CHAPTER THREE

BUSINESS ETHICS AND MORALITY

In this chapter we shall relate business ethics to two important propositions of morality:
Care ethics and virtue ethics

1. ETHICS OF CARE (EOC)

EOC also called Care ethics is a normative ethical theory that holds that moral action center
on interpersonal relationships and care or benevolence as a virtue. EOC is one of the
clusters of normative ethical theories that were developed by feminists in the second half of
the 20th century.

Care ethics contrasts with more well-known ethical models, such as consequentialist
theories (e.g. utilitarianism) and deontological theories (e.g. Kantian ethics). While
consequentialist and deontological ethical theories emphasize generalizable standards and
impartiality, ethics of care emphasizes the importance of response to the individuals
(particularly the vulnerable ones). Care ethics seeks to incorporate traditionally feminized
virtues and values which, proponents of care ethics contend, are absent in such traditional
models of ethics (utilitarianism and deontological ethics). One of these values is the
placement of caring and relationship over that of logic and reason. In care ethics reason and
logic are subservient to natural care, that is care that is done out of inclination, which is
contrary to deontology where actions taken out of inclination are unethical. Drawing on this
critique of utilitarianism and deontology, the American philosopher of social science Jason
Josephson Storm has categorized the ethics of care as a type of virtue ethics. Specifically,
Storm sees close parallels between the ethics of care and traditional Buddhist virtue ethics,
especially the prioritization of compassion by Śāntideva and others.

Carrol Gilligon1, student of Lawrence Kohreberg, is the originator of the EOC. She
criticized the application of generalized standards as morally problematic as it breads moral
blindness or indifference.

The distinction between the general or the individual is their different moral questions:
“what is Just?” vs “How to respond?”. The EOC has some underlying assumptions:
 Persons are understood to have varying degree of dependence and independence on
one another
 Other individuals affected by the consequences of one’s choices deserve
consideration in proportion to their vulnerability
 Situational details determine how to safeguard and promote the interests of those
involved
Gilligon criticized Koherberg’s2 moral stages as more masculine and emphasize justice and
abstract duties. In her book of ‘In a Different Voice’ Gillingon offered a perspective that
men and women have different tendencies to view morality. Her theory claims that men
tended to emphasize empathy and compassion than those notions of morality privileged by
Koherberg’s scale.

1 Is an American feminist, ethicist, and Psychologist best known for her works on ethical community and ethical
relationship
2 He is an American Psychologist best known for his theory of moral development
Joan Tronto3 argues that the definition of the term "ethic of care" is ambiguous due in part to
the lack of a central role it plays in moral theory. She argues that considering moral
philosophy is engaged with human goodness, then care would appear to assume a
significant role in this type of philosophy. However, this is not the case and Tronto further
stresses the association between care and "naturalness". The latter term refers to the socially
and culturally constructed gender roles where care is mainly assumed to be the role of the
woman. As such, care loses the power to take a central role in moral theory.

Tronto states there are four ethical qualities of care:

a. Attentiveness
Attentiveness is crucial to the ethics of care because care requires a recognition of others'
needs in order to respond to them. The question which arises is the distinction between
ignorance and inattentiveness. Tronto poses this question as such, "But when is ignorance
simply ignorance, and when is it inattentiveness"?

b. Responsibility
In order to care, we must take it upon ourselves, thus responsibility. The problem associated
with this second ethical element of responsibility is the question of obligation. Obligation is
often, if not already, tied to pre-established societal and cultural norms and roles. Tronto
makes the effort to differentiate the terms "responsibility" and "obligation" with regards to
the ethic of care. Responsibility is ambiguous, whereas obligation refers to situations where
action or reaction is due, such as the case of a legal contract. This ambiguity allows for ebb
and flow in and between class structures and gender roles, and to other socially constructed
roles that would bind responsibility to those only befitting of those roles.
c. Competence
To provide care also means competency. One cannot simply acknowledge the need to care,
accept the responsibility, but not follow through with enough adequacy - as such action
would result in the need of care not being met.
d. Responsiveness
This refers to the "responsiveness of the care receiver to the care". Tronto states,
"Responsiveness signals an important moral problem within care: by its nature, care is
concerned with conditions of vulnerability and inequality". She further argues
responsiveness does not equal reciprocity. Rather, it is another method to understand
vulnerability and inequality by understanding what has been expressed by those in the
vulnerable position, as opposed to re-imagining oneself in a similar situation.
In 2013, Tronto added a fifth ethical quality:
e. Plurality, communication, trust and respect; solidarity—caring with
Together, these are the qualities necessary for people to come together in order to take
collective responsibility, to understand their citizenship as always imbricated in relations of
care, and to take seriously the nature of caring needs in society.

Students’ reflection:
1. How is Care ethics useful in Public Policy? (Health Policy: priority to mothers care,
priority to HIV and Non-Communicable diseases medication; Education Policy:

3 She is a professor of political science at the university of Minnesota, and was previously professor of Women’s
studies and Political Science at the Hunter College and the Graduate School, City University of Newyork
 Care for special need students, privilege for Female and students from remote area in
University entrance etc.)
2. How is care Ethics useful in Medical centers ( e.g priority to the most injured
patient…)
3. How is Care ethics useful in Court rooms (Mitigating or extenuating circumstances
of seriousness of an offense like being young, mental and other illness, family
responsibility etc.)
4. How is cxare Ethics useful in Politics ( Distributive justice in resource allocation,
5. How is care ethics useful in Business? This will be part of students presentation
6. Some argue that care ethics is parochialism. Do you agree with this statement?

