...Ethics and ethical theories: a road map for teaching ethics in business schools Joan Fontrodona (IESE Business School, Spain), Manuel Guillén (University of Valencia, Spain), and Alfredo Rodríguez-Sedano (University of Navarre, Spain) Introduction A three-dimensional framework to explain ethical theories Ethical approaches of business firms Teaching ethics experiences using this framework Discussion of the teaching experiences Conclusions References 1 2 6 9 10 12 13 Introduction This paper tries to contribute, in some way, to the urgent need recently warned by Benedict XVI: “the university, for its part, must never lose sight of its particular calling to be a "universitas" in which the various disciplines, each in its own way, are seen as part of a greater unum. How urgent is the need to rediscover the unity of knowledge and to counter the tendency to fragmentation and lack of communicability that is all too often the case in our schools!”1 This seems to be a challenge for both, Catholic and non-Catholic universities. The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical framework that helps to conceptualize ethics and to clarify the characteristics and limits of the different ethical theories. In other words, students without philosophical background will find here a synthetic “road map” of ethical approaches. This framework has been previously published in a book in Spain2. In this paper, authors will describe the model and discuss how it has been successfully tested...
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...Ethics Essay Sharon Batts ETH/316 February 10, 2014 Professor Heller Ethics Essay Ethical growth is an important instrument needed in today’s society. Virtue, deontological, and utilitarianism theories have similarities and differences. Each theory relates to morals and ethics in precise ways, just as virtue, values, and morality have a precise relationship with one another. Virtue theory relates to ethics by identifying the character of a person as honorable, dependable, loyal, honest, or as untrustworthy, deceiving, careless, or self-serving. Basically a person is described as “good” or “bad”, or a mixture of both. People develop character throughout life as a mirror image of his or her morals. Virtue ethics define a person’s character more so than his or her actions. The downside of this theory is that it does not make allowance for good people who make bad mistake (Garrett, 2005). A teenager may give into peer pressure to steal a car. The teen may have high morals and ethics, but made a foolish decision. Virtue theory defines the teen as a bad person rather than as a good person who did a bad act. The next ethical theory, utilitarianism, focuses on determining the choice for the actions and the choice made depends on the course of action that has the best consequences for that person. The actions of a person are believed to be morally correct or incorrect based only on the outcome of the actions. Therefore, if the result is good, the action is morally right. On...
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...beliefs. All of your ethical decisions can define you as an individual in some type of way. This paper will reflect the similarities and differences of virtue theory, utilitarianism and deontological ethics. Virtue theory reflects a person who is pursing excellence in life, looking to be the good person. Utilitarianism is when someone is looking to satisfy other more than themselves with morality rights. Deontological ethics is based off moral facts that result from human actions. The similarities between the three theories are that they all reflect the good in people and how people strive for excellence and to justify the good for other people. The difference in the three theories is virtue theory focus on striving for excellence but that can sometimes become challenging when making life decisions. Utilitarianism focus on morality rights for a group which is balancing the good over the bad. This also explains the saying” The greatest good for the greatest number” (Boylan,2009). Deontological ethics reflects human action which is a person dedication to moral duties. All of three of theories has their own point of view but most important it teaches the right way of human morals. As a parent, wife, student and employee ethics plays an important role in my everyday life. Virtue, values, and moral concepts relates to all three theories for me. I strive for excellence within my studies and throughout life. All of my ethical decisions reflect my family and I. I have a child who is...
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...make these choices. moving from a primary focus on teaching employees to master the knowledge, skills, and job behaviors and apply them to the day-to-day activities (Making Choices: Ethical Decisions at the Frontier of Global Science) * Ethics refers to principles that define behavior as right, good and proper. Such principles do not always dictate a single "moral" course of action, but provide a means of evaluating and deciding among competing options. * The terms "ethics" and "values" are not interchangeable. Ethics is concerned with how a moral person should behave, whereas values are the inner judgments that determine how a person actually behaves. Values concern ethics when they pertain to beliefs about what is right and wrong. Most values, however, have nothing to do with ethics. For instance, the desire for health and wealth are values, but not ethical values. (www.josephsoninstitute.org) Concepts organizing Principle of Ethics 1. Autonomy - is the principle that addresses the concept of independence. The essence of this principle is allowing an individual the freedom of choice and action. (Forester-Miller & Rubenstein, 1992) 2. Beneficence - reflects the counselor's responsibility to contribute to the welfare of the client. Simply stated it...
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...comparing the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. Once one gains a better insight of the similarities and differences, one can begin to actually comprehend the important roles ethics and social responsibility play in one’s personal and professional success. This essay describes some of the similarities and differences in how each theory addresses ethics and morality. This essay also includes an example of a personal experience to help explain the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts as they relate to one of the three theories. To begin, some the differences and similarities of the three theories must be described. Virtue theory is identified as an ethical theory which is person based rather than action based. It emphasizes one’s virtues, or moral character. In contrast, deontology emphasizes one’s duties or rules and consequentialism emphasizes the consequences of one’s actions. However, this essay will only be discussing one form of consequentialism- utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is defined as the theory in which the right and wrong of an action is determined by its usefulness in bringing the most happiness to those affected by it. While the differences between the theories can get someone confusing, the major similarity is easily understood. All three theories deal with how to judge one’s ethics and morality. To help better describe the three ethical theories, suppose that someone is obviously...
