This exposes another weakness of the deontological approach: it provides no guidance for determining which of two contradictory rules must be respected. If the supervisor respects the company rule prohibiting disclosing the information to the employee, he must violate the general moral rule prohibiting lying. Conversely, if the supervisor respects the general moral rule about lying, he must violate the company policy about non-disclosure.
In this particular scenario, the supervisor would have little help from deontological principles to decide which rule to follow and which rule to violate. Therefore, his only option might be to respond that he is simply not at liberty to respond to the question, although most of the time, that response would already suggest to the employee that the supervisor is aware that layoffs in the department are anticipated.
Other ethical systems are far preferable because they might allow the supervisor to decide what to do based…...
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References
Rosenstand, N. (2008). The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Ethics. New York:
I have two thoughts regarding your narrative about duty. The first is that I see your point with respect to people having different ideas about what their duty might be towards others. Holly and yourself are described as having different ideas about what her duty towards Chelsea should be. That's a valid point – if we are to use a deontological framework then that assumes that we all have roughly the same framework with which we're working. The roots of deontological ethics derive from a European culture that was fairly homogenous and from a time when a lot of the ethical framework was religious in nature. In the modern world, in a county where there are so many cultures, there cannot be the same high level of agreement about the underlying deontological ethics of many situations in everyday life.
The second point I would add is that even if yourself and…...
KANT
Deontological ethics suggests that there are certain moral principles which are so important that one should follow them as if setting a moral law for all time. Kant formulated his categorical imperative to suggest that there are some transcendent moral laws that are applicable to all situations, and cannot be waived no matter how dire the consequences (Kant and business ethics, 2013, S). Anticipated positive consequences, according to deontological ethicists, do not excuse immoral or questionable behavior.
Kant's ethical notions contradict many accepted notions of firm behavior. For example, it is largely accepted that an organization has an obligation to make a profit to enrich its shareholders. Some business ethicists consider it immoral to take shareholder money and use it to engage in ethical initiatives because that is using other people's investment capital to satisfy the manager's own personal sense of morality. In Kant's view, however, if every entity put profitability…...
ethics, teleology refers to consequentialist ethics, in which the morality of an action is based on its consequences rather than on the nature of the act itself. Utilitarianism is a type of teleological ethics, because utilitarianism is based on creating the maximum amount of happiness (or some other predetermined desirable outcome such as prosperity or health) for the most people possible. Ethical egoism, the view that benefitting the self justifies an action, is also a type of teleology ("Deontological and Teleological Assumptions in Normative Ethics," n.d.). Deontological ethics are opposite to teleological ethics because the consequences are less important than the nature of the act itself. According to the deontological ethical framework, an act is categorically moral or immoral. It does not matter if an act produces happiness or any other result. Deontology espouses the view that the ends do not justify the means; whereas the teleologist believes that…...
oss thought that all people should be benevolent and so if lying affects one's benevolence, one needs to decide if lying is better for the sake of benevolence.
oss' non-absolutist take to ethics is preferred because is considers what is morally right in certain situations. In the instance of a Poker game, it is a game that relies upon lying or "bluffing" so it actually does pass Kant's universal law test. Kant would probably not take issue with the game of Poker because it is a game that needs the aspect of bluffing in order to work. But, if we want to use the example and examine it purely from a Kantian perspective on lying, then we must consider that people are acting from a means approach and not an end approach and all of the players have the same intention in mind -- to wind the game -- and…...
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References
Bennett, Jonathan. (2010). Groundwork for the metaphysic model. Immanuel Kant.
Ross, W.D. (1930). What makes right acts right? The right and the good. Oxford: Oxford
Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical framework. The consequences of an action are more important than the motivations behind the action or the action itself. An action has "utility" if it serves the greatest good. The basic principle of utilitarianism is creating the greatest good for the greatest number of people, or the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. The ethics of utilitarianism differ from ethical egoism in that the individual may make a sacrifice for the common good because it is the aggregate of happiness/goodness that matters, not maximizing individual happiness. Central to utilitarianism is the belief that all people are inherently equal and of equal consideration when making ethical decisions (p. 55). John Stuart Mill outlined the core tenets of utilitarianism, which became a fundamental component of Enlightenment political philosophy. Another utilitarian philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, proposed a happiness calculus that can be used to more rigorously apply…...
