What Guides Ethical Decision Making Essay Example for Free

What Guides Ethical Decision Making Essay A processor manufacturing company who are currently facing financial troubles completed an order about three months ago for newly designed high-powered processors that are smaller than and four times as powerful as its predecessor. These processors are to be placed into cutting edge cellular phones by a leading cellular phone manufacturer whose release date is a mere month away. A design inconsistency was recently discovered that essentially meant that the processors would work but would be no more powerful than its predecessor in certain conditions. A flaw that would only to be discerned when extraordinary load was placed on the device component whilst it was exposed to ambient temperatures of over 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The company’s CEO is now faced with the difficult decision of either doing nothing or replacing all the processors. Doing nothing, allows the company to keep its doors open, grants access to potential future earnings and saves the jobs of over 1000 employees. A decision that clearly seeks to ensure the common good of the company by giving them the ability to remain competitive while remaining silent on an issue that poses substantial risks to the cellular phone manufacturers earnings and reputation. The alternative, replacing all the processors would undoubtedly ensure that the processors function as advertised, but doing so would be at a significant cost to the company and may likely result in massive downsizing or the company’s declaration of insolvency. Though this option speaks positively to the moral character of the company, it may also lead to the company’s demise and leave over 1000 employees jobless. Both decisions, in light of the situation presented, may be considered to be ethical. A predicament which may undoubtedly lead a person to question how does one choose between several ethical options and more importantly what exactly guides this choice. The answer to these questions can be found in a branch of philosophy called theoretical ethics. Theoretical ethics is the rational reflection on what is right, what is wrong, what is just, what is unjust, what is good, and what is bad in terms of human behaviour according to [https://www.boundless.com/marketing /textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/social-responsibility-ethics-in-marketing-16/ethics-an-overview-101/definition-  of-ethics-498-8310/]. This branch of philosophy is exercised via the application the application of ethical theory. Ethical theories are those that represent the grand ideas which guide ethical principles and systematically attempt to answer the fundamental practical ethical questions [Ethical Theories http://www.medindia.net/education/familymedicine/biomedical-ethics-theories.htm#ixzz3H84Tlgi3] Ethical theories can be categorized according to how they justify ethical judgments [https://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/resources/ethics-in-a-nutshell/#theoretical ] and as such the particular ethical theory utilized can influence the decision made. This essay will therefore seek to examine the concepts of the common good and moral character and fundamental human virtue, their supportive ethical theories and explain how they are applied to making ethical decisions in businesses. Common Good Also referred to as the human good, public good or commonweal, the concept of the common good is one that has evolved over time. As human society developed, so too did the concept, as articulated by the philosophers of the day. Originating with the Greek Philosopher Aristotle who, on the topic wrote â€Å"Every skill and every enquiry, and similarly every action and rational choice, is thought to aim at some good; and so the good has been aptly described as that at which everything aims†. He went on to reason that â€Å"since political science employs the other sciences, and also lays down the laws about what we should do and refrain from, its end will include the ends of the others, and will therefore be the human good.† http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam032/99036947.pdf . Aristotle firstly explained his idea of the good, which according to his writings can then be understood to mean the purpose, reason, desire or benefit of things and actions. The idea of the good sets the premise for understanding the human good, the good that yields the most benefit to human existence. The human good, in Aristotle’s view, was the science of politics since it was the science charged with managing all other sciences and their respective ends for a single purpose; the betterment of the polity. The underlying premise of Aristotle’s definition of the common good is utility. It involves a multiplicity of agents working towards a single shared purpose that would  satisfy or be of benefit to all involved. This single purpose, shared by many, for the benefit of many is therefore what is understood to be the common good; a concept that shares an ideal that is similar to utilitarian theory as developed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mills. UTILITARIANISM AND THE COMMON GOOD The basic premise of utilitarianism is the achievement of happiness for the greatest sum of people [ethics in action Domenec Mele]. This principle places the interest of the many over the interest of the few and as such the rightness or wrongness of an act is based only on the perceived or expected outcomes of that act as it relates to the utility obtained. http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/cavalier/80130/part2/sect9.html Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mills were the main proponents of this ideology, and though they had differing views on which outcome of act (happiness vs. pleasure) was worth measuring in order to determine the rightness or wrongness of an act they both held that human wellbeing was salient. http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/cavalier/80130/part2/sect9.html Utilitarianism can be considered to be an ethical theory. It represents a grand idea; achievement of maximum utility for most, and at the same time, assesses the rightness or wrongness of an action through the lenses of this idea. The utilitarian principle can therefore be used to ethically guide or judge the ethicality of