April 20, 2000- March was "Ethics Awareness" month for the CPCU Society and the Chapter not only celebrated it during March via various activities, but also extended Ethics Awareness through April as well. Today the Philadelphia Chapter of the CPCU Society considered the importance of ethical decision making at its monthly breakfast meeting, held at the Doubletree Hotel.

S. Wesley Porter, CPCU, Director of Educational Services and Training for the AICPCU/IIA, spoke on the importance of having the proper tools for evaluating and making what often prove to be difficult choices. Mr. Porter gave a multi-media presentation based on Navigating the Waters, a new interactive training tool developed by the Institute for Global Ethics, The Insurance Institute for Applied Ethics, and Met Life Auto and Home Insurance Company.

Navigating the Waters provides a foundation to assist business people to make ethical choices, by giving them the tools to analyze ethical dilemmas. While most people feel comfortable making choices when they are confronted with "Right vs. Wrong" situations, fewer people feel as comfortable when forced to choose between two or more courses of action that both achieve valuable aims. These "Right vs. Right" dilemmas are much more common in today’s world.

Mr. Porter describes "Wrong" actions as those that include:

1. A violation of law,
2. A departure from the truth,
3. A deviation from generally accepted moral standards.

He then described the ways many people evaluate these decisions:

1. Applying a legal test - does it violate a law?
2. Checking your gut - does the decision feel right?
3. The front page test - would I want this decision to make the front page of the newspaper?
4. The role model test - would my mom do this?

Given a situation that presents clear choices, most people can use these tools to arrive at an ethical decision. But what about the situation in which the many choices we face will each serve a different and valuable purpose? How do we make ethical choices when our core values are in conflict? Mr. Porter suggests that there are four common "Dilemma Paradigms" that illustrate these "Right vs.Right" conflicts:

1. Truth vs. Loyalty - when we know the truth can harm our friends.
2. Individual vs. Community - when the best choice for one person is not the best for the most people.
3. Short Term vs. Long Term - when a decision that helps today can harm down the road.
4. Justice vs. Mercy - when the rightful consequences of an act run counter to our impulse to show mercy.

Mr. Porter then goes on to suggest a framework in which to evaluate these dilemmas in order to make an ethical decision. He describes three principles that can guide our decisions. These three "Resolution Principles" include:

1. Ends - Based Thinking- in which we shape our decision to maximize the benefit for the most people
2. Rules-Based Thinking - in which we rely on our highest principles and let the chips fall where they may, or by asking, what if everyone acted this way, would it be a good thing?
3. Care-Based Thinking - in which we try to view the dilemma from the others’ perspective, and apply the golden rule.

As he led the group through several "real-life" examples, Mr. Porter showed how an analysis of the type of dilemma we face helps us to apply all three principles: "Ends, Rules and Care-Based Thinking" together to make choices that can satisfy everyone’s needs.