Theories of Ethics.ppt

8/10/2019 Theories of Ethics.ppt

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P.S.SwathiAssociate Professor


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The Utilitarian theory is broadly based on the viewthat any action or policy should be evaluated on thebasis of benefits and costs it will impose on the society.The basic approach of this theory is that plans,programmes and actions of any organization should bechosen to produce the greatest net benefits for thelargest number of people associated with the business

which includes the society.

To determine net benefits, all the costs and benefits(or damages) be it financial or otherwise should betaken into account.


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The theory of rights and duties holds that all peoplehave some basic rights, concerned with the power ofan individual to choose, pursue and protect his or herinterests, and all such rights are associated withcorrelated duties.When these rights arise from legal provision or socialconvention, they become moral rights.

If a company prohibits or denies such rights to itsemployees, it may be said to be unfair to its employeesand its action would not be adjudged moral.


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The theory of justice revolves around the fundamentalprinciples to guarantee a just and morally acceptabledecision.It implies that the actions are guided by fairness,equity and impartiality.


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The ethics of care refers to necessity of showing extracare and consideration to protect someone else fromthe adverse effect of ones choice that can makesomeone vulnerable in a particular situation.Ethics of care necessitates examining contextual detailsof the situation in order to safeguard and promotespecific interests of those involved because they are

interdependent for accomplishing their specificinterests as long as the interests are moral and legal.


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Those aspects of the deal or action that help in judging itsmorality and rightness from the ethical standpoint:

1. To find or determine the alternatives available to the doerof an action of a given situation.

2. To estimate direct and indirect benefits and costs of thedeal or action for each alternative, and examine how itbenefits or affects each person concerned in the short-term as well as long-term.

3. To choose a particular alternative which produces thegreatest benefits and utility to the maximum number ofpeople (affected by the action), and is also morally andethically appropriate as per the rules of moral reasoning.


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Those aspects of the deal or action that help in judging itsmorality and rightness from the ethical standpoint:

1. To find or determine the alternatives available to the doerof an action of a given situation.

2. To estimate direct and indirect benefits and costs of thedeal or action for each alternative, and examine how itbenefits or affects each person concerned in the short-term as well as long-term.

3. To choose a particular alternative which produces thegreatest benefits and utility to the maximum number ofpeople (affected by the action), and is also morally andethically appropriate as per the rules of moral reasoning.


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The Utilitarian approach is difficult to apply whendealing with values that are difficult to measure (orestimate) in order to determine the maximum benefitsto all affected persons.

This approach seems inadequate while handlingsituations that involve rights and justice.


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Rule-utilitarian prescribes that an action should be judged inboth contexts maximizing utility and correct moral rules and not in isolation of each other.The qualitative aspects of rule-utilitarian principle are:

An action is right from an ethical point of view if and only ifthe action would be required by those moral rules that arecorrectA moral rule is correct if and only if the sum total of utilities

produced, when everyone were to follow that rule, is greaterthan the sum total of utilities produced by following somealternative rule. Rule-utilitarianism modifies the correctnessof decisions over utilitarianism


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Rights are of two types, legal and moral.Legal Rights are conveyed to a person by the statue oflaw or the constitution of the nation.

Legal rights are limited by the jurisdiction within whicha person or a business operates.Moral Rights devolve from social norms and moralstandards, and are independent of any legal system.

Moral rights are also called human rights.


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Rights attained by the absence of law or prohibition.Rights that accrue from employment, authorization orempowerment to do something either to secure theinterest of others or the interest of self or society.Rights that descend by default.Rights that devolve from moral standards and socialnorms.


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Duty is either contractual obligation or mutuallyunderstood obligation.However, obligations for duty cannot force anemployee to do any immoral or unethical job.


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Contractual rights and correlative duties are notuniversal.Contractual rights and correlative duties can arise onlywhen there is a contract or agreement or transactionbetween particular parties with the provision ofconsiderations and benefits.Contractual rights and duties can be imposed only if

the performances involved are a part of the publiclyrecognized systems or laws.