decisions and actions. Utilitarianism as an ethical theory acts in pursuance to the common good https://philosophynow.org/issues/64/Presidential_Decision-Making_Utilitarianism_vs_Duty_Ethics . As previously expressed, a single purpose, shared by many, for the benefit of many is therefore what is understood to be the common good. This concept is similar to utilitarianism as is evident by the mutual aim of achieving maximum utility for many. As such, decisions and actions resulting from utilitarian theory are made based on the consequences of those decision and actions, and how they affect majority with an aim to always increase utility. Utilitarianism as a theory may then be seen as the tool through which the common good may be achieved. https://philosophynow.org/issues/64/Presidential_Decision-Making_Utilitarianism_vs_Duty_Ethics COMMON GOOD OF BUSINESSES The theories of the common good and utilitarianism although initially conceptualized on a societal scale are also applicable to smaller groups that occur within society. Both concepts are formulated purely on the idea that it is best to achieve utility for the majority of stakeholders and as such the size of the group is not an important attribute for consideration when applying these ideas. Utilitarian as a theory and the common good as a concept can therefore be viewed as reducible and as such be applied to virtually any group in society including a business. The common good of a business is to seek particular goods through its activities http://www.iese.edu/es/files/Paper_Antonio%20Argando%C3%B1a_tcm5-36013.pdf . These goods are extrinsic, intrinsic and transcendent in nature and are used to provide utility to stakeholders by satisfying their needs http://www.iese.edu/research/pdfs/DI-0777-E.pdf . These goods are interdependent of each other, but through their collective contributions, work towards the achievement of the vision and mission of a business. The vision and mission of a business may then be considered to be that business’s common good [domenec mele bookl]. Interestingly however, a business seeking its own common good also works towards the common good of society [domenec mele bookl]. As suggested by Adam Smith’s metaphor of the invisible hand, a business in pursuit of its own interests tends to also promote the good of society as a whole [domenec mele bookl]. Therefore the activities of a business: 1. creating added economic value with justice and distributing it with equity 2. supplying useful goods and services efficiently and fairly 3. providing jobs, opportunities and organizational conditions in accordance with human dignity and human rights 4. Promoting the necessary relationships between the firm and its constitutive stakeholders, fostering rec iprocity, collaboration and cooperation among them 5. Striving for the continuity and sustainability of the firm and 6. being a good corporate citizen  may be viewed as contributing to not only its own common good but also to the common good of society. [domenec mele bookl] COMMON GOOD DECISION MAKING IN A BUSINESS A common good decision in a business is any decision that is pursuant its own common good and, at the same time, is aimed at achieving maximum utility for  the majority of stakeholders. This type of decision making applies a mission driven approach to corporate governance where the organization is seen as one entity that achieves multiple ends. In applying this approach the corporate governing body weighs the positive and negative consequences of an action with an aim towards increasing overall utility for the many with the business’s vision and mission as its main goal [domenec mele]. It would then stand to reason that a common good business decision would be any decision that is utilitarian in nature, which is also in accordance with any of the 6 mentioned activities of a business. Common good business decisions are made through the application of utilitarian theory. Utilitarian theory provides a straightforward method for making decisions that would provide the greatest benefits and the least harm to the business. To arrive at such a decision, one must firstly identify the each of the various options that can be chosen http://www.sme.ie/articles/business_ethics/thinking_ethically.pdf . After the options are identified, the foreseeable benefits and harms that may result from each option are determined http://www.sme.ie/articles/business_ethics/thinking_ethically.pdf . Lastly, one compares the options and chooses the option that provides the greatest benefits and the least amount of harm to the business http://www.sme.ie/articles/business_ethics/thinking_ethically.pdf . In the utilitarian view, an option chosen via this ethical theory is considered to be morally right http://www.sme.ie/articles/business_ethics/thinking_ethically.pdf and is therefore ethical. This decision making process may be likened to the cost benefit analysis, a commonly used business decision making tool. Although one may arrive at ethical decisions through the application of utilitarian theory, there are several disadvantages of using this ethical theory. Utilitarianism suggests that the decision maker assigns values to benefits and harms and subsequently compares these benefits and harms, this makes the utilitarian decision making process highly subjective http://www.sme.ie/articles/business_ethics/thinking_ethically.pdf . Predicting all the consequences of an action is difficult and as such it is possible that consequences which may cause great benefit or harm to the business are not factored into the decision making process. This method also, ignores the concept of justice and as such may cause several  particular groups to be repeatedly disadvantaged for the betterment of the organization. Because of the critiques of this ethical theory it can be reasoned tha t it is best used in situations that are amoral or situations where the rightness or wrongness of a decision is not in question. An example or an ideal amoral situation is a situation where all the available options are moral. The application of this ethical approach in such situations removes the need for the consideration of justice and therefore addresses a major flaw of the utilitarian process. MORAL CHARACTER AND FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN VIRTUES Another concept that informs ethical decision making is moral