Ethical Theories Are Used As Decision Making Tools

This paper is going to discuss Ethics and Ethical Theories. It will include an introduction to ethical theories, virtue ethics, and care ethics. There will be sections discussing absolutism versus relativism, consequentialism versus deontological ethics, and lastly, free will versus determinism. It will also include a discussion about the study of morality and identify which of the approaches (Scientific, Philosophical, or Theological/Religious) are closest to my own personal beliefs. There will be a discussion regarding the three sources of ethics

In contrast with deontology, there is utilitarianism, which is a consequentialist theory. Utilitarianists consider consequences to be an important indicator of the moral value of one’s actions (Rich, 2008). In consequentialist analyses, conclusions about what is right or wrong are based on the consequences (Tanner et al., 2008). Utilitarianism is to promote the greatest good for the greatest amount of people that is possible in situations.

Two different forms of utilitarianism are described in our text. The first is called act utilitarianism. According to Shaw and Barry, act utilitarianism states that we must ask ourselves what the consequences of a particular act in a particular situation will be for all those affected (p.60).

Let’s start by gaining an understanding of what utilitarianism means. The definition given to us earlier in our textbook, Exploring Ethics, in the article, Strengths and Weaknesses of Utilitarianism, it defines act utilities as an act that, “is right if and only if it results in as much good as any available alternative”. This goes back to the tedious task of trying to analyze countless number of alternatives and figure out which one brings about the most

Utilitarianism is a philosophical theory. It concerns how to evaluate a large range of things that involve choices communities or groups face. These choices include policies, laws, human’s rights, moral codes,

Every day we are faced with certain situations that challenge us with how to act in an ethical manner. It can be human nature to feel unsure or conflicted with the correct moral choice. Some can say that one should know how to handle such dilemmas and others may say that there should be a reference of some sort to help guide through such conflicts. Sometimes we know the answers and sometimes we are unsure of how to handle certain situations. Most times we go through life wondering what we should do. As I become further educated on the different theories of ethics, I believe there are answers that are available in guiding one through an ethical dilemma and or judgment. I will discuss Vincent Ruggiero’s three basic criteria, Robert Kegan’s order of consciousness, the three schools of ethics and the correlation between all three.

The most common use of utilitarianism is by way of consequentialist moral theory. Consequentialists believe that an act’s rightness and wrongness depends solely on its consequences and nothing else. An act is right when the algebraic sum of total utility unit

Measuring consequences with a primary objective of determining whether an action will have a maximum effect on the utility is very important although it is a lengthy process that consumes a lot of time. In the evaluation of both moral theories, Kantianism gives a reasonable explanation of ethics despite the fact that Utilitarianism from the outside appears more ethical since it focuses on maximizing the utility. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that advocates that an action is only ethically correct when the consequences of such actions more favorable, as opposed to more unfavorable. Consequently, the upright moral behavior is known when the consequences of the actions are analyzed. Utilitarianism requires the tally of the bad and the good consequences of a certain action. Then determine whether good consequences outweigh bad consequences (Held & Virginia,

There are a variety of ethical systems that are in existence. These include systems such as ethical formalism, utilitarianism, natural law, teleological and deontological, and many more and variations of each. The deontological and teleological are among the most interesting perspectives. The deontological ethical system is primarily concerned with the inherent nature of the act being judged while the teleological approach mainly focuses on the outcomes of actions.

I will use the “Practisioner’s Guide to Ethical Decision Making” model of Holly Forerster-Miller and Thomas

A Utilitarian standpoint weighs the hedons and dolors in a situation. Ultimately it says that the most ethical thing to do

In chapter 9, I found utilitarianism the most intriguing lesson. It is a theory of ethics that assesses actions based on maximizing benefits in reducing the negatives; based on bouncing human interests. It was developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, it is a socially conscious approach to hedonism that holds that the greatest good is to promote happiness and alleviate suffering for the greatest number of people. ( Chaffee, 9.3) Utilitarianism is the most common moral theory practiced in the business world today, to break down what it is basically is morality of an act is judged by it's utility. The greatest utility that it has for the most people;

“According to utilitarian, an action is morally right if it results in the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people affected by the action”. (pg101). The core concept of utilitarian is to analyse the benefits of all stakeholders instead of an individual. Stakeholders are defined as group or individuals who can be affected by the business.

Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory, as explained by the philosopher Mill. Given several choices, a utilitarian would pick the morally correct choice by using the Greatest Happiness Principle (487). By looking at whether the consequences of an action will produce the greater happiness for the greater number of people than another action would, one can

All employees (including the company executives) should be guided by moral principles and ethical values when making decisions (Balc & Simionescu, 2012). The ability of executives to make ethical decisions can be influenced by their cognitive bias (Zeni, Buckley, Mumford & Griffith, 2015). Utilitarianism is one of the frameworks that can be used to address ethical dilemmas. Utilitarianism holds that decision makers should take alternatives that maximize the happiness of the majority of the stakeholders (Choe & Min, 2011 and Marques, 2015). This presentation will discuss how the 8-step ethical decision making process can be applied when addressing a dilemma using the utilitarianism framework. The presentation will also guide the executives of Toyota on how to address the negative publicity associated with the production of cars with faulty acceleration system.