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Works Cited
MacKinnon, Barbara and Fiala, Andrew. Ethics. 8th edition. Cengage.
Consequentialist and Deontological Ethical Issues.
Consequentialism states that the morality of an action is determined by the specific results of that action. Deontology, on the other hand, states that the morality of an action is determined by duty or adherence to given rules. (Theodore oosevelt)
Consequentialism is based on the consequences of actions. According to consequentialism, actions are right or wrong depending on whether their consequences further the goal. The goal or "the good," can be something like the happiness of all people or the spreading of peace and safety. Anything which contributes to that goal is right and anything which does not is wrong. Actions are thought to have no moral value in themselves, but only get moral value from whether or not they lead to the goal.
Deontology comes from the Greek word deon, meaning duty. According to this theory, it is your duty to do actions which are right…...
Ethical Theories
The three basic ethical theories share a number of similarities, because they each attempt to describe and explicate the ethical decisions made by humans as well as the logic (or illogic) that is used to inform any particular behavior. Utilitarianism offers what is perhaps the most sound ethical theory due to the way it chooses for itself the goal of its efforts, but it is hampered by disagreement regarding the precise execution of the theory. A deontological theory of ethics may be useful for formulating general rules regarding proper behavior, and as such is popular is the workplace, but these rules are not universally applicable and in some cases can actually lead to unethical behavior if followed without fail. Finally, while virtues-based ethics purports to offer individuals instruction for the cultivation of ideal behavioral traits, by definition it cannot offer a universal ethical norm, as it is based on…...
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References
Begley, A.M. (2005). Practising virtue: A challenge to the view that a virtue centred approach to ethics lacks practical content. Nursing Ethics, 12(6), 622-37.
Broad, C. (1930). Five types of ethical theory. New York: Routledge.
DeConinck, J.B., & Lewis, W.F. (1997). The influence of deontological and teleological considerations and ethical climate on sales managers intentions to reward or punish sales force behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 16(5), 497-506.
Teleological, deontological, and virtue ethics: A comparison
Teleological ethics are also called consequence-based ethics. Teleological ethical systems emphasize the results of ethical decisions, versus the moral principles behind such decisions. Utilitarianism is an excellent example of teleological ethics. The stress in utilitarianism is doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people, versus setting a precedent for all ethical actions. "It denies that moral rightness depends directly on anything other than consequences, such as whether the agent promised in the past to do the act now" (Armstrong 2011). What is good for the greatest number of people one day may not be the case several years from now, or even to morrow.
For example, no one would state that as an abstract moral principle, having to fire competent employees is a 'good thing.' However, bosses are often forced to do so, because of the financial limitations they are…...
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References
Alexander, Larry & Michael Moore. (2007). Deontological ethics. The Stanford Encyclopedia
Consequence-based ethics
c. I believe people should be able to eat sand because it is the right thing to do. Duty-based ethics
d. I believe people should be able to eat sand because it is good for one's health. Virtue ethics
e. I believe people should be able to eat sand if they decide they want to, regardless of whether it is someone else's sand. Entitlement-based ethics
f. I believe people should be able to eat sand if they want to because they are free to make the decision themselves. ights-based ethics
g. I believe I will eat sand because it is the standard meal for my community. elativistic ethics
Q4. Duty-based ethics: It is my duty to follow through with instructions my boss gives me, even if I do not agree with the concept. It is my moral obligation to respect authority figures.
Consequence-based ethics: Even though some employees use the Internet responsibly, the majority…...
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Reference
Trevino, L.K., & Nelson, K.A. (2007). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right (4th Ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Ethical treatment of prisoners is a complex question, involving the nature of the prison system in the U.S. And the nature of those incarcerated in it, as well as ethical obligations that individuals owe to society as well as those that society owes to those who are imprisoned. Deontological ethics might hold, for example, that those who have violated the law and the basic moral norms of society deserve to be punished but at the same time even those convicted and imprisoned have certain basic human rights. For example, they have the right to food, clothing, shelter and medical care, and cannot be tortured, abused or brutalized. Another problem from a deontological perspective would be to criticize a society where blacks and Hispanics are a minority of the population but also the majority of the prison population, including those on death row. Indeed, they are more likely to be profiled,…...