character and fundamental human virtues. The idea of Moral character and virtues has always been a prominent topic of philosophical discussion among ancient philosophers. The foundation of these discussions was centralized in the goodness of humans and in particular, trying to discern what makes a person good http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-character/ . As such, a person’s character became the logical starting point in the resolution of this issue http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-character/#WhyChaMat . One’s traits and actions is what determines one’s character. Character, which is understood to mean the assemblage of qualities that distinguishes one individual from another http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-character/#WhyChaMat is comprised of the relatively stable traits or behaviours that a person consistently exhibits. Although all of these traits are not moral nature, they may have a significant impact on a person’s moral characterhttp://www.iep.utm.edu/moral-ch/#SH1a . A person’s Moral Character is influenced by moral character traits and practical wisdom. A moral character trait is a disposition of character for which a person is morally responsible or is deserving of the resultant reactive attitudes. http://www.iep.utm.edu/moral-ch/#SH1a. Virtues, traits that are deserving of positive reactive attitudes such as praise or gratitude and vices, traits that are deserving of negative reactive attitudes, when combined with proper reasoning about the matter at hand, collectively inform moral character http://www.iep.utm.edu/moral-ch/#SH1a. In other words; virtues, vices and by extension moral character is not only influenced by the disposition of  character, but also by practical wisdom. http://www.iep.utm.edu/moral-ch/#SH1a Practical wisdom is an intellectual virtue that is required for the development of virtues of character. This intellectual virtue is acquired through learning general rules and practice. Throughout the course of one’ s life, we encounter situations that require reasoning to determine what actions are appropriate. It is through these experiences that practical wisdom is developed. Practical wisdom, when combined with â€Å"proper habits† fuels the development of virtues such as justice, courage and temperance. [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics/] Justice, courage and temperance are virtues which provide us with the interior strength to act well [domenec mele]. Justice governs relationships and it regulates one’s inclination to possess, to share and to give whilst, courage, the virtue of preserving or pursuing what is good despite the obstacles, regulates one’s inclination to overcome the obstacles to doing â€Å"good†. Lastly temperance regulates one’s inclination towards pleasure and is that virtue which provides self-mastery and avoidance of immoderate attachments [domenec mele]. These virtues each have common characteristics of providing a self-regulatory feature and encouraging behaviours that are in keeping with human excellence. As such, these virtues are considered to be fundamental [domenec mele]. FUNDAMENTAL VIRTUES AND DEONTOLOGY The theory of deontology states we are morally obligated to act in accordance with a certain set of principles and rules regardless of outcome. Deontological theories holds that some acts are always wrong, even if the act leads to an admirable outcome and as such, in deontology the morality of an action is judged without regard for the outcome of that action. Deontology is based on the view of the human being having the unique capacity for rationality and it is exactly this ability that requires human beings to act in accordance with moral law or duty. http://sevenpillarsinstitute.org/morality-101/kantian-duty-based-deontological-ethics In the deontological view, morality and moral character is primarily a function of acting in accordance with duties or obligations, regardless of the consequences of acting in accordance with those duties http://www.iep.utm.edu/moral-ch/ . Deontological theory goes on to apply  this categorical imperative to making all decision â€Å"Act only on that maxim whereby thou canst at the same time will that it should become a universal law† http://caae.phil.cmu.edu/Cavalier/80130/part2/sect8.html . This categorical imperative is Kant’s only guideline to making decisions. Simply explained it states that one should decide on an action only if they agree that everyone else should perform that action in all the time. To be able to act in accordance with duty, fundamental virtues are required. Duties may be either perfect (precise, specifiable and enforceable) or imperfect (unspecific and unenforceable) in nature. Perfect duties require that one forgoes certain actions in order to be able to act in accordance with such a duty. Imperfect duties on the other hand, are duties to adopt certain ends and because of its unenforceable nature require self-mastery and strength of will. Continence therefore becomes a necessity for acting in accordance with duty. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-character/#Kan Continence or self-control requires the exercise of virtues, namely those of practical wisdom, temperance, courage and justice. http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.7.vii.html MORAL CHARACTER OF COMPANIES The ideas of moral character and fundamental virtues, though originally conceptualized to examine the ‘goodness’ of a person, can also be expanded to analyse the moral character of groups particularly businesses. Moral character is assessed as previously indicated by evaluating a person’s commitment to virtues or exercise of duty. The same method of assessment can be applied to a business. The moral character of a company may be determined through its duty based activities. The perfect duties of a company are those to which it is legally obligated whereas its imperfect duties deals are those where the company isn’t legally obligated but are duty bond to adopt particular ends. As such, the company’s adherence to the laws of the land, how the company treats with contractual agreements, examination of the company’s ethical policy or code and review of the company’s decision to ensure that they are in accordance with the company’s duties are the factors that influence the moral character of a company.

