An Ethical Theory Applied to Business Organizations Essay -- Business

The object of this essay is to establish whether in that respect is an honourable theory that can be successfully applied to rail line organisation organizations. In order to coif this fountainhead, it is necessary first to define the major(ip) ethical theories, which argon utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics, before determining whether there are any other options. After that, the ethical needs, problems and limitations of work organizations entrust let to be examined so that the different theories can be evaluated in this context. It will also be important to draw a distinction mingled with the terms accurate and useful as these actually result in cardinal different questions the answer to which need non necessarily be the same. Another essential part of this discussion is the more general question why there should be ethics in work organizations in the first place, and to what extent ethical behavior is feasible in the business world. Hopefully this will provi de a framework within which the answer to the essay question can be included.To begin with, the traditional approaches to resolve moral problems will be defined, namely those of act-utilitarianism and deontology. These are traditional not because they have existed longer than virtue ethics, but because for a long while they have been the approaches nigh commonly used as a infrastructure for trying to solve ethical problems. After looking at these two moral theories, the approach of virtue ethics regarding moral dilemmas will be investigated in order to compare differences and advantages as well as problems.Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. It adopts the consequentialist view that it must be right to make the world a better place and consequently the right action is the single that produces the best consequences. Utilitarianism takes this one step only and defines the action that will produce the best consequences as the one that produces the most happiness. Act-utilitarianism holds that each case should be judged separately in terms of which thinkable action would maximise happiness this means that there are no rules to follow, but the theory seems to provide a decision-procedure to act upon in that one acts upon a principle of justice.Intuitively this seems to be an appealing solution to ethical dilemmas. To maximise happiness makes utilitarianism a noble ideal. Furthermore... ...usiness moral philosophy, Vol.19, No.3, April II 1999Cicero Selected Works. Penguin Classics, Harmondsworth - England 1971Donaldson, D. and Davis, E. rail line Ethics? Yes, But What Can it Do for the Bottom Line? circumspection Decision, Vol 28, 6, 1990Legge, K. Is HRM ethical? Can HRM be ethical? in Parker, M. (ed.) Ethics and Organisations. Sage Publications - capital of the United Kingdom 1998Madsen and Shafritz Essentials of Business Ethics. Penguin Books 1990McDonald, G. Business Ethics Practical Proposals for Organisations. in Journal of Business Ethics, Vol.19, No.2, April I 1999McNamara, C. Complete Guide to Ethics Management An Ethics Toolkit for Managers. The Management Assistance Program for Nonprofits 1999 (http//www.mapnp.org/library/ethics/ethxgde.htm)McNaughton, D. Moral Vision. Blackwell - Oxford 1988Norman, R. The Moral Philosophers. Clarendon bring up - Oxford 1983Pearson, G. Integrity in Organisations. McGraw-Hill Book Company - London 1995Richards, R. Cicero and the ethics of bonnie business dealings. The Online Journal of Ethics 1997Townley, P. Business Ethics Commitment to problematic Decisions. Vital Speeches, pp. 208-211, 1992 (Jan)