Applying Duty Ethics And The Mattel Case Study

The word deontology comes from the Greek word “deontos” which means duty (Adams, 2011). Deontology can be defined as doing what is morally correct regardless of the final results as long as they abide by the moral principles. Certain actions, like lying, are never allowed regardless if its outcomes benefit the purpose and no harm is caused. The theory states that whether an action is ethical and follows the moral rules, depends on the intentions behind the decisions (Pieper, 2008). So for an action to be “good” and morally right, it must have been performed at goodwill and abide to moral values.

Deontology is an ethical theory concerned with duties and rights. The founder of deontological ethics was a German philosopher named Immanuel Kant. Kant’s deontological perspective implies people are sensitive to moral duties that require or prohibit certain behaviors, irrespective of the consequences (Tanner, Medin, & Iliev, 2008). The main focus of deontology is duty: deontology is derived from the Greek word deon, meaning duty. A duty is morally mandated action, for instance, the duty never to lie and always to keep your word. Based on Kant, even when individuals do not want to act on duty they are ethically obligated to do so (Rich, 2008).

"(i) Duty Based Theories (or Deontological Theories): Theories that claim that what determines whether an act is morally right or wrong is the kind of act it is."(1)

Deontology or also know as Deontology ethics is an approach that is taken that determines the goodness and rightness of a specific act or rules and duties that a specific person has to perform. Deontology is the complete opposite of consequentialism. Consequentialism is the where the outcome of an act has a major influence and not the actual act itself. In better words it is what comes after the action that is made and not the action itself. As for deontology an action can be considered right or something acceptable even if the outcome of the action is something bad. A perfect example for deontology would be “ do onto others what you would have them do onto you.” This is just something that

Deontology is what some will see as a duty. With utilitarianism a person will do the right thing if the consequences of their actions are good. But with this reasoning if the actions are not good but the consequences happen to be good the act may be believed that this is a good ethical act. Police officer have a duty to do and lawyers ethically act good to make their client just as happy.

Apple is one of the most valuable brands in the world. The company has strong brand loyalty, impressive revenue growth and superior innovations in technology. There are many aspects of the company that contribute to Apples success. One of the most important aspects is the company’s ethical decision making. Apple has a strong ethical code of conduct that represents the company as being ethical in all decisions being made. Despite Apples positive representation, the company has been faced with many ethical issues. Apple has been involved in many litigations ranging from a domain name dispute and patent infringement, to the use of refurbished products in their repairs. These unethical acts are risky for the company and can affect the company in negative ways. Another aspect that can affect the company is their competitiveness in the technology industry. This industry has many competitors that Apple has to compete with. However, Apple has been overly aggressive in protecting their property rights.

Kantian deontology is a form of duty-based ethics. This is in contrast to utilitarianism, which focuses on consequences (Kay 4). Kant rejected utilitarianism, because it focused on the results of the action rather than its nature. Since no one can know the result of an action with certainty, no one should be praised or blamed for the result of that action, according to Kant (Kay 4). In other words, moral evaluation should occur in the willing rather than in the achieving. Kant wants to spread the notion that actions should be morally evaluated based on what humans can control (Kay 4). And Kant believes that what humans can control is their will.

Corporations can be large or small but they all have some sort of ethical impact on their employees, shareholders, customers, community, and surrounding environments. Richard DeGeorge writes, “We can speak of corporations having moral responsibilities to act in certain ways, and they are morally responsible for the consequences of their actions on people.” (p. 200). Large corporations are comprised of the board of directors, management, and their workers. They also deal with suppliers, customers, and have competitors. This essay will examine the moral responsibilities within a corporation.

Duty is the next pillar of Kantian ethics. In Kant’s writing, duty is defined as the way one should act to carry out moral laws. There should be no pleasure derived from following duty except out of respect to moral laws defined by the person. These are defined by the maxim.

Deontological ethics has as its basic thrust, the concept of a duty to do what is right. For one’s actions to be in accordance with DE, those actions must be realized out of a “notion of right (that) is not derived from a prior notion of good”, as explained by Illies (Illies, 2011, p. 107). A

Duty-based ethics are based on duty or obligation. Kant argues that there are higher principles that are good in no matter the time, situation, or culture. Therefore, when faced with

Deontological ethics are based on moral obligations, duties and rights. Rules are to guide decision making in deontological ethics. Deontological ethics have a more individualistic focus, as individuals are supposed to be treated with respect and dignity (Sexty, 2011, 7).

In this paper I will analyze the case study of Mattel Inc. and their Global Manufacturing Principles (GMP) and applying it to three different virtue ethics; fairness, honesty and justice. Then I will apply deontology, “always act in such a way that you can also will that the maxim of your action should become a universal law.

Deontology as promoted by Kant on the other hand denies that the right action is the one that produces the best consequences. It is based on a set of moral rules, and the right action is supposed to be the one that conforms with these rules, whereas certain other types of action are morally forbidden. Deontology seems to appeal to common sense as duties include special obligations to family and

The word deontology is derived from the Greek words deon, meaning duty or obligation, and logos, meaning science or study. This school of ethics looks at the acts we attempt to do, and holds that right becomes before good. This means that if an act is not right, it may not be undertaken, no matter how much good it produces; an act is judged not on its consequences but whether or not it follows from one’s duty. Deontology recognizes two different types of imperatives; hypothetical and categorical. The categorical imperative is the deontological way of doing ethics. An example of an hypothetical imperative is “if I want to have white teeth, then I should brush my teeth”, and example of a categorical imperative is “I should brush my teeth”. According to Kant one should act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law without contradiction. This means that when you want to steal something you should think about it as a universal law, and thereby give other people the right to steal from you. However, if stealing would be an universal law then private property would be impossible and you would be unable to steal. This is a contradiction, and the general rule in deontology therefore is that stealing is morally