...BETWEEN DEONTOLOGY AND UTILITARIANISM Accounting Ethics: Differences between Deontology and Utilitarianism Yaa Mendez Liberty University Outline: Introduction with thesis Deontology: definition, concepts Utilitarianism: definition, concepts Similarities between deontology and utilitarianism Difference between deontology and utilitarianism Conclusion In 2013, the movie, The Wolf of Wall Street portrayed the dishonest dealings of people involved in securities exchange and trades of foreign and public companies. The actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, had an sensational thirst for wealth and learned of greed from his superior. This movie portrays the idea that greed, an unethical behavior, is an acceptable behavior that business individuals must cultivate to increase their wealth. So what is ethics? According to Spiceland, Sepe, and Tomassini (2007), ethics is “a code or moral system that provides a criteria for evaluating what is right and wrong” (Spiceland, Sepe, and Tomassni, 2007). Deontological theories base morality on certain duties or obligations and claim that certain actions are right or wrong regardless of the consequences that may follow from the actions. Deontology is a moral theory that depends on scriptures that are governed by rules, moral laws, and intuition. The word deontology is derived from the Greek term “deon” and “logos” which means the “study of duty” (Moreland, 2009). Moreland (2009) describes three features of deontology. The first...
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...for excellence. The problem with virtue ethics is that it relies on common opinion, meaning that one individual is able to judge whether or not another is being “good” or achieving excellence, but what makes that person the judge of all judges? When looking at virtue ethics an individual would strive for excellence, however what would make that person great? Virtue ethics would do really well in a society where everyone is expected to achieve the same goals or behave the same way; on the other hand in a society where self-expression and individual choices are respected and praised virtue ethics would have difficulty taking shape. The utilitarianism ethical theory differs from virtue ethics in that it focuses more on a group of individuals vs. the individual alone. For example a team player is one who puts the good of the team before her own good. (Boylan, M.,2009) Utilitarianism suggests that an action is morally right is the action benefits the entire group more so than any other action. The problem with this theory is that for it to work everyone would have to be in...
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...Karris Moses Professor Armstrong Law, Ethics and Corporate Governance Assignment 3: Corporate Governance and Ethical Responsibility Research Paper February 17, 2013 Karris Moses Prof. Armstrong LEG 500 February 17, 2013 Dr. DoRight has recently been hired as the President of the “Universal Human Care Hospital”, where he oversees all departments with over 5,000 employees and over 20,000 patients at the medical facility. He has been provided with a broad set of duties and oversight of numerous departments, including business development, customer services, human resources, legal, patient advocacy, to name a few. He has managers in each department that he supervises and who work with him to address the needs of the various internal and external stakeholders of the hospital. Dr. DoRight discovers that some patients within the hospital have been dying as a result of a variety of illegal procedures by doctors and nurses, and negligent supervision and oversight on their part. This was brought to his attention in a few meetings and he told his Regional Director Compliance Manager and Executive Committee in January 2009. He was told by them that the matter would be investigated and they would report any findings to him as soon as possible. After two (2) years, there have been no results from the investigation and some patients are still passing away due to the negligent activities. He also answers to a board of trustees and interfaces with numerous community organizations...
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...Similarities and Differences in Virtue Theory, Utilitarianism, and Deontological Ethics This document will discuss the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. A persons ethical and social responsibility is very important to their personal and business success. Unfortunately, it is difficult to identify and classify what is ethical and moral. I will also provide a personal example of one of the ethical behavior. The first question you must ask yourself is what are the meaning of Virtue Theory, utilitarianism, and Deontological. According to the Webster Dictionary; Virtue- normally good behavior or character, a good moral quality, or the good result that comes from somerthing. Now what does that mean in laymens term, After reviewing the technical and professional expernatiation 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...
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...any of these ethical theories You don’t need to know whether these theories are ultimately correct or not You don’t need to be concerned with other “big picture” issues, e.g. the origin of ethics EB EP Copyright Gregory B. Sadler, 2011 What We Are Going To Cover Five Ethical (families of) Theories Each articulates a particular perspective on good and bad, right and wrong Basic Principles / Key Terminology Important Variations in that family What to look for in student responses Knowledge of theory Application of theory EB EP Copyright Gregory B. Sadler, 2011 Five Theories Egoism the self and its needs Utilitarianism overall pleasure and pain for all concerned Deontology duty Care Ethics relationships, vulnerability, and empathy Virtue Ethics character EB EP Copyright Gregory B. Sadler, 2011 Three important points These are not the only Ethical Theories out there These are among those most frequently discussed in Business Ethics literature...
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...Recently the city of Bakersfield had a legal case that created controversy and raised ethical questions about the motives of the parties involved. The case of Tastries Bakery vs. Mireya and Eileen Rodriguez- Del Rios pertained to a bakery owner, Cathy Miller who refused to bake a custom order wedding cake for a same sex couple, the Rodriguez Del Rio’s. This case raised issues and concerns not only within the community of Bakersfield but across the nation in regards to business owners and their constitutional rights to refuse service vs. individual’s rights in regards to being discriminated against due to their sexual orientation. The case began in August of 2017 when Mireya and Eileen Rodriguez-Del Rio chose the Tastries Bakery to design their wedding reception cake. When the Rodriguez-Del Rios met with the bakery owner, Cathy Miller a conservative Christian and the owner of Tastries Bakery, she claimed that is was against her Christian beliefs to bake a wedding cake for the same sex couple. Cathy Miller then referred the same sex couple to a competitor who would be able to accommodate their request. The Rodriguez-Del Rios’s felt they had...