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...Ethics Essay In this essay I will compare the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. I will also include the following in this essay a description of the differences in how each theory addresses ethics and morality, and a personal experience to explain the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts as they relate to one of the three theories Utilitarianism is a moral theory that argues that an action is right if and only if it conforms to the principle of utility. The theory accepts as true that there was a need for society to rely on reason rather than metaphysics. The central tenet of utilitarianism is what is called the “Greatest Happiness Principle’. Because the human beings are rational self-interested creatures, they seek to maximize their pleasure and minimize their pain. Deontologists hold that right actions are defined by duty. Once we know what it is that we are duty bound to do morally, then we can carry out this ‘natural’ right action regardless of the consequences. What matters, they argue, is that we do what is right what is right, and what is right is that which conforms to moral law. The Virtue Theory concept is for human beings to live well. The end or final cause of human existence is eudaimonia. Eudaimonia is most commonly translated as ‘happiness’, but a more accurate translation is ‘flourishing’. Part of being human is to live a fulfilled life. A eudaimon life is a life that...
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...the future society will be under the guardianship of a not skill but the benefits of inheritance. In such a society, dissatisfaction is possibly the way of the day. Plato maintained that for dissatisfaction an understanding of the nature of the human being is the answer. That is, people are naturally different and they have where they fit in the society. In such a situation, they will be able to rule the society. A perfect society, I believe, is one that is distinctive by leaders who have the interests of the society at hand. That is, a society under the reign of guardians who are in favor of the members of the society and their needs. A society that is simply having rulers who have inherited power is liable to doom. This is because, in most cases, such kinds of people not only lack the wisdom to rule, but they are also corrupted by the benefits of inheritance that they become nefarious with power. However, in a situation where someone who has inherited power is able to stand for the wishes of the people then can lead a perfect society. The wishes of the governed should be the guiding factor here. It defines what the society stands for and what it aims to achieve, anybody going against such things is in contravention to the core...
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...can be viewed in three different types; virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. All three theories have similar but yet different (awkward), however they each connect to and address the ideas of ethics and morality. Virtue theory, which is judging someone by what you (Avoid using pronouns like “you” and “your” in academic writing.) perceive as their character rather than their actions, demonstrates a lifestyle of living to be excellent in all areas of life for not just the benefit of yourself but for others. Citation? Utilitarianism would be slightly different because it is believed to be an action that is morally correct only if a large number of people have the opportunity to benefit from it. Citation? Regardless of the deed, it should be intended to promote the greatest amount of happiness for an abundant amount of people. Deontological ethics is what we (Avoid using pronouns like “we”, “us”, and “our” in academic writing.) would see as being right versus wrong in what we do instead relating it to the consequences of our actions. Citation? When identifying the similarities and differences of each theory one of the most common element[s] is to see that one speaks of the actions one take[s], where as (“whereas” is one word.) the other is based on the consequences. Good, but one sentence cannot stand alone as a separate paragraph in academic writing. **The requirements for this assignment state that the paper must include a section on “virtue, values, and moral...
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...ETH/ 316 Ethics Essay Cha Xiong March 12, 2013 Ethics Essay Ethics played a very important role in our lives. While we were growing up, we have been taught on what is right and what is wrong. People from different parts of the world practice different cultures, religions, beliefs, and ethics. Everyone believes that his or her ethical practice is the only one that existed and others should follow. Most of the people still do not know what to belief and who to follow. Throughout this paper, I will discuss the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. These similarities and differences will include a description of the differences in how each theory addresses ethics and morality. They will also include a personal experience to explain the relationship between virtues, values, and moral concepts as they relate to one of the three ethical theories above. Description of Similarities and Differences To discuss the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics, I will start with each ethical theory. The similarities between these three theories represent the good in people, how they strive for excellence, and how they justify good. The differences in these three theories begin with the ethics and morality. Virtue theory is not the same as the other two normative theories, utilitarianism and deontology ethics. This theory focuses more on an individual and his or her...
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...The Moral Virtues Once the various faculties of the soul are rectified in regard to the supernatural order through the theological virtues, it is necessary to rectify them in regard to the means for attaining that end. This is the role of the moral virtues. As we have already mentioned, it is impossible to enumerate all the moral virtues, since there can be a virtue wherever there can be a morally good habit regarding a given area of human activity, and human activities are multiple. However, theologians generally group the moral virtues around the basic cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. Prudence The first of the four cardinal virtues and the most important as a fulcrum for all the other moral virtues is prudence. It is a special virtue infused by God into the practical intellect for the right government of one's actions in view of the supernatural end. Prudence is the most necessary of all the moral virtues because its function is precisely to point out and command the just mean or measure in regard to any and all human actions. It enables us to judge accurately what is the morally good thing to do under particular circumstances. The importance of the virtue of prudence is especially evident in certain aspects of human life. First, it helps the individual avoid sin, pointing out through experience the causes and occasions of sin as well as the opportune remedies. Secondly, it contributes to the increase and growth of virtue, judging in...
