Most ethical dilemmas involve a conflict between the needs of the part and the whole - the individual versus the organization or the organization versus society as a whole. Managers faced with these kinds of tough ethical choices often benefit from a normative strategy—one based on norms and values—to guide their decision making.
Normative ethics uses several approaches to describe values for guiding ethical decision making. Five approaches that are relevant to managers are the utilitarian approach, individualism approach, moral-rights approach, justice approach, and the practical approach.
