Utilitarianism+&+Locus+of+Control

[|Utilitarianism] is an ethical framework that focuses on the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Individuals compare and contrast courses of action based on the benefits and costs. They also choose the course of action that provides the most benefits to stakeholders. Within this model locus of control affects ethical decision-making behavior. [|Locus of Control], (locus is Latin for "place" or "location")  is also known as, "self-agency", "personal control", "self-determination". It refers to an individual's perception about the underlying main causes of events in his/her life. [|Julian Rotter] developed the concept in the 1950’s and created a study 1964 that examined how people's behaviors and attitudes affected the outcomes of their lives.

Individuals with an internal locus of control have been seen as choosing an ethical alternative more often than those who have an external locus of control who succumb to external pressures. Internal or external locus of control has been studied as a contributor to decision-making.
 * Internal Locus of Control: **
 * Persons with an internal locus of control believe there is a link between his/her ethical decisions or actions and the resulting consequences.
 * These individuals believe that decisions and consequences are interrelated. This results in taking responsibility for outcomes.
 * External Locus of Control: **
 * Individuals with an external locus of believe the expected outcomes are under the influence of luck, fate, or other powerful others.
 * This belief lessens the need to take responsibility for what happens because they do not see the interrelation between their decisions and outcomes.

Within the utilitarian framework, choices shift the locus of control from internal to external because the event is experienced as a means to an end (a greater good). Instrumentally motivated choices can be perceived as driven by a pressuring external force that decreases people’s sense of free will in that the reason for making that choice is shifted away from the enjoyment of an immediate reward to the selection of a course of action that is functional to the achievement of a higher-level goal.
 * Crisis Communication **Locus of control has a connection with crisis response strategies because the strategies convey to an audience how a crisis is attributed to internal or external factors. [[file:///C:/Users/owner/Desktop/Utilitarianism%20is%20an%20ethical%20framework%20that%20focuses%20on%20the%20greatest%20good%20for%20the%20greatest%20number%20of%20people.docx#_ftn8|[8]]] It can be purported then that people with an internal locus of control prefer different crisis response strategies than those with an external locus of control

Internally focused individuals would want the organization to take full responsibility for their actions meaning the firm takes ownership for its actions. On the other hand, externally focused stakeholders would possibly utilize refute they company’s role in the actions, implying that the environment controlled what happened more than the organization.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif;">Example: internal locus of control: [|Maple Leaf Foods and The Listeriosis Crisis] <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif;">Example: external locus of control: [|XL Foods and E-Coli Crisis]

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif;">[|How your locus of control impacts business success] <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif;">[|Locus of Control Test] <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif;">[|Blog Post: Crisis Communication and Locus of Control]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">External Links: **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Waluchow, W. (2003). The dimensions of ethics: An introduction to ethical theory. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press. 145- <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> 170. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Sullivan, L.E. (2009). The SAGE Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Thousand Oaks. CA: SAGE Publications. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> 296. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Rotter, J. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcements. Psychological Monographs, <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> 80, Whole No. 609. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Hegarty, W. H., & Sims, H.P., Jr. (1978). Some determinants of unethical decision behavior: An experiment. Journal of Applied <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Psychology, 63, 451-457 <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Forte, A. (2004). Antecedents of managers’ moral reasoning. Journal of Business Ethics, 4, 315-347. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Botti, S. & McGill, L. (2010) The Locus of Choice: Personal Causality and Satisfaction with Hedonic and Utilitarian Decisions. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> Journal of Consumer Research, 37, 1065-1078. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif;"> Botti, S. & McGill, L. ( 2010) The Locus of Choice: Personal Causality and Satisfaction with Hedonic and Utilitarian Decisions. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif;"> Journal of Consumer Research, 37, 1065-1078. <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif;"> Rotter, J. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcements. Psychological Monographs, <span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow',sans-serif;"> 80, Whole No. 609.