |
| ISSN: | 0307-5079 |
| Abstract: | Ethical failures in UK higher education have recently made the news but are not a recent development. University decision-makers can, in order to adopt an ethical way of reasoning, resort to several ethical traditions. This article focuses, through the use of concrete examples, on three which have had a significant impact in recent higher education policy: utilitarianism, in the form of stakeholder theory; principled theory, used in ethical codes of conduct; and virtue ethics, as interpreted by role model theory. It is argued that, although these traditions help clarify the immoral content of a decision, they also have their limits and shortcomings, and give a naive illusion of certainty. The moral reasoning of university decision-makers would instead benefit more from engaging with a theory less known in public management circles. It is the "dirty hands" theory used in political theory, which helps stress the centrality of choice and judgement in decision-making. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Number of References: | 30 |
| Entry Date: | 2014 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1031984 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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| Abstract: | Ethical failures in UK higher education have recently made the news but are not a recent development. University decision-makers can, in order to adopt an ethical way of reasoning, resort to several ethical traditions. This article focuses, through the use of concrete examples, on three which have had a significant impact in recent higher education policy: utilitarianism, in the form of stakeholder theory; principled theory, used in ethical codes of conduct; and virtue ethics, as interpreted by role model theory. It is argued that, although these traditions help clarify the immoral content of a decision, they also have their limits and shortcomings, and give a naive illusion of certainty. The moral reasoning of university decision-makers would instead benefit more from engaging with a theory less known in public management circles. It is the "dirty hands" theory used in political theory, which helps stress the centrality of choice and judgement in decision-making. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0307-5079 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/03075079.2013.777408 |