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...Compare and contrast potential conflicts of interest that may exist between the internal and external stakeholders: RESPONSE: According to Corporate Governance P.30 of chapter one, internal stakeholders are shareholders may risk losing profit if information being withheld by Dr. Do Right is investigated, found to be true and the hospital suffers loss of reputations, law suits. Although the legal liability of shareholders is limited by law to the amount of investment they make in the company, their expectations that all reporting operations of the company is in accordance with guidelines set by corporate roles, rights and responsibilities. Further, the hospital is expected to operate in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This Act protects the financial management of a company. Another example cited in textbook page. 73 "Experiences of Qui Tam Whistleblowers against the Pharmaceutical Industry" Write summarized their investigation of the motivation and experiences of health care industry whistleblowers focusing on the False Claims Acts. Dr. Do Right's legal responsibility would fall under this category since he knowing is allowing patients to be killed with the false pretense that the deaths are due to causes not associated with the hospital. The External Stakeholders conflicts of interest would exist only if the stakeholders were aware of the ethical, civil, and fraud taking place in a company to which they are doing business with. Further, the external stakeholders...
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...of Bentham’s students, are, ethicist’s involved in developing utilitarianism. Social contact is that the persons’ moral or obligations are dependent on a contract or agreement. To be polite, not cheat or lie to one another in marriage, which marriage is like a contract. The ethicists that were involved in this were Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Individual relativism says that is not a universal standard. “All values are subjective because they are based upon the personal preferences that express one’s own self-interest” (Argosy, 2015). What you says goes basically, what you think is the better option is. The ethicists involved were Manuel Velasquez, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, S.J., and Michael J. Meyer. Deontology with goals is comprised of the principle components of an individual making ethical decisions based on achieving a certain goal. Hinduism and Buddhism both want to reach a particular goal in life. Buddhism is to reach their goal through nirvana, Hinduism is...
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...preference. The topics I will be covering include eugenics, beneficence, utilitarianism and pre-genetic screening in regards to sex linked diseases. Eugenics can be defined as the study or belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species. In the context of IVF, treatment positive eugenics encourages reproduction by implantation of healthy embryos with inheritable desirable traits and negative eugenics seeks to identify and dispose of embryos found to carry undesirable inheritable traits. Introduction: Utilitarianism in the context of IVF sex selection and genetic screening is defined by the principle of utility, which seeks to judge moral rules, actions and behaviors based on their consequences. Where an action produces the best possible outcome, that being the greatest good for the greatest number it is seen as ethical and moral. Therefore, the testing, screening and disposal of genetically impaired embryos and implantation of only healthy and preferred embryos is justifiable because the outcome is seen as beneficial for the majority. The ethical principle of beneficence means to do good or an action done to benefit others, and therefore act to maximize benefits and minimize harm. The language of a principle or rule of beneficence refers to a normative statement of a moral obligation to act for the benefit of others, helping them to further their important and legitimate...
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...The virtue ethics theory is presently one of three most well known points of views in normative ethics. Virtue in itself is moral excellence and righteousness and goodness. It can simply be defined as the theory that establishes the virtues, or moral character. Deontology in contrast to the virtue theory is a theory that governs duties and rules and emphasizes that for every action there is a consequence. Deontological ethics is in staying with Scripture, natural moral law, and intuitions from common sense.In the same sense, the utilitarian theory also focuses on consequences, but in a different light. The utilitarian theory states that people should try to maximize overall well-being. There are many different utilitarian theories, but they all have one thing in common. Each theory basically says that no moral rule or act is intrinsically right it wrong. Morality is a matter of the non-moral good produced that results from moral actions and rules, and moral duty is instrumental, not intrinsic. (Moreland J.P. 2009) Values are the regard that something is held to deserve or the importance or preciousness of something. Values, virtue and morality all go together. People have different beliefs, morals, and values because different people have different perspective on what are right and wrong. One theory I think can relate to a lot of things that have happened in my life is the utilitarian theory. I think I always try to maximize the most good that I possibly can. The world will...
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...matters for egoists is the consequences of their actions for themselves. • • Utilitarianism - Bentham and Mill o Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory. Right and wrong depends on the consequences of one’s actions for everyone who might be affected by them. Jeremy Bentham • Bentham was a hedonist. He believed that happiness was a matter of more pleasure and less pain. • Bentham thought you could assign pleasure points to an action according to the following categories: o Intensity: How intense is the pleasure? o Duration: How long will it last? o Certainty: How sure are you that the pleasure will occur? o Proximity: How soon will the happiness occur? o Fecundity: How much more pleasure will this lead to? o Purity: How much pain will be mixed with this pleasure? o Extent: How many people will experience the pleasure? Quality vs. Quantity o Bentham: Pushpin is as good as poetry. o Mill: It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied. o Bentham believed that all pleasures should count equally, but Mill believed that humanity would be better off if the intellectual, moral and aesthetic pleasures were more valued. Principle of Utility o The right action is the one that produces the greatest balance of pleasure over pain, or happiness over unhappiness, for everyone affected by that action. o Animals count too, since they can feel pleasure and pain. o Future generations count, since our actions can have farreaching consequences. Act Utilitarianism o This...
