...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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...Ethics and Social Responsibility To gain further understanding into ethical and social responsibility one should begin by comparing the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. Through further insight of these similarities and differences one can begin to comprehend the importance ethics and social responsibility plays in personal and business success. The analysis below describes the differences in how each theory addresses ethics and morality. The analysis also includes a personal experience explaining the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts as they relate to one of the three theories. The conclusion explains how this information on ethics and social responsibility provides a road to success or failure, depending on the implementation of the knowledge one gains from the data and the decisions one makes. Utilitarianism Theory Working in teams is a very big part of today’s work environment. People work in teams at work as well as in the home. Teamwork is also a big part of the learning environment at University of Phoenix as well as other higher learning institutions. A good team player develops skills that can lead to successful completion of projects and helps with decision-making. Putting the best interest of the team before one’s personal interests is utilitarianism (Boylan, 2009). According to Boylan, “utilitarianism is a theory that suggests that an action is morally right when that action...
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...Ethics ETH/316 University of Phoenix December 1, 2011 Ethics Ethical development is an important tool needed in today’s society. In this paper, the topic will discuss the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. In addition this papers topic will address how each theory addresses ethics and morality in relation to the authors’ personal experiences with virtue, values, and moral concepts. Similarities and Differences in Ethics Theories To understand the similarities between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics the first order is to define the meaning of each. According to Boylan (2009), virtue theory has a definition of cultivating excellence in life and constituting an aspect of the “good person” (Boylan, 2009). Utilitarianism according to Boylan (2009),” is a theory that suggests that an action is morally right when that action produces more total utility for the group than any other alternative” (p. 153). Deontological ethics have a definition as an analysis of reason, this analysis position decisions based for the morally justified good. The similarities between the three theories represent the good in people and how they strive for excellence and justified good. The differences in the three theories begin with the ethics and morality. Virtue theory describes a person’s character, cultivating “excellence in all we do” (Boylan, 2009, p. 43). Striving for excellence can be challenging at times by...
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...aim of businesses is to make profits. However during the recent decades, businesses have had to invest their funds to be ethical in their operations so as to avoid controversies due to law breaks (Shlomo 2011, 98). Stakeholders have to be taken into consideration so that they are not affected by the business’s functioning. However many businesses have to face ethical dilemmas which is an immoral doing (Noland and Phillips 2010, 39). Ethical perspectives have been developed to help people to identify and categorise problems from ethical dilemmas, compel them to think thoroughly, encourage them to examine issues from many different angles, and provide them with decision-making strategies (Eyal, Berkovich and Schwartz 2011, 396). The main ethical perspectives include utilitarianism, libertarianism, deontology and virtue of ethics. In McNulty and Davis’s case “Should the C-suite have a Green Seat” ethical dilemmas have been identified. Narinex is in a situation to decide whether it should hire a chief sustainability officer or not. This ethical dilemma derives from sustainability issues which customers are looking for towards Narinex’s waste handling; fair wages and the elimination of printed documentation which the company’s competitor has already done and the Tawainese issue which it had already faced in the past. This essay will compare and contrast the ethical perspectives on the dilemma which has been recognised. Narinex is an electronic...
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...Ethics Ethical development is an important tool needed in today’s society. In this paper, the topic will discuss the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. In addition this papers topic will address how each theory addresses ethics and morality in relation to the authors’ personal experiences with virtue, values, and moral concepts. Similarities and Differences in Ethics Theories To understand the similarities between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics the first order is to define the meaning of each. According to Boylan (2009), virtue theory has a definition of cultivating excellence in life and constituting an aspect of the “good person” (Boylan, 2009). Utilitarianism according to Boylan (2009),” is a theory that suggests that an action is morally right when that action produces more total utility for the group than any other alternative” (p. 153). Deontological ethics have a definition as an analysis of reason, this analysis position decisions based for the morally justified good. The similarities between the three theories represent the good in people and how they strive for excellence and justified good. The differences in the three theories begin with the ethics and morality. Virtue theory describes a person’s character, cultivating “excellence in all we do” (Boylan, 2009, p. 43). Striving for excellence can be challenging at times by deciding what is the most choice worthy decision in life. Utilitarianism...
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...theories such as the virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. These individual theories not only have many differences between them, but they also have many similarities that concern themselves with what is good for individuals and society. The first theory is the Virtue theory, which looks at virtue or moral character, rather than at ethical duties, rules and even consequences of those actions. The theory concentrates on the way people live their lives, not on individual actions. Actions are right if and only if it is an action that a virtuous person would do in the same circumstances as someone with good character. According to Boylan, (2009), “It takes the viewpoint that in living your life you should try to cultivate excellence in all that you do and all that others do.” Utilitarianism, according to Dix, (2010), “Is a teleological approach because it focuses on the consequences of an action, as opposed to whether or not an action is intrinsically good in itself.” An action is right if it tends to promote happiness and an action is wrong if it does not produce happiness. The emphasis in Deontological ethics is to do a particular action because the action itself is right, and with that a person does not worry about the consequence that may come with that action. The theory concentrates on the reasons the actions were performed. When trying to explain the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts as they relate to...
