Chapter 3
Ethical Theories
CHAPTER SUMMARY
This chapter presents the main concepts and theories of ethics developed
over centuries
by major moral philosophers. The value of any theory for business ethics is
its usefulness
in evaluating business practices, institutional arrangements, and economic
systems.
Teleological theory examines the outcome stemming from a decision or behavior. Deontological
theory is more concerned with the actual decision or behavior but not with the consequence
stemming from the decision or behavior.
In general, all of these theories justify most
prevailing business practices, the
institution of the modern corporation, and capitalism or
the market system, but they also
provide the basis for some criticism and improvement.
In the subsequent chapters, this
theoretical foundation is used to explore a wide range of
practical business ethics topics.
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
3.1: Describe the four theses of classical utilitarianism, the utilitarian approach to
decision making, and the main criticisms of the cost-benefit analysis method
3.2: Summarize the two intuitive principles of Kantian ethics and their implications for
moral reasoning
3.3: Define virtue and explain how virtues and principles of virtue ethics are relevant to
business
3.4: Identify the meaning and importance of rights and the types of rights that apply in
different situations
3.5: Explain the role of justice in business ethics, the three kinds of justice outlined by
Aristotle, and the contemporary principles of justice offered by Rawls and Nozick
SUGGESTED DISCUSSION PROMPTS
1.
What would an act utilitarian and a rule utilitarian say differently when evaluating the
same case?
2.
What specific problem is posed to utilitarianism by its economic application?
3.
What is the major contrast between utilitarianism and Kantian ethics?
4.
What are the attractive features of virtue theory? What are its limitations in
application to business?
5.
In what ways is the rights and justice perspective a fitting ethical theory for business
ethics?
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ASSESSMENT FOR IN-CLASS USE
Multiple Choice Questions
Choose the BEST possible answer for each of the following.
1.
What does the P&G case show about the applicability of ethics to business?
A.
When a company makes unethical decisions, it is usually breaking the law.
B.
Ethics in business applies differently from how it does in the rest of the world.
C.
A company’s behavior many be unethical even if no harm is done.
D.
A company’s ethical decisions should always affect its bottom line.
3.1: Describe the four theses of classical utilitarianism, the utilitarian approach to
decision making, and the main criticisms of the cost-benefit analysis method
Topic/Concept: Utilitarianism
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understanding
2.
Teleological theories of ethics locate goodness in _____.
A.
the outcome of actions
B.
the intentions of the agent
C.
the obligations of people to each other
D.
the maximization of economic opportunity
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understanding
3.
Rule utilitarianism favors rules that _____.
A.
always benefit the most people
B.
everyone agrees with
C.
utilitarians think are good rules
D.
would maximize goodness if everyone followed them
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understanding
15
4.
What is the most fundamental drawback of having cost-benefit analyses serve as the
basis for ethical decisions in business?
A.
Some things do not really have value.
B.
A determinate value must be placed on things that have incalculable value.
C.
Cost-benefit analyses are time-consuming and require specialized skill.
D.
Cost-benefit analyses require a commitment to consequentialism.
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understanding
5.
A “maxim,” according to Kant’s terminology, is ____.
A.
the outcome of an action
B.
the reason that one undertakes an action
C.
the moral principle that one has in mind
D.
that which would make an action moral
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understanding
6.
Kant’s rule requiring respect for persons asks that we ________.
A.
not use people as means to an end
B.
view each person as a moral agent
C.
view each person as an end unto himself
D.
only use another person if we have sufficient reason for doing so
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understanding
7.
Virtue ethics defines a moral action as that which ______.
A.
a wise person would do
B.
leads to the most virtue overall
C.
is done with the most virtuous intentions
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D.
is done according to the proper rules
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understanding
8.
A drawback to theorizing about business ethics in terms of rights is that __.
A.
not everyone has rights
B.
people’s rights may conflict
C.
it is hard to draw the line between different types of rights
D.
conceptions of rights differ between cultures
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understanding
9.
The notion of justice is most basically concerned with __________.
A.
fairness
B.
equality
C.
rights
D.
economics
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understanding
Essay Questions
1.
In what ways is the need to calculate utility a problem for utilitarianism?
3.1: Describe the four theses of classical utilitarianism, the utilitarian approach to
decision making, and the main criticisms of the cost-benefit analysis method
Topic/Concept: Utilitarianism
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Analysis
17
2.
What is Kant’s categorical imperative? Explain its two formulations.
3.2: Summarize the two intuitive principles of Kantian ethics and their implications for
moral reasoning
Topic/Concept: Kantian Ethics
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understanding
3. Describe how rights and justice can be explained in terms of one another.
3.4: Identify the meaning and importance of rights and the types of rights that apply in
different situations
Topic/Concept: Rights
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Analysis
4. What is virtue? Explain how principles of virtue ethics are relevant to business.
3.3: Define virtue and explain how virtues and principles of virtue ethics are relevant to
business
Topic/Concept: Virtue Ethics
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Understanding
5. Explain the contemporary justice principles according to Rawls and Nozick.
3.5: Explain the role of justice in business ethics, the three kinds of justice outlined by
Aristotle, and the contemporary principles of justice offered by Rawls and Nozick
Difficulty Level: Easy