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...Explain how Anscombe and MacIntyre developed Aristotle’s ‘Virtue Theory’. [30 marks] Aristotle’s ‘Virtue Theory’ is an ethical theory that emphasizes on an individual’s character as a key element of ethical thinking, rather than rules about the acts themselves (deontology) or their consequences (consequentialism). Thus making ‘Virtue Ethics’ and deontic ethical theory. Both Elizabeth Anscombe and Alasdair MacIntyre believed that modern ethical studies have lost their ways. The philosophers felt that they were too concerned with normative rules and this doesn’t help to fill the moral vacuum of society. And that ‘Virtue Ethics’ was the only solution to the moral vacuum in society. According to Anscombe, the best way to fill this moral vacuum is to chart our moral virtues. Virtues help ordinary people be moral and must be based on good will; similarly to Aquinas’ internal vs external goods idea in Natural Law. Anscombe believed that society needed the return of Virtue Ethics because she was critical of deontological ethics as she felt they had become outdated. She was also critical of teleological ethics as she believes the end doesn’t justify the means, which we can understand from when she says, “The concepts of obligation, and duty – moral ‘ought’, ought to be jettisoned.” In 1981, MacIntyre wrote a book titled ‘After Virtue’ in which he traces he history of ‘Virtue Ethics’ and attempts to establish a system of the ethical theory appropriate for the modern age...
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...monitor the organization’s service and delivery system at all times to ensure optimal operation. Dr. DoRight has recently been hired as the president of the “Universal Human Care Hospital”. Dr. DoRight discovers that some patient in the hospital have been dying as a result of illegal procedures by the nursing and doctors, and negligent supervision and oversight on their part. In this thesis we will discuss the internal and external stakeholders that Dr. DoRight might have deal with on daily basis, compare and contrast potential conflict of interest that may exist between the internal and external stakeholders, whether Dr. DoRight has fulfilled his ethical duty by reporting the illegal procedures, describe the deontology and utilitarianism principals and apply them to the ethical dilemma Dr. DoRight faces in this case. Internal And External Stakeholders that Dr. DoRight Deals With In A Daily Basis A hospital President is responsible for attaining and maintaining patient care, safety, education and community service goals. Professionals in this position are accountable for improving health status in the community as a whole. They also ensure hospital objectives are met through the process of selection, development, organization, motivation, management, evaluation and the promotion of human resources. A hospital President manages the...
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...a) Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a moral theory that ultimately concentrates on the happiness of an individual. This theory was initially developed by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and later altered by Stuart Mill (1806-1873). A Utilitarian’s attitude towards justice implies that no significant act (e.g., act of copying) or rule (e.g., “should not lie”) is basically good or bad. Rather, it solely depends on the overall non-moral good produced on accomplishing the act. The central idea here is that morality depends on the happiness produced after an ethical act or regulation. Hence the act is influential and not elemental. Therefore, utilitarianism is classed under “consequential” theory. Both Bentham and Mill were hedonists and regarded happiness as the most important thing in life. However, there was a conflict in the way they measured happiness. Bentham did not differentiate the pleasures obtained from the actions (Bentham, 1781). According to him, any work that generates happiness- be it eating or listening to music was essentially good. He was concerned about the quantity of happiness produced by doing an action. In contrast, Mill’s theory (Act Utilitarianism) focused on the quality of the action that produces happiness. He distinguished the pleasures into lower and higher pleasures. The former constituted of tactile sensuous pleasure like sleeping or eating, while the latter comprised of more intellectual behavior like listening to elegant music or reading a poem...
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...Accountability Act of 1996). These were put in place to ensure confidentiality and accountability in cases where patient’s health information is compromised, (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2014). During an episode of the television series “ER” a main character, “Nurse Hathaway”, struggles with an ethical dilemma in which she must decide whether or not to break confidentiality with her patient who is also a minor in the name of the law. This patient’s diagnosis turns out to be a serious condition, cervical cancer. The author will discuss this dilemma in terms of ethical implications, ethical theories, alternative solutions, if any, as well as the author’s position on this dilemma. The author will also refer to a landmark case, “Tarasoff vs. Regents” in which “a psychologist failed to warn a woman or her family when his patient threatened to murder the woman,” (Nathanson, 2000) to discuss confidentiality ethics. Ethical Implications of a Breach of Confidentiality There are several implications when referring to the dilemma of a nurse who must decide whether to break confidentiality in order to protect the rights of the community as a whole. In this case, the patient’s behavior did not only affect herself, but also that of minors in her community. By participating in “sex parties” and engaging in sexual behavior that may compromise the health and well being of these minors in terms of life or death, it...
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