SUMMARY AND
CONVERSATIONS
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Ethical theories
Summary
In this chapter, various business ethics have been discussed. The ethical values of
business are divided into two major groups which are teleological and deontological. The
teleological group of theories state that the rightness of actions are usually associated with the
amount of good consequences which is produced by it i.e. the extent of good results produced
depict the extent of the good will of doer. Therefore, according to this theory, the ethics are
measured by the extent of good results they produce rather than the amount of effort one puts in
order to achieve this goodness. On the other hand, the deontological theories state that the good
will behind an action cannot determine the consequences at all. Therefore, according to this
theory, it is quite possible that the intention of a person with which he performed a piece of work
was good but the consequences could not be achieved to the extent that he had hoped. The
Kantian ethics have also been discussed in this chapter. These ethics were written by Immanuel
Kant. This ethical theory is basically based upon two principles which are universalizability
principle and the principle of respect for a person. According to the universalizability principle
stated by Kant, only those rules should be followed by a leader which he wants everyone to
follow at the work place. This theory is based on the concept that every individual should
consider himself to be a rule maker so that he could set good standards for everyone. In this way,
every individual would start acting according to the ethical theories and no one would have to
impose any ethical theories on anyone. According to the respect principle of this theory, all the
human beings need to be treated with respect regardless of their rank and position and their job
place. As compared to the Kantian ethics, the virtue ethics consider on the moral values practiced
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by a person at his work place. These moral values include rights and justice. Every human being
needs to be given their due rights when working at a place. These rights include mutual respect
for everyone working in the office, payment of salary on time and same pay scale for everyone.
The justice principle states that there should be no discrimination on the basis of race, creed or
color. Therefore, the importance of ethical theories has been emphasized in this chapter.
Conversations
Teacher: Who would like to tell me about two types of ethical theories being practiced at work
places?
Nada: There are two types of theories being practiced: teleological theories and deontological
theories. The teleological theories state that the resulting consequences are due to actions
therefore, the consequences are the basic measure of the extent to which an individual tries to
practice these ethical values at work place. On the contrary, the deontological theories are those
theories which state that there is no such thing and the consequences may differ from the actions
of a person. Therefore, the consequences could not be measured on the basis of actions or good
will of a person.
Teacher: Very good. Who would like to explain to me the cost benefit analysis and the problems
associated with this analysis?
Laura: The cost benefit analysis is such an analysis which explain the benefits associated with a
process in terms of money generated as a result of this process. This analysis evaluates the cost
estimates associated with various processes and then analyzes the benefits of any process for an
organization. The problem with this type of analysis is that it associates a cost with every
practice which means that, according to this process, the benefit of a practice can only be in
terms of money generated as a result of this process. This is a very superficial approach depicted
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by the cost benefit analysis and needs to be changed since the ethical values practiced by the
employees of an organization have great importance but there would be no benefits in terms of
costs.
Teacher: Well done Laura. Now, who would like to explain to me the two major ethical theories
which are practiced now a days in organizations?
Michael: The two major ethical theories are Kantian ethics and Virtue ethics. These ethics are
based on different principles. The Kantian theory states that the ethics being practiced by an
