An Examination of Different Ethical Perspectives

According to Professor Miller, “ethics is the art and discipline of discerning the right, the good, and the fitting action to take, and having the creativity and courage to do it” (cite). Ethical decision making begins with defining ethics. Ethics, however, goes further than a mere definition, but must be grounded in sources that will provide the proper knowledge to carry out the right, the good, and the fitting actions. By defining ethics, and the sources that make up that definition, a framework can be defined and followed in order to stay ethically fresh and make ethically-sound decisions.

Over these past eight weeks, it has become a pleasure to read what you have to say each week. I hope that you will take away a lot of useful information from this course as I have. I admire your ability to complete so much work at once. The most I had ever managed to work ahead was by one week! I have noticed from many of your forum posts that you and I share very similar beliefs on life, however, I enjoy playing devil’s advocate so I hope that you and I learned from each other in our discussions. What was your number one takeaway from the course? I agree with you that there were aspects of the ethical lens inventory for each person that they would not agree with. While I did agree with most of mine, I personally had my own disagreements

Thank you for the informative discussion post on policy, Elizabeth. I also cited Mason, Leavitt, Chaffee, and O’Grady (2016) discussing how policy can be influenced by multiple spheres at a time. Based on my real world observations of my work with Optum and the health insurance industry, I have seen the effects of various state exchanges on the government, workplace, interest groups and the community.

Under obligation, my ethical perspective is of a person whom places emphasis on duty or obligation to do what is morally right. I believe that “ethical conduct appeals to conscience” (The Williams Institute for Ethics and Management, 2008). Basically, all human beings have a natural sense of right and wrong.

Virtues are the character traits that a moral life consists of such as courage, integrity, and honesty. In virtue ethics the importance does not rely on rules and a consequence of actions but rather if a person is expressing good moral character or not. According to Aristotle “moral virtue is expressed in good purpose – that is to say, in prescriptions for action in accordance with a good plan of life” (Britannica). On the ethics side of virtues, determination of rightfulness or wrongfulness of a specific action is based on worthy character traits. Negative criticism of the virtue theory points out that there

When asked to describe any conflicting ethical theories. With the patient being physically restrained in the middle of the hall by the nurse station by two of the nursing aides that were on duty, and being told, in a very agitated tone to calm down and not to get up. I feel that, this would ben conflicting with the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics with provision 1.1 which states that “ a fundamental principle that underlies all nursing practice is respect for the inherent dignity, worth, unique attributes and human rights of all individuals” (American Nurses Association Code of Ethics, 2015, p.1 para1).

‘Virtue ethics’, is an agent-centred approach in normative ethics that stresses the importance of moral characters and virtues, which is unlike the two other major approaches in the field (Hursthouse, 2013) . Deontology rather emphasises the use of duties and rules, and utilitarianism emphasises the importance of consequences of one’s actions (Hursthouse, 2001). Aristotle’s (2009) theory of virtue ethics is the most widely recognised, he believes that the virtuous person is one who exhibits desirable character traits, these traits are stipulated in the four main character virtues which underpin virtue ethics.

It is evident that Wal-Mart’s ethical perspective or moral view is contingent on profit or profit potential. The global labor force of Wal-Mart enables this retail giant to continue to grow and succeed by providing lower operating costs. The legal ethics of this company are asserted globally and would withstand scrutiny in most cases. However, the virtue ethics of Wal-Mart are questionable about the well-being of their employees, specifically the hourly employees. Wal-Mart is targeted by its own labor force in the United States and in China as well. In the United States, Wal-Mart operates on the brink of ethics by using its legal stature to suppress

In virtue ethics there is a focus on doing the right thing for the right: reasons, emotions, and with the right demeanor. Not only does it asks for

The areas of responsibility that I identified as most relevant to healthcare administrators when dealing with impaired individuals are:

requisite ethics as a way of behaving or interacting, or that anyone is vindicated as

There are two fundamental problems in identifying the ethical standards we are to follow; one: what are our ethical standards based on? Two: How do we apply those standards to specific circumstances we are faced with? If our ethics are not based on feelings, religion, law, accepted social practice, or science, what then are they based on? Numerous philosophers and ethicists have tried to provide us with answers to this critical question by suggested at least five different frameworks of ethical approach we should use (Barsky, 2008).

Virtue Ethics. Virtue ethics is commonly known as the virtue theory. In this theory, the character of an individual is usually considered as a primary element of ethical thinking (Hursthouse 67). Virtue ethics does not focus on acts (deontology) or the impact that actions have (consequences). Instead, it judges an individual depending on the character he or she demonstrates rather than the action. Therefore, it is a person’s character that will reveal whether he or she deviated from normal or rather ethical behavior. A virtue refers to the quality or rather a habit that makes an individual successful in his or her endeavors. In this respect, virtue theory is only understandable if it includes the purpose and implication in human life (teleological).

The third and final commonly used type of ethical behavior is virtue ethics. Virtue ethics, unlike utilitarianism and deontology, depends on the virtue of the individual. This virtue is learned from their surroundings so that he or she can be an upstanding member of the community. When this virtue is obtained the individual can make ethical decisions without a second thought. The virtue of an individual should be naturally good in order for a person to have ethical decisions (Donaldson 10). If the person makes all the right decisions but does them only to make himself or the company look good, then this person does not have virtue itself because he gives his ethical actions a second thought and he is only doing these things because he must.

Even though I do not always speak up when I know something is wrong, I have a strong code of personal ethics because I believe loyalty, honesty, and above all, respect for others will guide me to make me the proper ethical decisions throughout my life.