The Theory : Deontology, Consequentialism, And Virtue Ethics

When talking about ethics it is hard to distinguish between ethics and morality. It is also hard to distinguish exactly what realm of ethics contributes to my everyday decisions. Ethics can be defined as “well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues [and] ethics refers to the study and development of one's ethical standards” (Andre, Shanks, & Velasquez, 2010, para. 8-9). According to Psychology Today (2013) morality is, “ethics, evil, greed, sin, and conscience” (para. 1). “Morals can vary from person to person and culture

The author Robert Solomon argues that ethics has to an integral part with regard to business management. He does not believe that business management must include unethical or illegal methods to be able to succeed. Solomon preaches that business management is not as simple as obtaining revenue. “Businesses need to abide by fair policies and their owners have to be ethical in dealing with their customers” (Shaw p. 37). The author acknowledges that while illegal practices in business management could bring positive results at first, eventually the business is bound to fail. This is why Solomon recommended eight important policies that can help businesses in integrating ethics into their operations.

There is an ethical epidemic that is plaguing this world and it is called Human Trafficking. Human trafficking is a serious crime that violates common human rights by trading humans and forcing them to complete acts of coerced labor, or sex slavery. It is the 2nd largest criminal operation in the world next to the drug cartel and it is done to make money off these innocent lives (Ottisova, 2016). The illegal trade and exploitation of human beings for forced labor, prostitution and reproductive favors is unethical and unacceptable by our society because many United States organizations are starting to work together to stop these intolerable acts to end the suffering and pain.

The degrees to which these values are upheld also pose as a challenge to management and employees. Although both parties may agree to these established values, employees may be faced by situations where their personal and cultural values may contradict with the degree as to which the organizational values are upheld. The main challenge here is setting priorities among the values and objectives of the organizations or the people involved. Making the best decision suitable for the situation and the people concerned requires critical analysis of the factors (values, objectives, and people) involved.

Virtue ethics is a normative theory whose foundations were laid by Aristotle. This theory approaches normative ethics in substantially different ways than consequentialist and deontological theories. In this essay, I will contrast and compare virtue ethics to utilitarianism, ethical egoism, and Kantianism to demonstrate these differences. There is one fundamental aspect of virtue ethics that sets it apart from the other theories I will discuss. For the sake of brevity and to avoid redundancy, I will address it separately. This is the fundamental difference between acting ethically within utilitarianism, egoism, and Kantianism. And being ethical within virtue ethics. The other theories seek to define the ethics of actions while virtue ethics does not judge actions in any way. The other theories deal with how we should act, while virtue ethics determines how we should be.

This case study review will show that ethics and honesty are more important than pleasing the customer.

Analyzing this case with ethical theories of Utilitarianism, Deontology and Virtue theory will determine Target's actions as ethical or not. These three ethical theories are described as Utilitarianism is making everyone happy, Deontology is making rational decisions, and Virtue is analyzed on courage, honesty, self-control and fairness (Chonko, n.d.) . Target’s letter to the vendors was unethical in many ways.

It is important that you develop an awareness of what you value, as these values will be important in informing your relationships with clients, co–workers and employers.

The biggest dilemma that we as humans face in the work place is what we as individuals see as personal values may not be the same values that everyone else holds. We are each our own individual and we have all been raised in different cultures with different values. We all come together within the work place to not just do a job, but to try and work together with people that are different from ourselves. When we find ourselves in a dilemma that goes against our ethics, one has to ask themselves, “how does this affect my values, and does it affect our values so much that we need to report it to a higher authority”. “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all” (Quotes About Ethics, 2012).  If one see something that goes against their personal values and does nothing about it than they need to reevaluate their values. If it is something important to them, than they will do everything within their power to stop whatever they see is wrong.

Ethics is an important consideration in marketing decisions because a company wants to instill a relationship or trust with consumers. Consumers are not as likely to purchase a company’s goods when they have been caught lying. Take for example Dannon yogurt, which told consumers they would have better digestion because of their yogurt. This was before probiotics were added to yogurt, and as a result it was nothing but their word and consumers fought back. I received a refund for $15 because of the amount of yogurt I bought during a year of their misleading information. The outcome for me was that I no longer bought Dannon yogurt for my family. It was Dannon’s misleading information that prevented me from purchasing it later on, and proved that the consumers would not stand by it, which caused litigation and millions of dollars paid out to consumers.

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.

When thinking about the different normative theories we have discussed in class, Act Consequentialism, Rule Consequentialism, Deontology, and Divine Command Theory, the one that sticks out the most to me is Act Consequentialism. Act Consequentialism is the theory that the moral rightness or wrongness of an action is determined based on the consequences of individual action. It states that moral rules are helpful as rules of thumb, but that they are not law. In this way, it expands the way that we can interpret the rightness and wrongness of actions, allowing their morality to be situational rather than black and white. Act Consequentialism is the best and most all encompassing of the normative ethics theories that we have discussed in the class.

By being socially responsible in situations such as these, voicing my values is my way of maintaing one of my morals of being respected. Having respect for and from coworkers in the work place is a significant attribute to consider when working in teams. Although teams are bound to run into a few obstacles when trying to achieve a goal, voicing ones opinions is a way to resolve those issues. "When pursuing values, just as with any other managerial action, we do not always succeed at what we set out to achieve, yet that does not necessarily prevent us and others from taking action. There are no guarantees or diskless action plans, around voicing values or anything else.

In South Park, South Park illustrates normative ethics in society and people. The characters and scenarios are well scripted to categorize the three main theories of normative ethics; utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics. The show constantly displays the universal mindsets of multiple people within various situations and how one effects the other and the world. Majority of these scenarios, virtue ethics brings about the best results for those within the South Park community and the main characters. In the following, I will argue why virtue ethics is the most effective theory to always follow of all theories and how always following a utilitarianism and deontology approach can cause conflict within oneself and society.

I have reason to believe that treating others with respect, integrity, trustworthiness and justice is important to living my moral lifestyle. Many virtues such as honor and respect were taught to me through my parents about biblical and virtuous lessons. The reason why I moral is to reap the benefits from being virtuous. Indeed, people are not born with the moral instincts, these are to be learned through discussion, research and personal experience. Although my motivation for this is technically not the same as classical theories my theory however is permissible to deontology. Deontology is the study of morals based on reasoning. Youths do not know right from wrong or if virtues are necessary. Therefore, Moral development in human beings