Theories of ethics

1. Theories of Ethics
By Ginny Monypeny

2. The ethical business decision to be
made:
 A lawn company is behind on production due to weather the past week.
Workers have been working all week starting from 6:30 a.m. to no earlier to
6:30 p.m. in extreme summer heat. Management is debating on making
employees work half a day Sunday 6:30-3:30 p.m. but workers are hot and
tired and it would require business to pay even more overtime to the workers.
Should management force employees to work the weekend just to get caught
up?

3. Pros and Cons on Saturday Work:
 Pros:
1. Production would be caught up.
2. Could possibly lead to 1-2 hours come in time during the week.
3. Extra overtime money for the workers.
 Cons:
1. Employees are tired, warn out, and complaining for working 60-80 hour weeks.
2. Keeps employees from families and home obligations.
3. Low enthusiasm among workers.
4. At least one manager has to be there on the weekend to supervise.
5. Cost company a great deal in overtime pay.
6. Extra paperwork for both field technicians to fill out and office to process Monday
morning.

4. Utilitarianism-based Ethics
 Theory that believes we determine the weight of a decision or action by
looking at the possible consequences of that act or decision.
 “the greatest good for the greatest number”.
 People who believe in utilitarianism-based ethics are prone to be more
pragmatic thinkers.
 Problems with this theory is that it is hard to find a way to prove the
“measure” of someone’s happiness.

5. Utilitarianism Pros and Cons
 Pros:
1. The greatest number of people would benefit from the decision or act.
2. Focuses on providing the most pleasure for people.
 Cons:
1. Happiness is not able to be measured accurately.
2. What is the balance between the overall good and an individual’s freedom?
 If I were deciding on Utilitarianism Based Ethics:
1. I would mandate Saturday work in order to get caught up.
2. Greater number of customers would benefit from having lawn service done at the
expense of a few employees.

6. Principle-Based Ethics
 Principle based ethics is believes that “there are some things that we should,
or should not do regardless of the consequences.”.
 Involves a belief that people should not be used by a company or organization
to be a means to a greater overall good.
 People have rights that should not be gone against just to produce a product or
outcome.
 A challenge of this based ethics is the determination of what “rights”
individuals have.
 Knowing the difference “rights” and “duties”.

7. Pros and Cons of Principle based ethics:
 Pros:
1. Belief that humans have rights.
2. Rights should not be violated.
 Cons:
1. Hard to distinguish between “wants” or a “needs” of a person.
2. Hard to justify what rights a person has and how to prove those rights.
3. Hard to justify the order of rights as conflict arises.
 If I were deciding on Principle based ethics:
 I would NOT mandate Saturday work for workers due to the reasoning it goes against
their rights to have time off for rest.
 Production for the company is not worth violating the employees human rights to rest.

8. Relativism In business:
 Acts, decisions, and judgements differ from person to person and culture to
culture.
 Belief that there is no “moral” or “immoral” judgement but it is left up to an
individuals opinion.
 Dependent on the norms of the society around the individual.
 What could be ethically right in one culture may not be seen as ethical or moral in
another country.

9. Pro’s and Con’s of Relativism
 Pros:
1. A person has their own thoughts on morality.
1. Can form an moral decision on their own.
2. The culture around the individual has their own moral compass.
 Cons:
1. No clear way to distinguish what a truly “moral” decision is.
2. People can make unethical decisions, but yet see them as moral.
3. Some individuals can be corrupt.
 If I were deciding based on Relativism Ethics:
 I would make the employees work Saturday because the culture of the company is
very centered around work and production so they find it moral to make employees to
work 6 days a week.

10. Virtue Based Ethics:
 It emphasizes ones own moral character.
 Key element in the ethical decision is the character rather than rules and
consequences.
 Judgements are made on how it will affect one’s own life.
 How it will contribute to a fulfilling and meaningful life.

11. Pros and Cons of Virtue Based Ethics
 Pros:
1. Relies on one’s own character for decisions.
2. Character is something that is constant and deep rooted in one’s self.
3. Focuses on what type of person one IS versus what one person should DO.
4. Honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness traits.
 Cons:
1. Not everyone is moral.
2. Very broad definition.
3. Greed, rudeness, and materialism can be traits of some individuals.
 If I were making a decision on virtue based ethics:
 I would not make employees work Saturday due to the fact I know that if I were in their
position, I would NOT want to work. Also, pushing employees to work 60 hour weeks
alone is asking much and I would decide that they need a break in order to be well-
rested for yet another hard upcoming week.