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...the article Learning as a Task or Virtue: U.S. and Chinese Preschoolers Explain Learning, the author Jin Li, discusses American and Chinese values and views on education. Both cultures were known for having emphasis on learning and having elaborated educational systems, however, the differences in how each culture perceives and approach learning sets them both apart. Both Chinese and Americans put great prominence on education as they believe that it is the key and base for their future. They also established complex educational systems in hopes that it would boost...
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...Introduction This paper explores three philosophical issues. The concepts examined are personal identity, virtue ethics, and ethical relativism. A personal philosophy in relation to each concept is identified and described. In conclusion, philosophical findings are incorporated into a personal view on the ultimate meaning of life. Philosophical Issues Personal Identity Personal identity of the most basic nature is “what makes one the person one is” (Olson, 2010). This basic nature then leads to the complexities of personal identity. Complexities include questions such as: * Who am I? * What is it to be a person? * What does it take for a person to persist from one time to another – that is, for the same person to exist at different times? * How do we find out who is who? * What am I? * How could I have been? * How different could I have been from the way I actually am? (2010) These questions are crucial to discovering self-purpose of life. Hume’s philosophy is that personal identity is “nothing but a bundle or collection of different perceptions” and “too inconstant” (n.d.). Several philosophers disagree, arguing that “when the soul and the body are united, then nature orders the soul to rule and govern, and the body to obey and serve” (Chaffee, 2011, p. 91). There are many theories of philosophy pertaining to personal identity and social identity. In most cases, the compulsion to rationalize identity by understanding and knowing who...
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...Friendship Studied to this day, Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is one of the most interesting pieces of literature I have come across. The text offers Aristotle’s views on a variety of topics including what a human being is comprised of, not in terms of physiology, but rather what differentiates us from animals for example. Most importantly, and the parts that I focused on for this assignment were the areas where Aristotle defines the various types of friendships, and the parts where Aristotle discusses moral virtue and how one can go about acquiring them. In this paper I will review Aristotle’s moral virtues in relation to the term philia, and evaluate why self-control is the most significant of the virtues required in a true friendship. Before diving in, it is first important to dissect the term philia as used by Aristotle in Nicomachean Ethics. The term philia encompasses a variety of relationships types including the relationships between: business contacts, parent and child, soldiers on the same army, the best of friends, and even the relationship to one’s significant other. Though today we would not necessarily consider all of these relationships to be friendships, the term philia did incorporate them. For the purpose of this paper, the term philia, or friendship, is about the relationship between the truest of friends. Within the scope of friendship overall, Aristotle distinguishes between three objects of philia: utility, pleasure, and good. The friendship based on the...
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...are rules of behavior based on ideas about what is morally good or bad. To fully answer the question, one would have to consider the ethical values of the individual. Is the individual basing the decision on virtue ethics, utilitarianism, or a deontological standpoint? A review of these three standpoints would reveal one’s situational perception of ethics. The Ethic Similarities There are similarities within the three perspectives of virtue, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. In virtue ethics, one would be making an ethical decision if a virtuous person would do the same under the same circumstance. “Virtue ethics is person rather than action based: it looks at the virtue or moral character of the person carrying out an action, rather than at ethical duties and rules, or the consequences of particular actions.” (BBC.com, 20014) From the utilitarianism position, one would consider whether the decision would result in the best outcome for their community or society. With deontological ethics, one would have to take into consideration the responsibilities of that individual and how they fulfill their obligations to themselves and their community. All three perspectives...
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...types. All have made assumptions about who, what, and why we value what we value and what is important in each individual person’s lives. A big part of these assumptions are how each individual feels about what is right and what is wrong, as well as what actions are legal. These assumptions are grounded in ethics but what is ethics? According to Boylan (2009), in chapter one: Some view ethics as all about intuiting what is true from some other realm. Others think that it is a conventional linguistic/cultural exercise at descriptivism. Still others…believe that it is about realistic assessments about the world that inform upon the grounding of normativity. Thus, for this author, ethics is the science concerning the “right and wrong” of human action. Philosophers throughout time have studied these assumptions and came up with many theories. Three of the most popular are: Virtue Theory, Utilitarianism, and Deontological Ethics. This essay will compare the similarities and differences between the three. Virtue theory is also called character ethics. Many people use the Boy Scout law as an example of virtue theory. A Boy Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous; Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent. Virtue Ethics takes the viewpoint that all humans should strive for excellence in all they do and all other do. These excellences or virtues are both moral and nonmoral. The actions one take for this excellence are modeled on character...
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