Search

For the last decades, the question of differences in the moral judgments of women and men and the role of an "ethics of care" versus an "ethics of justice" have been debated. The aim of the present study was to explore the gendered aspects of leaders' moral judgments and how they interact with more communal (health/welfare services) versus agentic (banking) organizational contexts. Using qualitative-interpretative analysis, 50 men and women Israeli managers participated in in-depth interviews focused on the ways they construct, understand, and react to ethical work dilemmas. Results suggested that both gender and organizational context contributed to shaping the managers' understandings and decisions regarding the ethical dilemmas in their work. Additionally, the relational target of the dilemma (i.e., clients, employees, supervisors) and situational variables (e.g., ambiguity) affected their moral judgments. Although feminist scholars often have claimed that the ethics of care is excluded from organizational discourse, our findings show that the ethics of care is a significant model for understanding managerial moral judgments. We discuss implications for managers and consultants regarding training of responsible leaders who can represent different moral orientations in their work with multiple stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This document provides an English translation of the Israeli Joint Commission's national guidelines for triaging severely ill patients during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: Four subcommittees of medical, legal, ethical-social, and religious experts developed the general principles and practical medical criteria for triaging scarce life-saving resources. Results: The guidelines provide an overview of general principles as well as pragmatic medical criteria and a practical triage protocol to be followed should the healthcare system be overwhelmed due to COVID-19. Issues covered include triggers for activating the guidelines, guiding ethical, legal, and religious principles, equity in access, fair distribution, transparency, consistency, palliation, medical policy prioritization, problem-solving mechanisms, and public trust. Conclusions: The Israeli consensus document and pragmatic medical triage protocol offer a societal and medical roadmap for allocating scarce resources during the COVID-19 pandemic or other disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]