5As of Ethical Living and Leading
The 5As are adapted from James Rest’s Four Component Model of Morality (Rest, 1982). Research indicates that competence in one of the first 4As does not necessarily predict competence
5As of Ethical Living and Leading
The 5As are adapted from James Rest’s Four Component Model of Morality (Rest, 1982). Research indicates that competence in one of the first 4As does not necessarily predict competence in another (You and Bebeau, 2013). For example, a person could be excellent at moral reasoning (Analysis), but not actually follow through on their decisions (Action). The new 5th component (Adaptation) emphasizes the importance of reflection and continual growth. In order to develop as ethical leaders, we suggest focusing on all 5As. Want to better understand the 5As? See below and/or contact Nick Lennon, PhD (firstname.lastname@example.org) to request a workshop.
5As: Awareness, Aspiration, Analysis, Action, Adaptation
Identify the potential impact (ethical implications) on all who might be affected by this decision in both the short-term and long-term. Imagine an employee working at a store who is asked to convince customers to sign up for the store credit card:
- "Lower Level" of Awareness: “My supervisor tells me to push the store credit card by memorizing and delivering a script, so I do it without thinking twice about the impact.”
- "Higher Level" of Awareness: “I found out that store credit cards often have very high interest rates, high fees and can hurt credit scores. Also, I read that some scripts are mislea