PLUS — making a decision ethically

This is one of the most widely used models for judging whether what an organisation does is ethical. It is a clear, coherent way of working through an ethical problem inside a company. The model is a set of "ethical filters" that lead to a better decision.

Defining the problem already forces leaders and the team to check whether it breaches any of the PLUS filters.

When to use it

  1. When the decisions under discussion would change the organisation.
  2. When decisions are being brought in and the team is taking them very differently.
  3. When there are signs that a decision or a strategy is being met with fear, or with a wall.

When not to use it

  1. When you are working within standard processes, worked out over years, that do work.
  2. When the organisation's norms and values have not been pinned down, or when they are not being followed.

The goal: used well, the tool answers whether a decision fits the values of the organisation AND of the people it affects.

How to use it

The PLUS model is a set of filters you can put any decision or behaviour through, whether it is being introduced or has simply appeared.

1. Two ways to use it

  1. A decision coming from the top — checking that it fits the organisation's values (that it does not set a dangerous precedent, for instance) and that the people it affects do not lose out.
  2. A change in behaviour from below — working out whether to encourage it, because it fits the organisation's values, or to discourage it and put something else in its place.

2. Ground rules — what to keep in mind

  1. Who the decision affects — somebody speaking for them should be in the room.
  2. The organisation (and its managers) has to know its own values — written down is best.
  3. Whoever is bringing the decision in is acting in everyone's best interest.
  4. Opinions are not enough: bring the numbers too, the expected costs and benefits of going ahead.

3. Running the meeting

  1. Define the decision or behaviour clearly. DESCRIBE IT VERY CLEARLY.
  2. Go through the ground rules from point 2.
  3. Let the team say where it stands to begin with, in a short five-minute brainstorm.
  4. Then go through the filters one at a time. Add what is new. Copy across what came out of the brainstorm.
  5. Establish which points the team finds least acceptable.
  6. Where there are any, look for ways of reducing them.

4. The filters

Answer which consequences are the most serious, which set a dangerous precedent, which go against the organisation's values, and which are unpopular with the team.

5. Working through the consequences

Answer how each of those consequences could be avoided. Is it enough to adjust the decision slightly, or to carve out an exception? Or is it beyond saving?

Work out how to remove each consequence. How do you act against this one? Write those strategies down.

Use it in TeamKit