Theories of ethics and

framework for decision

Kaushik Chaudhuri
MBA
 A Framework for Ethical Decision Making

• Recognize an Ethical Issue

• Could this decision or situation be damaging to someone or to some group? Does this decision involve a choice
between a good and bad alternative, or perhaps between two "goods" or between two "bads"?
• Is this issue about more than what is legal or what is most efficient? If so, how?
• Get the Facts
• What are the relevant facts of the case? What facts are not known? Can I learn more about the situation? Do I know
enough to make a decision?
• What individuals and groups have an important stake in the outcome? Are some concerns more important? Why?
• What are the options for acting? Have all the relevant persons and groups been consulted? Have I identified creative
options?
• Evaluate Alternative Actions
• Evaluate the options by asking the following questions:
• Which option will produce the most good and do the least harm? (The Utilitarian Approach)
• Which option best respects the rights of all who have a stake? (The Rights Approach)
• Which option treats people equally or proportionately? (The Justice Approach)
• Which option best serves the community
as a whole, not just some members?
(The Common Good Approach)
• Which option leads me to act as the sort of person I want to be? (The Virtue Approach)
• Make a Decision and Test It
• Considering all these approaches, which option best addresses the situation?
• If I told someone I respect-or told a television audience-which option I have chosen, what would they say?
• Act and Reflect on the Outcome
• How can my decision be implemented with the greatest care and attention to the concerns of all stakeholders?
• How did my decision turn out and what have I learned from this specific situation?
 Utilitarian Approach
• Utilitarianism was conceived in the 19th
century by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart
Mill to help legislators determine which laws
were morally best. Both Bentham and Mill
suggested that ethical actions are those that
provide the greatest balance of good over evil.
 The Rights Approach
• The second important approach to ethics has its roots in
the philosophy of the 18th-century thinker Immanuel
Kant and others like him, who focused on the individual's
right to choose for herself or himself.
• According to these philosophers, what makes human
beings different from mere things is that people have
dignity based on their ability to choose freely what they
will do with their lives, and they have a fundamental moral
right to have these choices respected. People are not
objects to be manipulated; it is a violation of human
dignity to use people in ways they do not freely choose.
 Justice/ fairness Approach
• The Fairness or Justice Approach :The fairness
or justice approach to ethics has its roots in the
teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher
Aristotle, who said that "equals should be
treated equally and un-equals unequally." The
basic moral question in this approach is: How
fair is an action? Does it treat everyone in the
same way, or does it show favoritism and
discrimination?
 Common good approach
• The Common-Good Approach
This approach to ethics assumes a society comprising
individuals whose own good is inextricably linked to the
good of the community. Community members are bound
by the pursuit of common values and goals.
• The common good is a notion that originated more than
2,000 years ago in the writings of Plato, Aristotle, and
Cicero. More recently, contemporary ethicist John Rawls
defined the common good as "certain general conditions
that are good because ...equally to everyone's
advantage."
 The Virtue Approach
• The virtue approach to ethics assumes that there are
certain ideals toward which we should strive, which
provide for the full development of our humanity. These
ideals are discovered through thoughtful reflection on
what kind of people we have the potential to become.
• Virtues are attitudes or character traits that enable us to
be and to act in ways that develop our highest potential.
They enable us to pursue the ideals we have adopted.
Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, fidelity,
integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence are all
examples of virtues.
Socrates’( 470-399 BC) famous
question in the dialogue
(Euthyphro dilemma) :
–“Is something good
because the Gods approve
it, or do the Gods approve
of something because it is
good?” (Aquinas c. 1265-
1274 2a)