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...or specific virtues. There are many types of ethics. Ethical development is an important tool in society today and is the basis of defining, an entire culture. In this paper, I will discuss the differences between utilitarianism, virtue theory, and deontological ethics. Through further insight of these similarities and differences one can begin to comprehend the importance ethics and social responsibility plays in personal and business success. Additionally, reflecting on a personal experience I will explain the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts as they relate to one specific ethics theory. The similarities between each ethics can make them seem made as one. For example, morals define who we are as individuals more specifically our characters and ethics express the social system as it relates to work environment. “According to Boylan (2009), virtue theory has a definition of cultivating excellence in life and constituting an aspect of the good person” (Boylan, 2009). “Utilitarianism according to Boylan (2009), is a theory that suggests that an action is morally right when that action produces more total utility for the group than any other alternative,” (p. 153). Deontological ethics have a definition as an analysis of reason, this analysis position decisions based for the morally justified good. Virtue Ethics determine the good and bad trait of each person. They also aid us in deciding the choices that we make are worthy. Utilitarianism discusses the...
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...Week One – Three theories of ethics From early childhood on, we live in a world of choices, actions and consequences. Some acts make us happy, others sad, some guilty, others proud, and many actions just get us through the day. We observe other people and experience feelings of empathy, sympathy, envy, embarrassment, censure. We judge (or “think about”) the actions of ourselves and others according to criteria gathered over time from family, friends, mentors and society at large. Philosophers stand outside this “circle of living,” to observe the hows and whys of what we do and become who we are, and try to interpret that. So do artists, poets and novelists. But philosophers choose to situate individual beings and their actions within larger theoretical settings, called principles. They search for the defining principles that guide our actions, and for general descriptions that will explain the way things are and what they mean. This effort is to help us both understand ourselves better and act better. As philosophers have considered human experience, three fundamental areas have been elicited: How and what we know, think or understand ------> theory What we create, produce or make -------> arts How we act, what we do or should do -------> practice The third strand will be the focus of our exploration in this seminar: How should we act? What should we be, or become? This debate is known as...
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...Ethics is the study of determining moral conductivity through critical reflection and analysis. Ethics is a process – it is about getting to a solution by questioning the norms; it is because we have different moral norms (from different moral authorities like societal, familial, cultural, religious, etc.) that we have so many different ethical theories1. Having varied ethics for us to follow allows us to exercise our rationality and put ethics into practice by questioning what we see around us1. This case exemplifies the moral dilemma of how democratic government corruption and monopoly is capable of endangering the public food supply. The ethical dilemma here is whether or not Dr. Chopra did the right thing by violating superior norms and coming out with the ugly truth – more colloquially known as whistle blowing. My convictions are that Dr. Chopra and his team acted ethically in coming out with the truth to help safeguard and protect the health of fellow Canadians. This will be demonstrated through the lens of four moral theories namely, Aristotle’s virtue ethics, deontology and Kantian ethics, utilitarian ethics. The advantages and disadvantages of each school of thought will be presented, followed by a discussion of Dr. Chopra’s whistle blowing according to each philosophy. Aristotle’s virtue ethics stems from the work that Socrates and Plato did; however, it differs in that it focuses on the moral character of each individual as opposed to the rules and principles...
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...neighborhood which includes his brother’s property. The announcement will take place in one month. ABC Company has asked Luke to keep information regarding the commencement of construction of the store confidential until the announcement. Once the announcement is made, Owen’s house will lose value and Owen might lose the offer he has on the house. 2. Issue Luke, like most people, has multiple sets of obligations to different parties. ABC Company expects Luke to maintain the confidentiality of the project. However, Owen is Luke’s brother and Luke most likely wants the best for him. Luke must decide whether to maintain loyalty to ABC Company or inform Owen of the upcoming events to save him money. 3. Analysis 4.1 Universal Ethics This concept suggests that any action taken should be able to be applied as a universal law, subject to repetition by any and all. If Luke breaches confidentiality and informs his brother Owen of the planned construction then, under universal ethics, anyone could breach confidentiality in favor of other obligations. Obviously, this would not be acceptable and would lead to a chaotic outcome. However, Luke must consider whether it is acceptable to always maintain allegiance to contract over yourself. Luke has the desire to tell his brother about the upcoming project, but reason ties him to the company and his contract for confidentiality. A major...
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...Introduction Business ethics are not as complicated or abstract as one might think. A simple way to evaluate whether or not a practice is ethical is to determine the ultimate effect of that practice. For example, if the manager of a store paid his cleaning employee less than the going rate to clean his store, knowing exactly what the going rate is, several things could happen to damage the business. The employee could suffer serious financial implications or the employee could leave and find another position where she does not feel exploited. The subject of ethics is often considered abstract or relative by those who believe that rules do not always apply to them. Rules and laws apply to everyone. It is unfortunate that some employees in the upper echelons of the corporate ladder decide to act unethically, but it is a fact of business and of life. For this reason, it is best for a business to be careful of who they promote within their company. Corporate responsibility is a phrase heavily used in the business world. Often mentioned to enhance the image of an organization, corporate responsibility does have a true meaning. Businesses that use energy efficient lighting and offer their employees a fair pay rate are practicing corporate responsibility. Corporate responsibility is an integral part of business ethics and should be practiced by all entities, whether large or small. Corporate responsibility simply means that each individual within a company is practicing personal...