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REFERENCES
Capital Punishment (2011). Bureau of Justice Statistics.
The utilitarian perspective focuses on the broad impacts of the actions, rather than just how the actions affect specific individuals (Andre & Velasquez, 2010). From the utilitarian perspective, genetic testing has the potential to do great harm to many, and to benefit many. The utilitarian arithmetic points out that the benefits to the companies in utilizing genetic testing is that profits increase. The argument can also be made that wealthier companies provide more jobs and wealthier insurance companies are better able to pay out to those who do receive payments. The counter to the former point is that this employment is theoretical -- not only may it not occur, but it may not occur in the United States. The counter to the latter is that insurance is largely price inelastic, so there is no improvement in coverage likely from handing more profits to insurance companies.
On the harm side, many…...
Miller, P. (2007). Genetic testing and the future of disability insurance: Thinking about discrimination in the genetic age. The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics. Vol. 35 (2) 47-52.
Schafer, S. (2001). Railroad agrees to stop gene-testing workers. Washington Post. In possession of the author.
Criticism of Consequentialism:
The deontological criticism of consequentialism would suggest that the very fact that two identical acts can be highly ethical or highly unethical in different circumstances renders consequentialism purely subjective and dependent on opinion instead of objective principles. In that view, the deontological ethical approach may produce unintended negative results on occasion, but at least deontological ethics are predictable and consistent; furthermore, deontological values lead to the better choice of conduct often enough to justify any specific instances where practical injustices could result from adherence to rules.
Adhering to rules is the surest way of ensuring ethical human conduct notwithstanding that isolated societies may establish rules that could be defined objectively as unethical. One of the best examples of the impracticality of consequentialism is the general law of false arrest in most American states. A citizen arrested unlawfully by a duly authorized law enforcement officer may not flee from…...
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References
Beauchamp, Bowie, & Arnold. (2009). Ethical Theory and Business. 8th Edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Ethics refers to the systematic and logical study of right and wrong behavior. The challenge with ethics is that ethical decisions are often subjective. Variables like personality, culture, and upbringing can all affect one's ethical character. Age and gender can also impact one's ethical decision-making process. The study of ethics has been an ongoing one in the field of philosophy, but it also has direct applications in fields ranging from law to medicine.
Almost all decisions have an ethical component. Even deciding what food to eat is an ethical decision, because the consumer chooses things like fair trade and organic over factory farmed and exploitative. Therefore, ethics can help me to create a more ethical and just society, by making choices that are congruent with core ethical principles. Ethical principles may include such things as fairness and the refrain from harm. Generally, there are two…...
From the utilitarian perspective, it can be assumed that the use of spyware will reduce the private use of computers and restore the lost work hours, which is a benefit for the company. Employee relationships with the company will be damaged, however, perhaps irrevocably, and this could also affect productivity. Managing the data from the spyware will also require company resources, which can be seen as a detriment. Deontologically speaking, it is generally considered wrong to spy, but it is also wrong to waste company time when an employee is accepting money in an agreement to work, not take care of private business. The two wrongs do not cancel each other out, but either decision leaves one side wronged, so neither system provides a direct answer to the problem.
A combination of the two approaches is not impossible, and in fact makes a great deal of sense in this scenario.…...
Andre, C. & Velasquez, M. (2008). "Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics." Markula center for applied ethics. Accessed 24 January 2010.
Mautner, T., ed. (2002). The Penguin dictionary of philosophy. New York: Penguin.
The question of whether morality is subjective or objective has been a topic of philosophical debate for centuries. Subjectivists believe that moral values are determined by individual feelings, preferences, or cultural norms. Objectivists, on the other hand, contend that moral values exist independently of individual or societal beliefs.
Subjectivism
Emotivism: This theory argues that moral statements express emotional attitudes rather than objective truths. For example, saying "Murder is wrong" is simply an expression of disapproval or dislike.
Relativism: According to this view, morality varies across different cultures and historical periods. There is no universal standard of right and....
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