2003 IMTA Proceedings - International Military Testing Association

organization has significant control. Social consensus refers to the degree to which people agree
that a particular act is ethical or not. Magnitude of consequences refers to total harm resulting
from the moral act in questions. Policy formulations which clearly outline unacceptable
behaviour and the consequences of those behaviours help to develop the consensus among CF
personnel and DND employees about what is ethical and what is unethical. That same emphasis
can shape the extent to which the magnitude or the seriousness of unethical behaviour is viewed
by personnel. In other words, the more that people agree that an act or a behaviour is unethical,
the more likely it will be generally viewed as unethical. At the same time, the more likely that
people perceive that severe harm will result from the act in question, the more likely people will
view that it is an unethical act. The results of the research demonstrate that addressing consensus
and magnitude of consequences issues should assist in assisting people to understand more
clearly what constitutes unethical behaviour.
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45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003