Ethical Theories
Sheri Wernert
BUS 670: Legal Environment
Professor Gentry
December 19, 2010 Ethical Theories In every day life a person is bound to have ethical issues that must be decided. This is also true for the business world. With cases evolving each day of unethical companies such as Enron ethics is now being viewed as an important part of training for many companies. Which ethical theory to follow depends on the individual and there are many theories to be considered. How does a person tell what theory they believe they follow? Knowing the different theories and how they are viewed are key. Ethical theories are either teleological or deontological which can then be broken down further. Deontological
…show more content…
By doing this the decision maker must have knowledge of the rights and justice theories so that they are aware of the rights protected by these theories. If a business abides by this theory without entering into illegal acts the business will probably benefit with profits. However, if they act illegally it could mean lost profits due to consumers and stockholders not trusting the company and withdrawing or boycotting the business. Virtue ethics, which has not been discussed within the reading, refers in general to relatively stable, praiseworthy qualities in a person, such as honesty or integrity. Virtues have to do with who a person is rather than the act and the excellence of the person’s qualities (Tjelveit, 2003). This theory is one of the oldest normative traditions in Western philosophy, which were later called cardinal virtues. The virtue theory emphasizes moral education since virtuous character traits are developed in one’s youth. Therefore, adults are the responsible ones to instill this theory among the young. An adult must also remember that most children learn by seeing therefore, if an adult wants to instill these ethical virtues they must also abide by them themselves. In conclusion, while there are many ethical theories the theories themselves interact with each other in one way or another. It can be said that in reality no theory can stand on alone. A person can say they fall under one ethical theory when in fact
· A personal experience to explain the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts as they relate to one of the three theories
The Virtue Theory, also know as Virtue Ethics, refers to the character of each person. This theory states that every person should try for excellence. The characteristics of each individual are made up from their environment that they are a part of. The theory would further suggest
Although all of the ethical systems determine ones behavior and reasoning. They also have different ways in how they determine
The first ethical theory is Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is the ethical theory that describes how the moral value or worth of an action is determined by how much benefit is gained from that action. It is measured by not only the amount of benefit gained but also
| |A personal experience to explain the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts |
There are two major theories which are utilized to guide ethical decision making, these are deontology and utilitarian. Few people rely exclusively on one theory. Instead, they make decisions by examining both theories and determining which is most appropriate for the presenting situation (Rae, 2009).
Ethics and virtue have been a very contentious issue facing society for centuries. Many argue over the merits of various theories, each with its own philosophies and assumptions. It is this argument that has given rise to many popular and followed theories of ethics and virtues. The theories discussed primarily in this document include the virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological theory. Each is very distinct to the others in regards to its principles and assumptions regarding human behavior. Each however, has merit in regards to question of ethics and virtue, and how it should subsequently be valued.
Virtue Ethics is neither deontological nor teleological, since it is concerned with neither duty nor consequences, but rather the state of the person acting. Aristotle believed that once you are good, good actions will necessarily follow, and this belief is at the centre of Virtue Ethics. Rather than defining good actions, Virtue Ethics looks at good people and the qualities that make them good. The non-normative theory, although very effective in determining the morality of individuals, is particularly flawed when applied to whole societies. This weakness is largely due to its imprecision and abstraction; however, before these weaknesses can be considered, it is necessary to give an account of the theory itself.
Business Ethics is a set of moral principles applied in the commercial world. Business ethics provide guidelines for acceptable behavior by organizations in both their strategy formulation and day-to-day operations. An ethical approach is becoming necessary both for corporate success and a positive corporate image. Following pressure from
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.
All of these are placed under the heading of normative ethics and also what that means is that are which are moved from the top to down to speak. They all fall under the normative ethics, Ethics means that how humans act and why they act the way they do in life. Normative is more detailed and has a different meaning, normative is the study of frameworks. Attempt to develop guidelines that do not
An advantage of virtue ethics is that it brings in all the qualities of being human such as reason, responsibility and emotion to influence a person’s ethical consideration. This can be applied in situations where a person asks what sort of person he or she should be. However, our text book clarifies that “determining what the specific virtues are, and what the appropriate balance among those virtues should be, can be difficult” (Mosser, 2011).
Ethics has developed as people have reflected on the intentions and consequences of their acts. From this reflection on the nature of human behavior, theories of conscience have developed, giving direction to much ethical thinking. Each individual
There are some common use ethical theories; deontology, utilitarian, and virtue ethics. Deontology refers to the important aspects of man lives are control by indestructible moral values and ethical standards regardless if by overruling it improve outcome. In other words, they may do the right thing, even though the consequences of that action may not be good. Utilitarian
These theories are used to evaluate ethical dilemmas that we face on our day to day life,