¶ … Ethics and Moral Development in the Business Environment
Ethics, as the study of right and/or wrong, is an essential tool for professionals and practitioners of specific fields of study, particularly those people who directly deal with society. Knowing acts and behavior that are right or wrong, moral or immoral are considerations that an individual must take into account when practicing his/her chosen field of profession. However, there are various theories on ethics that offer different perspectives in determining whether an act or behavior is ethical or not, moral or immoral. In the analysis of the case study Might Makes Right, four ethical and moral theories are discussed and applied in the context of the study: Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative, J.S. Mill's Utilitarianism, theory of rights-based ethical decision-making, and theory of justice-based ethical decision-making.
The case study presents the main problem, wherein Janice contemplates whether or not to present her subordinate John's software package as her own, because she was not able to create a program of her own, as assigned to her by her boss. Two situations are presented here: the first dilemma is when Janice threatens to lower John's performance evaluation when he disagrees with her plan to present his software program as Janice's own; the second dilemma presents the situation wherein Janice...
Janice, in return, will provide John with a raise and promotion. The proper action that must be done for Janice is determined based on the principles presented by the four ethical and moral theories. The texts that follow are discussions of the case study using the various ethical perspectives.
Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative posits that given the situation Janice is in, she should not consider the two options discussed previously -- that is, whether she should threaten/coerce or connive with John to present his program as hers. According to Kant's Categorical Imperative, "[s]o act, that the moral of thy doing shall, at thy will, become a universal law." This means that people should not commit an act because there is some consequence in it, but because they consider the act as a moral duty that is 'universally' accepted. That is, an act or behavior is committed because it is considered ethical and moral to do so; to do otherwise would at once be considered unethical and immoral. Thus, Janice, considering the unethical nature of her decision to pass off John's work as her own, should, under Kant's Categorical Imperative, not consider 'stealing' John's program and present it to her boss as her own, whether or not John agrees with Janice's plan.
The theory of utility, according to J.S.…
What impact has Kohlberg's model of cognitive moral development had on ethical decision making? The three levels of ethical concern found in Kohlberg's Model of Moral Development include Pre-Conventional (Level 1) which includes obedience and punishment orientation including self-interest orientation. Next, interpersonal accord and conformity (Level 2) includes social norms and the definition of authority and social-ordering maintaining orientation. This is often referred to as the law and order morality
Business Ethics: Personal Moral Intelligence Development The first question that I asked when I came into this class was "What is moral intelligence?" I knew because of the people I talked to about the class that the question would be answered, but I did not understand how thoroughly. I have now learned that the best definition I could find of the concept came in the first chapter of Moral Intelligence: Enhancing
These abilities are inclusive of memory emotion, belief, desire, intentional actions and an awareness of the future. With these things being understood this theory asserts that mammals not only have physical bodies that are alive but they also function as psychological beings whose existence can get better or worse. Proponents of this theory argue that other mammals have this capacity even though they cannot use human language to articulate
Alcohol and Business Ethics Introduction moral society is built on the basis of a number of unspoken, but generally agreed upon social issues. A moral society generally applies the maxim "treat others in the way you would like to be treated" and this proverb, although it's heard more frequently in the school play yard than in the corporate boardroom, should affect business decisions which affect the community at large. Some would
Ethics and the Legal Environment George Mackee has a problem. His wife is after him, his boss is after him, and one day soon, the whole community of Hondo, Texas may be after him. George has one very large, very simple problem: He works for Ardnak Plastics, Inc. Ardnack Plastics is a small manufacturing company making small parts for small machinery, yet its corporate problems are far larger. In the wake
Ethics are often stronger than the laws of the land. Laws are cobbled together by special interests and have little to do with right and wrong, or personal ethical codes. For most people, their own personal codes of ethics will be stronger than the laws. People are much less likely to violate their own personal ethical codes than the laws. Morals are codes of conduct put forward by a society, often