2. VIRTUE ETHICS

Virtue ethics (also aretaic ethics, from Greek ἀρετή [aretḗ]4) are a class of normative ethical
theories which treat the concept of moral virtue as central to ethics. Virtue ethics are usually
contrasted with two other major approaches in normative ethics, consequentialism and
deontology, which make the goodness of outcomes of an action (consequentialism) and the
concept of moral duty (deontology) central. While virtue ethics does not necessarily deny
the importance of goodness of states of affairs or moral duties to ethics, it emphasizes moral
virtue, and sometimes other concepts, like eudaimonia, to an extent that other theories do
not.

Virtue ethics began with Socrates, and was subsequently developed further by Plato,
Aristotle, and the Stoics. Virtue ethics refers to a collection of normative ethical
philosophies that place an emphasis on being rather than doing. Another way to say this is
that in virtue ethics, morality stems from the identity or character of the individual, rather
than being a reflection of the actions (or consequences thereof) of the individual. Today,
there is debate among various adherents of virtue ethics concerning what specific virtues are
morally praiseworthy. However, most theorists agree that morality comes as a result of
intrinsic virtues. Intrinsic virtues are the common link that unites the disparate normative
philosophies into the field known as virtue ethics. Plato and Aristotle's treatment of virtues
are not the same. Plato believes virtue is effectively an end to be sought, for which a friend
might be a useful means. Aristotle states that the virtues function more as means to
safeguard human relations, particularly authentic friendship, without which one's quest for
happiness is frustrated. Virtue ethics is a Character-based ethics. It has such claim that “A
right act is the action a virtuous person would do in the same circumstances.”

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.

4 Arete is a concept in ancient Greek thought that, in its most basic sense, refers to ‘exellence’ of any kind- especially
a person or things ‘full realization of potential or inherent function’. The term may also refer to excellence in
‘Moral Virtue’.
Virtue ethics not only deals with the rightness or wrongness of individual actions, it
provides guidance as to the sort of characteristics and behaviours a good person will seek to
achieve.

In that way, virtue ethics is concerned with the whole of a person's life, rather than particular
episodes or actions. “A good person is someone who lives virtuously - who possesses and
lives the virtues.”

It's a useful theory since human beings are often more interested in assessing the character
of another person than they are in assessing the goodness or badness of a particular action.

This suggests that the way to build a good society is to help its members to be good people,
rather than to use laws and punishments to prevent or deter bad actions.

But it wouldn't be helpful if a person had to be a saint to count as virtuous. For virtue theory
to be really useful it needs to suggest only a minimum set of characteristics that a person
needs to possess in order to be regarded as virtuous.

...being virtuous is more than having a particular habit of acting, e.g. generosity. Rather, it
means having a fundamental set of related virtues that enable a person to live and act
morally well (James F Keenan, Proposing Cardinal Virtues, Theological Studies, 1995)

Principles of Virtue ethics teache:

 An action is only right if it is an action that a virtuous person would carry out in the
same circumstances.
 A virtuous person is a person who acts virtuously
 A person acts virtuously if they "possess and live the virtues"
 A virtue is a moral characteristic that a person needs to live well.

Most virtue theorists would also insist that the virtuous person is one who acts in a virtuous
way as the result of rational thought (rather than, say, instinct).

The three questions

The modern philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre proposed three questions as being at the heart
of moral thinking:
 Who am I?
 Who ought I to become?
 How ought I to get there?
Lists of the virtues
This is about what would a virtuous person do?

Most virtue theorists say that there is a common set of virtues that all human beings would
benefit from, rather than different sets for different sorts of people, and that these virtues are
natural to mature human beings - even if they are hard to acquire.
This poses a problem, since lists of virtues from different times in history and different
societies show significant differences.

The traditional list of cardinal virtues was:

 Prudence

 Justice

 Fortitude / Bravery

 Temperance

The modern theologian James F Keenan also suggests for virtue:

 Justice

o Justice requires us to treat all human beings equally and impartially.

 Fidelity

o Fidelity requires that we treat people closer to us with special care.

 Self-care

o We each have a unique responsibility to care for ourselves, affectively,

mentally, physically, and spiritually.

 Prudence

o The prudent person must always consider Justice, Fidelity and Self-care.

o The prudent person must always look for opportunities to acquire more of the
other three virtues

Virtue ethics also has limitations as it has many good points

Good points of virtue ethics
 It centers ethics on the person and what it means to be human

 It includes the whole of a person's life

Limitations of virtue ethics:

 it doesn't provide clear guidance on what to do in moral dilemmas
 o although it does provide general guidance on how to be a good person

o presumably a totally virtuous person would know what to do and we could

consider them a suitable role model to guide us

 there is no general agreement on what the virtues are

o and it may be that any list of virtues will be relative to the culture in which it
is being drawn up.

Students’ reflection: (students will make below questions part of presentation)

1. How is the concept of Virtue relevant for Business ethics?
2. In what specific aspects of Business ethics can we apply Virtue ethics theory?