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Both parties in a contract must have clearunderstanding and full knowledge of the nature of theagreement they are entering intoNeither party to the contract shall intentionallymisrepresent the facts of the contractual situation tothe other partyNeither party to the contract must be forced to enter

the contract under duress or coercion or deceitThe contract must not bind the parties to any immoralor illegal act.


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If something is moral to me, it must be morally rightfor others too. Everyone is of equal value and has equal freedom.

Kants principle plays a dominant role in safeguardingethics in the contractual dealings of businessoperations, and has particularly benefitted workers oremployees in industries and business houses.


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Distributive JusticeRetributive JusticeCompensatory Justice


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Distributive justice says that equals should be treatedequally and unequal should be treated unequally, andthere should be consistency in the treatment.

Distributive justice is commonly called for in business -in areas like employee gradation and promotion, wagepolicy, eligibility for different types of perks, dealers

commission, dividend distribution, etc. with a view toensuring equality, uniformity and consistency inoperations.


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Retributive justice demands that a just action shouldbe taken either as penalty or reward in a manner thatdeserves the cause for which the penalty or reward isbeing meted out.It generally deals, in practice, with the conditionsunder which it is just to punish a person for awrongdoing.


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Compensatory justice is that which deals with the justice of restoration for being wrongfully harmed bysomebody else.It demands that a person who has done wrong shouldrestore or equally compensate for what has been lostor harmed.


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Justice of equality states that every person working in agroup should be given equal shares of the groups benefitsand burdens. It applies to society, business and families.

Justice based on contribution states that benefits andburdens should be distributed in proportion to what eachindividual contributes to the cause or action.

Justice based on needs and abilities states that the burdenof work should be distributed as per peoples ability, andbenefits should be distributed as per peoples needs.


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Justice of fairness is based on three basic principles (a)principle of equal liberty (b) principle of inequality, and(c) principle of fair and equal opportunity


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Each of us lives and exists in an environment of care andconcern in the society, and we should preserve and nurturethese environments and relationships;Each of us should exercise care for those with whom we aresocially and otherwise related by attending to their needs,

wellbeing and desires as seen from their own personalperspective, and by responding positively to the same so asto preserve the values of those relationships;Ethics of care is more than just following the moralprinciples discussed earlier; it involves attending and

positively responding to the wellbeing and welfare of thosepersons with whom we share close and valuablerelationships.


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Ethics of virtue complement and add to utilitarianism,rights, justice and care by looking not at the actionspeople are required to perform, but at the characterthey are required to have.

A moral virtue is an acquired quality that is praised andvalued as a part of a persons character. It is indicativeof good moral character.Some important ethics-related-virtues that make for a

good individual or a successful manager are courage,prudence, wisdom, justice, fairness, temperance andintelligence.


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To him, justice is an unconditional calim to certainuniversal, natural, inherent and inalienable rightsearned by duties.He was influenced by the theory of karma ( action, asenshrined in Hindu religious scriptures, espectially theGita)Gandhi placed much more significance on Karma

without any attachment and expectation of rewards.


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Gandhi has talked about six different types of justices1. Social justice2. Pure Justice

3. Justice as natural rights in some situations,4. Justice in the absence of duress5. Justice as fair treatment ,Justice as a situation where

no harm is done to an opponent in dispute6. The Satanic concept of justice


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According to Gandhi an action is just when it does notharm either party to a disputeThis idea of justice is the very heart of Gandhis satyagrahaand conflict management

According to him the cheating game of employers towardsthe workers was the Satanic notion of justice prevalentamong the capitalists in the Western or modern worksAccording to him pure justice is that which is inspired byfellow-feeling and compassion.Gandhis concept of justice is a combination of twoimportant philosophical theories the Kantian deonticphilosophy and the philosophy of consequentialism.

Theories of Ethics.ppt

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