This quote by J.W. Goethe focuses on the impact that human decisions have on their surrounding environments. Goethe’s view is that everyone, no matter their status in society, has the ability to make choices that determine their actions which inevitably affect other people either positively or negatively. This can be projected onto the social corporate responsibility context through the various decisions made by business personnel based on their ethical values which directly or indirectly affect their employees and other people in the society as well.
People’s decisions are often based on their moral perceptions of things. These perceptions are often sculptured by their diverse cultural backgrounds thereby bringing varying moral perceptions of global issues. In corporate social responsibility, the social concept of morality can be traced to the traditional ethical theories attributed to ethical decision making especially among business personnel. These theories can be classified as either non-consequentialist or consequentialist theories. Consequentialist theories often base moral judgements on the results of engaging in a particular action and are often based on intended outcomes, the aims or the goals of the undertaken action. Non-consequentialist theories on the other hand base their moral judgements on the underlying principles of the decision maker’s motivation (Crane 2010). Consequentialist theories such as Egoism and utilitarianism often play a big role in the choices
Its general outline is the moral rightness of an action is determined by outcomes. For example, a student was struggling to help an old lady who has fallen on ground while other people do not even care about it and a student had to leave in a hurry. However, he helped her and a lady offered cordial thanks. As the example is illustrated, the act is good if its consequences are good, but if its consequences are bad then the act is wrong. Shaw et al(2013, p. 63) emphasizes that consequentialists determine what is right by weighing the ratio of good to bad that an action will produce. According to consequentialists, the decision of the Dean of Harvard Business School is simply explained as the result of decision which rejected all applicants who attempted to access the information derive a conclusion which Dean Clark observed their belief, principles and it shows making own decisions is always with responsibility for actions. In addition, utilitarianism will be applied on this case because this theory is in contrast with egoism which can be defined by Shaw et al(2013, p. 63) as egoism contends that an act is morally right if and only if it best promotes an agent’s long term interest.’. It means self-interesting is most important key point whether going into action or not. However, Utilitarianism is focused on more about ‘achieving the
The issue of ethical decision making has become more important in recent years for a variety of reasons. An understanding of ethical decision making in organizations is more significant to the development of organizational science. Managers engage in decision-making behavior affecting the lives and well-being of others. The individual responds to an ethical dilemma with cognitions determined by his or her cognitive moral development stage.
This article attempts to explain how personal, cultural, and organizational values play significant parts in decision-making. In addition, the foundation of ethical dilemmas can
They assume that moral principles can be objectively true and that morality is not meaningless or relative. The decision- making procedure of a consequentialist is to identify what is worth having for its own sake, next, identify what is intrinsically bad, then, determine your options. The last two steps are to ask what is the value of the results of all of your options, and to pick the one that produces the most value.
The theory that I find true to the true nature of moral responsibility and its relation to human freedom and determinism would be compatibilism. Compatibilism is the claim that we are both determined and that we have moral responsibility (Lawhead 120).
Business organizations today are socially and ethically responsible for doing the right thing, exercising good judgment in their business activities with employees, stakeholders, customers and the community. Business organizations emphasis should not only be on profits, but also on how business decisions impact society.
The primary form of consequentialism used by the majority of individuals when making ethical decisions is known as Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism weighs the outcomes by whether they create pleasure or pain for the individuals involved. This creates a standard when evaluating the consequences rather than allow the individual to create their own (Kyte 108). Even though there is a plethora of different pleasures and pains of various forms and severities. Since we often choose familiar pleasure, only an individual familiar in both side can voice their opinion based on their understanding of both sides. However, it is not always easy to make accurate predictions on the outcomes and also consider the consequences of every individual that could be effected by the decision (Kyte 120, 122). Even though we understand the concept of consequences, it is not easy to think of every potential one, how they affect others, and whether they cause pleasure or
Utilitarianism is a type of theory that was developed to come up with a proper course of action that maximizes the joy of the stakeholders involved. While consequentialism is defined as the view that value of an action derives solely from the value of its consequences. Today, consequentialism is the form that usually takes form. Utilitarianism tries to evaluate the moral worth of an action after one has considered the actual consequences, the foreseen consequences, and the anticipated consequences. In the business environment, situations arise that require the application of utilitarianism ethics. Decision makers are placed on notice and utilitarianism takes priority over the
Individual ethics refer to the ability to differentiate what is right from what is wrong. This may entail personal values, norms and beliefs. The influence of individual beliefs and values as well as the values of the coworkers has a great impact on an individual’s decision making (Ferrell, Fraedrich and Ferrell, 2006). While some organizations encourage their employees to come up with ethical choices, other organizations lead to promotion of immoral conduct within their employees. There is an assumption that many people make choices which are grounded on their personal values and beliefs. According to social scientists, there are various factors that influence ethical decision making, and individual factors are among the significant factors to consider.
Consequentialism and non-consequentialism are both action based ethical frameworks that people can use to make ethical judgments. Consequentialism is based on examining the consequences of one’s actions as opposed to non-consequentialism which is focused on whether the act is right or wrong regardless of the outcome (Burgh, Field & Freakley, 2006). The three sub-categories of consequentialism are altruism, utilitarianism and egoism.
Theoretical Perspectives Decision Making Framework is suitable to making ethical decisions. According to Bonde & Firenze (2013) the decision about right or wrong can be difficult and might be related to individual context. Ethical thinking other than critical thinking is needed in order to find the most suitable alternatives to be implemented in reaching the expected
1. Consequentialist moral theories see the moral rightness or wrongness of actions as a function of their results. If the consequences are sufficiently good, the action is right; if they are sufficiently bad, the action is wrong. However, nonconsequentialist theories see other factors as also relevant to the determination of right and wrong.
The next stage involves a critical analysis of the just described theoretical systems. We will explore the factors and influences involved in a chosen Case Study where personal influences are involved. Thereafter, we will look into different approaches a Kantian and a Utilitarian would address the issue and the reasons behind. It will be imperative to understand the actual factors influencing decisions under each of the moral systems identified (Lukas 22).
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.
Individual factors helps to understand the reason for some people perceive specific action to be unethical whiles others do not. However, the decision-making cannot simply be explained in terms of these individual factors, because after all several people seems to have ‘multiple ethical selves’ (Trevino and Nelson 2007:180) – that is, they make different decisions in different situations. Situational factors accepted to be the most important.