2. Letsseeanexample….
2
The Reluctant Donor Case: Suppose that you are famous transplant
surgeon, and that your transplants always work. You have five patients,
each of whom needs a transplant. One needs a heart, one a brain, two
need one lung each, and one needs a liver. You have a patient named
“Mr. Kumar” who has come in today to find out the results from some
lab work. You know from the results of the lab work that Mr. Kumar
would be a perfect donor for each of your five other patients, and you
know that
there are no other available donors. So you ask Mr. Kumar if he would
be willing to be cut up and have his organs distributed. He declines
your kind offer. But you then realize that you could cut Mr. Kumar up
without his permission during some minor surgery he has already
consented to. Is it permissible for you do so?
13. CanBusinessEthicsBe
Taught AndTrained?
13
• Scholars argue that ethical training can add value to the
moral environment of a firm and to relationships in the
workplaceby:
– Finding a match between employer’s and employee’s
values
– Handlinganunethical directive
– Coping with a performance system that encourages
unethical means
14. Ethics-Moral Disengagement
14
• Social LearningTheory
– Moral reasoningtranslatestomoral actionthrough
self regulatory processes
• Y
oudothingsthat bringyouself-worth
• Y
ouavoidthingsthat avoidself censure
• Youhavetodisengagefromyour normal internal
selfsanctionstocommit unethical or deviant
acts
17. EthicalTheory1: Utilitarianism
• FamousProponents:JeremyBentham,J.S. Mill
• What makes something good or bad, right or wrong, is that it
producesthe greatest amountof pleasure(or lack of pain) for the
greatest number of people
• BasicPrinciple: GreatestHappinessPrinciple
Maximizing positive outcomes for the largest number of people,
negative outcomes for lowest number of people
One should chose the action which will lead to the greatest happiness
(i.e. pleasure, lackof pain) overall
One’s own pleasure and pain only count as much as any other
person’s affected 17
18. Utilitarianism(Contd)
• Assessment of net benefits includes any important indirect
effects
• Example: assessing the effects of pollutant discharge
from a factory on the immediate surrounding environment
andthosedownstreamordownwindfromthefactory
• Twoforms: act andrule
18
22. Example
• Afewdoctorsdecidethat anumber of
experimentsonafewpeople,evenif mostof
themdied, wouldbeworthit if theycouldfinda
curefor adiseasethat wouldrelievethe
sufferingofmillionsofpeople.Utilitarianism
wouldgivetheapprovalfor suchbecauseit
producesthegreatestgoodfor thegreatest
number of people.
22
24. EthicalTheory2: Justice
• Looks at the balance of benefits and burdens
distributed amongmembers of agroup
• Canresultfromtheapplicationofrules,policies,orlawsthat
applytoasocietyor agroup
• Justresults of actions override utilitarian results
• Rejects view that an injustice is acceptable if others benefit
theaction 24
25. EthicalTheory3: Rights
• Right: a person’s just claim or entitlement
• Focuses on the person’s actions or the actions of
others toward the person
Legal rights: defined by a system of laws
Moral rights: based on ethical standards
• Purpose: let a person freely pursue certain actions
without interference from others
25
26. Rights(contd)
• Features
• Respecttherightsof others
• Letspeopleact asequals
• Moral justificationof aperson’saction
• Examples
• Legal right: right toafair trial intheUnitedStates
• Moral right: right todueprocesswithinanorganization
26
27. Rights(contd)
• Rejectsviewof assessingtheresults of actions
• Expresses moral rights from individual's view, not society's.
Does not look to the number of people who benefit from
limitinganother person'srights
• Example: right to free speech in the United States stands
evenif apersonexpressesadissentingview
27
28. TypesOf Rights
• Negativerights: donot interfere with another person’s rights
• Positiverights: Apersonhasadutytohelpotherspursuetheir rights
Negative: donot stopapersonfromwhistleblowing
Positive: coworker helpsanother personblow
thewhistle onunethical actions
28
33. QuestionsFromThe
Ethical Theories
• Utilitarianism: does the action yield the greatest
net benefits?
• Rights: does the action negatively affect someone’s moral
rights?
• Justice: does the action give a fair distribution of costs and
benefitsamongthoseaffected?
• Egoism: will the action lead to other people behaving
towardmeinawayI wouldlike? 33
