Ethics
Determining the “right” thing to do, moral reasoning
Duty-based Ethics (Deontology)
people act ethically when they follow pre-existing ethics rules to resolve ethical dilemmas (process matters more than results)
Consequentialism
focuses on the outcome of conduct to assess whether it was ethical
Utilitarianism
within consequentialism: seeks to find the course of action that provides the greatest good to the greatest number of people (results matter)
Categorical Imperative (Immanual Kant)
a person should not act unless he or she is willing to have the rule or conduct on which one acts become universal law
Problems with Duty Based Ethics
they are rigid and that occasionally leads to results you may not be comfortable with
Procedural Justice
within duty-based: focuses on whether the procedures, laws, or system is properly followed, regardless of the end result
The Disclosure Rule
within duty-based: to test whether something is ethical or not, imagine how you would feel about your action being published on the front page
Problems with consequentialism
justify conduct that people consider violations of human rights (Japanese internment camps) and difficult to put a value on things
Cost-benefit analysis (CBA)
another term for utilitarianism, how businesses asses stakeholders with competing interests might be affected by a decision the business takes
Applying utilitarianism requires
1) knowing who will be affected, 2) assessment of the positive/negative impacts, 3) decision to pursue the greatest good, for the greatest number
Ford Pinto Case
used CBA and decided to save money by not recalling cars, got fined in court
Distributive Justice
within consequentialism: many political debaters focus on what is just, or fair, in terms of supplying, and paying for gov. services (focuses on the end result)
Ethical Relativism
what is proper/ethical in one country may not be proper in another country
Freedom
to make your own decisions, free from government rules
Virtue
to do what your conscience dictates
Welfare
for the “common good”
Strengths of Duty Based Ethics
simple to understand/adopt, frequently used in religious principles
Positive Feedback Loop
creates more poor behavior, if everyone is cheating you are more likely to cheat
