Moral

philosophies and
values
FERRELL, FRAEDRICH & FERRELL (2016)
 Moral Philosophy
Principles or rules that people use to decide what is right or wrong
◦ Guides businesspeople in formulating strategies and resolving ethical issues.
◦ E.g. a manager’s moral philosophy comes into play when he must make decisions
such as whether to notify employees in advance of upcoming layoffs.
◦ Such decisions require a person to evaluate the ‘rightness’ of choices’.

No single moral philosophy is accepted by everyone

 Obligation theories
(means and motives by
which actions are justified)

Teleology
Deontology
(consequentialism)
(non-consequentialism)
Consider ends associated
Consider means
with an action

Egoism (also includes

enlightened egoism)

Utilitarianism
- Act utilitarian
- Rule utilitarian
 Teleology
Considers acts as morally right or acceptable if they produce some desired
result.
◦ pleasure, knowledge, career growth, the realization of a
self interest, or utility

Assesses moral worth by looking at the consequences for the individual.

◦ Hence called consequentialist
 Teleology 1: Egoism
Right or acceptable behavior defined in terms of
consequences to the individual.
◦ Right actions are those that maximize personal interests as defined by the
individual.
◦ Enlightened egoists take a long-term perspective and allow for the well being
of others although their own self-interest remains paramount.
 Teleology 2: Utilitarianism
Seeking the greatest good for the greatest number of people as the
guiding principle of conduct
o Different from egoism
o Make decision that result in the greatest benefit for all those affected by the
decision
o Utilitarianism perspective may be used to argue for companies who legally
sell harmful products.
o Relies on a systematic comparison of the costs and benefits to all affected
parties
 Teleology 2: Utilitarianism
- Rule utilitarian: Determine behavior on the basis of principles or rules
designed to promote the greatest utility
- Act utilitarian: Examine specific actions rather than the general rules
governing them, to assess whether they will result in the greatest utility.
Example: Bribery
 Deontology
Refers to moral philosophies that focus on the rights of individuals,
respect for persons
◦ Believe that individuals have certain absolute rights
◦ Equal respect must be given to all persons
◦ Some things should NOT be done even to maximize utility
◦ Individuals have certain absolute rights:
- Freedom of conscience
- … of consent
- … of privacy
- … of speech
- … of due process
 Relativist Perspective
From the relativist perspective,
◦ individuals and groups derive definitions of ethical
behavior subjectively from experience
Relativists used themselves or the people around
them as the their basis for defining ethical standards.
◦Observes the actions of members of an involved group
and attempts to determine that group’s consensus on
a given behavior
◦A positive consensus signifies that the group considers
the action to be ethical
 Relativist Perspective
Descriptive relativism relates to observations of other cultures.
◦in some cultures a student who corrects a teacher would be
thought disrespectful; elsewhere such behavior might be
encouraged.
Meta-ethical relativists understand that people naturally see
situations from their own perspectives
◦the sentence, “child labour is unjust”—can be both true and
false. The situation is analogous to that in which one person says
“It is raining” and another person says “It is not raining.” If they
are standing together at the same place and at the same time,
they cannot both be right. But if they are speaking at different
times or from different locations (standpoints) this is possible.
Normative relativists assume that one person’s opinion is as
good as another’s. Normative moral relativism is the idea that all
societies should accept each other's differing moral values, given
that there are no universal moral principles.
◦Most philosophers disagree however. For example, just because
bribery/slavery is okay in some cultures doesn't mean that
other cultures cannot rightfully condemn it.
 Virtue Ethics
Argues that ethical behavior involves NOT only adhering to
conventional moral standards, but also considering what a mature
person with a ‘good’ moral character would deem appropriate in a
given situation.
Proponents list basic goods as virtues that are presented as positive
and useful mental habits or cultivated character traits.
Virtues that support business transactions:
o Trust
o Self control
o Empathy
o Fairness
o Truthfulness
o Learning
o Gratitude
o Civilty
o Moral leadership
 Virtue Ethics
o Lying, cheating, fraud and corruption are non virtuous characteristics
o Applied inductively to problems as opposed to deductively
(deontology, teleology)
o Assumes societal moral values form the foundation of virtue and
systems depend upon the presence of certain virtues among citizens
o The problem of virtue ethics comes in its implementation
o Once study found virtue ethics more effective than deontological and
utilitarian perspectives in helping to mitigate ethical risks
 Virtue Ethics
Virtue ethics approach can be summarized as:
1. Good corporate ethics programs encourage individual
virtue and integrity
2. These virtues associated with appropriate conduct
form a good person
3. The ultimate purpose is to serve the public good
4. The well-being of the community goes together with
individual excellence
 Justice
The fair treatment and due reward in accordance with
ethical or legal standards, including the disposition to
deal with perceived injustices of others.
Which philosophy is justice based on?
Three types of justice
1. Distributive: Based on evaluation of outcomes or
results. E.g?
2. Procedural: Based on the processes and activities that
produce the outcome or results. E.g?
3. Interactional: Based on relationships and the
treatment of others. E.g.?
 Kohlberg’s Model of Cognitive
Moral Development
Consists of six stages:
1. Punishment and obedience
2. Individual instrumental purpose and exchange
3. Mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships, and
conformity
4. Social system and conscience maintenance
5. Prior rights, social contract or utility
6. Universal ethical principles