Panoptical Power in China Essay examples -- Prison Jail Imprisonment E

Panoptical Power in China Jeremy Bentham, a leading English prison reformer of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, developed an architectural plan for an ideal prison that he called the Panopticon. Such a prison would consist of a ring of individual cells encircling an observation tower. Each of the cells would open toward the tower and be illuminated by its own outside window. So, by the effect of backlighting, a single guard in the observation tower could keep watch on many prisoners--each of whom would be individually confined--without himself being seen. And because the prisoners could not see their supervisors, they would have to assume that they were being watched at all times--even if they were not. The Panopticon was designed to maximize the power of a dominating, overseeing gaze upon a transparent society of inmates. The purpose of the Panopticon was not so much to punish wrongdoers as to prevent wrongdoing by immersing prisoners in a field of total visibility in the expectation that the possibil ity of constant surveillance would serve to restrain the inmates (Foucault, 1980). Such surveillance would be aimed toward the interiorization of the supervisor's gaze so that each prisoner would, in effect, become his/her own overseer. Thus, through self-policing, surveillance would become permanent and pervasive in its effects--even if it was not continuously exercised. Although relatively few prisons have been constructed according to the plan of the Panopticon given Bentham's optimism about its practical utility, Foucault (1975/1977; 1980) has articulated the Panopticon as a generalizable model of the functioning of power in modern disciplinary societies with applications beyond the prison including hospitals, the... ..., J., Dubois, A.-M., Le Barbier, F., Olivier, J.-F., Peemans, J.-P., & Wang, N. (1979). China: The people's republic, 1949-1976. New York: Pantheon. Cheshire, G. (1992). The long way home. Film Comment, 28, 36-39. Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison (A. Sheridan, Trans.). New York: Vintage. (Original work published 1975) Foucault, M. (1978). The history of sexuality, Volume I: An introduction (R. Hurley, Trans.). New York: Vintage. (Original work published 1976) Foucault, M. (1980). Power/knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings, 1972-1977 (C. Gordon, Ed.). New York: Pantheon. Link, P. (1992). Evening chats in Beijing: Probing China's predicament. New York: Norton. Min, A. (1993). Red azalea: Life and love in China. London: Victor Gollancz. Rayns, T. (1992). Nights at the opera. Sight and Sound, 2, 10-13.

DBQ Middle Ages Essay

The Middle ages began after the fall of the Roman Empire. It can be defined as a time of minimal cultural and scientific achievements, suffering, feudalism, and power of the church. The labels for the Middle Ages that best describe the era between 500 and 1400 in Europe are the Dark Ages, the Age of Feudalism, and the Age of Faith. The Middle Ages should be labeled the Dark Ages because of the years of suffering that was inflicted from invasions. Invaders, usually from the North, would come into towns and completely lay waste to everything. These invasions made people live in fear and abandon their homes in refuge of safer places. In document one, â€Å"They sacked town and village and laid waste the fields†¦there is no longer any trade, only unceasing terror†¦the people have gone to cower in the depths of the forest or inaccessible regions.† Besides people’s homes being destroyed from invasions, many people were killed and their belongings and even loved ones taken. In document 3, â€Å"842, in this year there was a great slaughter in London and Quentavic and Rochester†¦843 the Northmen, with their boats filled with booty, including both men and goods, return to their own country.† The Dark Ages has a negative connotation to it, so this label rightly matches the terrible inv asions that occurred leaving families devastated. The Middle Ages should also be labeled the Age of Feudalism because of the absence of imperial authority that was replaced by local political organization known as the feudal system. The feudal system was based on loyalty and obligations between landlords in their vassals. In exchange for protection and land (fiefs) from the Lord, the vassle gave the Lord his loyalty, military service, and ransom if needed, as shown in the feudal obligations of document 4. After the fall of the Roman Empire, its territories in Europe had to protect themselves from outside invaders. To do this, these local kingdoms gave land to those willing to send knights in order to protect the kingdom. In Document two John of Toul is a vassle to the count and countess of Champagne and takes the Homage Oath, â€Å"I, john of Toul†¦will send to the Count and Countess of Champagne the knights who is service I owed to them for this fief which I hold.