Suppose a “blue sky” meeting had been
called among chief medical officers, chief administrative
officers, and other leaders from a range of health-related
institutions in this country. The question posed for this
meeting was simple but unusual: Are the structures
of our organizations, systems, and institutions ethical?
Though it was a question reminiscent for a few of the focus
some time before on whether the conduct of individuals
in their organization was ethical, this question seemed
more demanding. Is it reasonable to consider structures
or arrangements as ethical or not; or in other words, is
ethics an applicable attribute of organizations?
And if it is reasonable to speak of an ethics of organizations,
by what method might one discern any kind of an answer?
And what of the informal connections that link different
organizations … how can they be evaluated?