Reflecting on Thomas M. Jones’s “Ethical Decision Making by Individuals in Organizations,” key insights stand out, especially his introduction of “moral intensity” as central to ethical decision-making. Unlike traditional models focused on character or culture alone, Jones argues that specific characteristics of an issue—such as magnitude of consequences, social consensus, probability of effect, temporal immediacy, proximity, and concentration of effect—strongly shape our responses.

An especially interesting idea is temporal immediacy; people feel more urgency to act ethically when consequences are immediate rather than distant. Similarly, social consensus—the degree to which society agrees on the morality of an action—can significantly impact whether individuals view an issue as ethically relevant. This insight helps explain why people may engage in unethical behaviors if their peers do, emphasizing the importance of fostering cultures where ethical norms are widely shared.

Jones’s integration of psychological and empirical evidence to support these points reinforces a more nuanced understanding of ethical behavior, showing that context can be as influential as individual values.