† Without the loyalty and service from the vassals to the landlord, the feudal system would crumble  leaving that territory defenseless against invaders and rival kingdoms. Finally, the Middle Ages should be labeled the age of faith because of the solid organization and power the Catholic Church demonstrated. The power of the church can merely be seen through its cathedrals as shown in document 10. A lot of money, materials, and labor were required to build the cathedral and only a wealthy and powerful organization could build them. The church even tried to limit warfare between landlords by decreeing days of peace when no battles or attacks could occur. In document 5, the Church believes in the word of God and called for the observance of the Truce of God, â€Å"on every Sunday, Friday, and Saturday, and on feast days no one may commit murder, arson, robbery, or assault.† Besides power, the Catholic Church had a lot of influence over people. Some people gave up the life they knew to follow God and join a monastic order. This is evident in document 8, an excerpt adapted from monastic vows taken by a brother that had an ordinary life but gave it up for a life with God. â€Å"I renounce my own will for the will of God†¦I accept all hardships of the monastic life†¦I promise to remain a monk in this monastery.† The calling of Crusades by the church shows its influence it had over people even in times of war. Pope Urban II was the head of the Catholic Church and he believed it was God’s will to call for a crusade to recapture the holy lands. In document 9, â€Å"your brethren of the Middle East are in urgent need of your help†¦the Turks and Arabs have attacked†¦they have occupied more and more of the lands of the Christians.† Document 8 shows the church’s religious influence while document 9 shows its political influence. In conclusion the Dark Ages, the Age of Feudalism, and the Age of Faith are labels that best describes the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages were low on cultural and scientific achievements and lived off of the knowledge from civilizations before them. Document 6, â€Å"it performs the function of the knowledge and treasures of what had come before.† Its output of creativity and originality did not in any way surpass the turmoil from invasions, political organization from feudalism, or the power of the church, to be known as a golden age. Document 7, â€Å"medieval culture was in perfect, was restricted to a narrow circle of superior minds.† To better understand that  the Middle Ages produced a low amount of cultural and scientific achievements I would need an additional document of a list of achievements produced during this era. I would be able to compare this to other achievements produced in civilizations during their Golden Age.

Teen pregnancy in Warren county, Kentucky Free Essay Example, 1500 words

Most of today’s parents imitate their parents when it comes to matters concerning sex an pregnancy. Most of these parents are uncomfortable and uneducated about sex education thus the stance of avoiding it altogether (Mink, 2012). These parents have the false belief that talking about sex with teenagers is tantamount to encouraging them to think about and engage in sex. Those affected The teenagers are the most affected by the problem in issue. Peer pressure to engage in sex is rife in high school since teenagers at a developmental stage where they are experimenting with their bodies. As sexuality increases with adolescence, teenagers may engage in sex as part of the experimentation process (Hay, Levin, Deterding, & Abzug, 2014). Those who do not experiment are made to feel as though they do not belong or they are left out on something important. Generally more male teenagers engage in sex while in their teenage as compare to the girls. Some even engage in sex before they attain thirteen years (SIECUS, 2010). The experimentation in most cases involves multiple sexual partners since they are seeking pleasure and not serious relationships. We will write a custom essay sample on Teen pregnancy in Warren county, Kentucky or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Certain health behaviors place teenagers at a risk of getting pregnant. Mink (2012) gives an account of one teenage mother, Kelsey Elrod who at the age of seventeen had a one-year son, having become pregnant during her freshman year. Kelsey admits that many teenage girls desire to become pregnant. Most girls do not understand the risks of engaging in early sexual behavior, and much less, the implications of early parenthood. The teenagers do not pay attention to their sex education classes, and some do not get any sex education at home. For most of the teenagers, sex usually occurs in an environment laden with alcohol and drugs, and mostly in parties. Social functions involve consumption of alcohol, cigarettes and other social drugs. While these drugs relax the person, they also lower inhibitions and impair mental judgment. Another health behavior that promotes teenage pregnancy is the early introduction of contraceptives to teenagers by their parents. Some parents have resorted to taking the initiative to try and prevent their teenagers from getting pregnant by putting them on contraceptives. Parents are also affected by the problem since once the teenagers become young parents. These parents in most cases are forced to take care of their now grandchildren as well as their young parents. The advocacy of contraceptive use by parents is misunderstood by some teenagers that sex is alright.