Which is NOT a component of the Framework for Understanding Ethical Decision Making in Business?

Which is NOT a component of the Framework for Understanding Ethical Decision Making in Business?

• A. Ethical issue intensity
• B. Individual and organizational factors
• C. Internal controls
• D. Business ethics intentions, behaviors, and evaluations

Answer: (C)

This framework looks at what drives ethical choices in business by focusing on how strong the ethical issue is, what personal and organizational factors shape the decision, and how intentions, behaviors, and evaluations flow from that decision. Internal controls, while crucial for governance and safeguarding assets, belong to the realm of control systems and compliance, not the cognitive and motivational process described in the framework. They can influence behavior indirectly, but they are not listed as a component of the decision-making framework itself. The other elements—ethical issue intensity, the interplay of individual and organizational factors, and the sequence of intentions, behaviors, and evaluations—are the components that define how ethical decisions are understood within this model.

This framework looks at what drives ethical choices in business by focusing on how strong the ethical issue is, what personal and organizational factors shape the decision, and how intentions, behaviors, and evaluations flow from that decision. Internal controls, while crucial for governance and safeguarding assets, belong to the realm of control systems and compliance, not the cognitive and motivational process described in the framework. They can influence behavior indirectly, but they are not listed as a component of the decision-making framework itself. The other elements—ethical issue intensity, the interplay of individual and organizational factors, and the sequence of intentions, behaviors, and evaluations—are the components that define how ethical decisions are understood within this model.