 1.

Ethical theories and approaches in Business

 2. Ethical theories provide a framework for judging right or wrong decisions.There are
two types of Ethical theories1.consequentialist2.Non consequestialist
 3. Concequentialist theories• If the consequences are good, the action is right; if they are
bad, the action is wrong.There are two theories under this category :• Egoism•
Utilitarianism
 4. Egoism as an ethical theory• The view that equates morality with self- interest is
referred to as egoism.• An egoist contends that an act is morally right if and only if it best
promotes his interests.
 5. • Moral philosophers distinguish between two kinds of egoism:• personal and•
impersonal.• Personal egoists claim they should pursue their own best interests, but they
do not say what others should do.• Impersonal egoists claim that everyone should let self-
interest guide his or her conduct.
 6. UTILITARIANISM• Utilitarianism tells us to bring about the most happiness for
everyone affected by our actions.• Jeremy Bentham and JohnStuart Mill were important
early utilitarians.
 7. Six Points about Utilitarianism• First, when deciding which action will produce the
greatest happiness, we must consider unhappiness or pain as well as happiness.• Second,
actions affect people to different degrees.
 8. • Third, because utilitarians evaluate actions according to their consequences and
because actions produce different results in different circumstances, almost anything
might, in principle, be morally right in some particular situation.
 9. • Fourth, utilitarians wish to maximize happiness not simply immediately but in the
long run as well.• Fifth, utilitarians acknowledge that we often do not know with
certainty what the future consequences of our actions will be. Accordingly, we must act
so that the expected or likely happiness is as great as possible.• Sixth : my pleasure as
pain should be equally treated as others
 10. Use of utilitarianism in organizational contextFormulating policiesSecond,
utilitarianism provides an objective and attractive way of resolving conflicts of self-
interest.Third, utilitarianism provides a flexible, result- oriented approach to moral
decision making.
 11. Non-Utilitarian theories1. Formulate the maxim of the action. That is, figure out what
general principle you would be acting on if you were to perform the action.("in situations
in which I need money and know I cant pay it back, I will falsely promise to pay it
back.")
 12. 2. Universalize the maxim. That is, regard it not as a personal policy but as a principle
for everyone.( "in situations in which anyone needs money and knows he or she cannot
pay it back, he or she will falsely promise to pay it back."
 13. 3. Determine whether the universalized maxim could be a universal law, that is,
whether it is possible for everyone to act as the universalized maxim requires.(if everyone
started making false promises, the institution of promising would disappear, so no one
would be able to make a false promises, since there would be no such thing as a promise
to falsely make.)
 14. Humanity as an End, Never as Merely a Means• Treat human being as end not as a
mean :Human are worth in themselves so you should respect their rightsAll effort should
be done to improve the well being of human being.
 15. Organizational implicationsThere are two alternative formulations of the categorical
imperative. The first is that an act is right only if the actor would be willing to be so
treated if the positions of the parties were reversed.The second is that one must always
act so as to treat other people as ends, never merely as means.