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...Law and Ethics “Pro Utilitarianism” Student: Mentor: Besnik Mustafa Bejtullah Demiri Content Introduction…………………………………………………………………3 Branches……………………………………………………………………...4 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………9 References…………………………………………………………………..10 Introduction Utilitarianism is one of the most powerful and persuasive approaches to normative ethics in the history of philosophy. Though not fully articulated until the 19th century, proto-utilitarian positions can be discerned throughout the history of ethical theory. Though there are many varieties of the view discussed, utilitarianism is generally held to be the view that the morally right action is the action that produces the most good. There are many ways to spell out this general claim. One thing to note is that the theory is a form of consequentialism: the right action is understood entirely in terms of consequences produced. What distinguishes utilitarianism from egoism has to do with the scope of the relevant consequences. On the utilitarian view one ought to maximize the overall good — that is, consider the good of others as well as one's own good. The Classical Utilitarians, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, identified the good with pleasure, so, like Epicurus, were hedonists about value. They also held that we ought to maximize the good, that is, bring about ‘the greatest amount of...
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...Business Ethics Concepts & Cases Manuel G. Velasquez ABSTRACT Summary of the main points of the first two chapters in the book. The remaining chapters are application of the concepts summarized as relating to political forms of government and market systems. These further chapters are less relevant to the DBA class that this summary was prepared for. Chapter 1 – Ethics & Business Ethics is the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group. It is the study of morality. Morality are the standards that an individual or group has about what is right and wrong, or good and evil. Moral norms can usually be expressed as general rules or statements, such as “Always tell the truth”. Moral values can usually be expressed as statements describing objects or features of objects that have worth, such as “Honesty is good” and “Injustice is bad”. Five characteristics can help pin down the nature of moral standards. 1. Moral standards deal with matters that we think can seriously injure or seriously benefit human beings. 2. Moral standards are not established or changed by the decisions of particular legislative bodies. 3. We feel that moral standards should be preferred to other values including (especially?) self-interest. 4. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations. – that is, a point of view that does not evaluate standards according to whether they advance the interests of a particular individual or group, but one that goes...
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...CHAPTER SUMMARY – CHAPTER 1 – ETHICS IN THE WORLD OF BUSINESS Frequently, the ethically correct course of action is clear, and people in business act accordingly. Exceptions occur when there is uncertainty about ethical obligations in particular situations or when considerations of ethics come into conflict with the practical demands of business. In deciding on an ethical course of action, we can rely to some extent on the rules of right conduct that we employ in everyday life. However, business activity also has some features that might limit the applicability of our ordinary ethical views. One distinguishing feature of business is its economic character which can be summarized as the conduct of buyers and seller and employers and employees. A second distinguishing feature of business is that it typically takes place in organizations which is a hierarchical system of functionally defined positions designed to achieve some goal or set of goals. Because business involves economic relations and transactions that take place in markets and also in organizations, it raises ethical issues for which the ethics of everyday life has not prepared us. Decisions making occurs on several distinct levels: the level of the individual, the organization, and the business system. The level of the individual represents situations that confront them in the workplace and require them to make a decision about their own well-being. The level of the organization can be identified...
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...STUDIES MSC 1 TAKE HOME EXAMINATION TITLED (ETHICAL THEORY CRITICISM) COURSE MAC 851 APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF MASS COMMUNICATION LECTURER MR. JIMMY KAYODE WRITTEN BY AKIYODE ESTHER OLADUNNI MATRIC NO 01/09/AV/4018 TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTION DEFINITION ETHICAL PRINCIPLES • BENEFICENCE • LEAST HARM • RESPECT FOR AUTONOMY • JUSTICE ETHICAL THEORIES • DEONTOLOGY • UTILITARIASM • RIGHTS • CASUIST • VIRTUE VIEW OR NOTABLE SCHOLARS • PLATO ABSOLUTION • ARISOTLE: EUDEMONISM • ST. THOMAS AQUINESS – NATURAL LAW • IMMANUEL KANT: DEONTOLOGY • JOHN STUART MILL – UTILITARISM • JOHN RAWLS – CONGRATURIANISM • TOM REGAN: RIGHTS THEORY (BONUS THEORY ) • TENTATIVE COMPARISON (TABLE & GRAPH) • CRITICISM AGAINST DEONTOLOGY: “ “ UTILITARIANISM “ “ RIGHTS “ “ CASUIST “ “ VIRTUE • CONCLUSION • REFERENCES CRITICISMS OF ETHICAL THEORIES INTRODUCTION The art of critiquing is basically to appraise a work i.e articles, write-ups, novels etc. Critiquing does not aim to condemn or castigate a paper but to seek the flaws, identify the various meanings, put up better explanations on the subject, seek the weaknesses and strengths and give opinions to enhance the quality of the discourse. The topic of this discourse is ETHICAL THEORIES CRITICISM. We shall examine the definition...
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