Associate Level Material

Appendix B Ethical Theories Chart

Complete the chart below using information from the weekly readings and additional research if necessary. Include APA formatted in-text citations when applicable and list all references at the bottom of the page.

Ethical Theory

Utilitarianism

Deontological

Virtue ethics

Definition

Consequentialist theory. Maximizes benefits to society and minimizes harm. (Trevino & Nelson, 2006) John Stuart Mill (Stuart Mill, 1863)

An individual who focuses on doing the right thing based on certain moral principles. (Trevino & Nelson, 2006)

Focuses on integrity of the moral actor than on the moral act itself. (Trevino & Nelson, 2006)

Ethical thinker associated with theory

Emmanuel Kant (Trevino & Nelson, 2006)

Rosalind Hursthouse (Hursthouse, 2007)

Decision-making process

First the problem is identified, then the thought process is in place to determine all possible consequences to the situation. Decision are generally reached after similar situations are reviewed and others individual concerns are taken into consideration. (Trevino & Nelson, 2006)

Decisions are based on what is right based on ethical principles or values such as honesty, promise keeping, fairness, loyalty, rights, privacy, etc. Some approaches are binding regardless of the consequences. (Trevino & Nelson, 2006)

Decisions are made on the basis of community standards without taking the necessary steps in proper decision making. (Trevino & Nelson, 2006)

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Workplace example

An example would be an employee termination. How would this affect other employee productivity as this person has been there a long time? How will the individual react? You never know a persons reaction but doing the right thing and being honest with the individual as to why they were the one chosen will only make each person and the company stronger as well.

An example would be an individual speaking the truth about the well-being of the company. Even though they are telling the truth they are still going against the company confidentiality policy and possibly jeopardizing the companies as stockholder or consumer hear a company is in trouble they may withdraw their investments. Another example would be when co-workers do not agree on a particular topic. One disagrees because they have been in that of situation before and the other disagrees because they are upholding what the signed agreement says. These situations are not easily resolved as there is a lot of going back and forth and potential yelling as each person believes they are right, but in the end there is always a mutual decision.

With using myself as an example, lets say that I chose to get a part-time job after hours and it was working with one my franchise owners. Even though it would only be cleaning an account it still may be misconstrued as a conflict of interest. This would be the same type of situation listed in the material referring CPAs. It is not that this would place a negative impact on the consumers but it can amongst the other franchise owners, ultimately having a direct effect on the company. In my eyes this is just another way to make some additional funds and in their eyes they may think that I am offering them all the new business and feeding them information.

Reference: Trevino & Nelson, (2006) Axia College Course Materials Hursthouse, R. (2007). Virtue Ethics. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/ Stuart Mill, J. (1863). UTILITARIANISM. Retrieved from http://www.utilitarianism.com/mill1.htm

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