Utilitarian Approach To Business Ethics Example

Now before we proceed towards looking at some examples let us discuss this idea a little in detail.

Utilitarian approach to business ethics example. According to eggleston 453 welfarism is the understanding that the wrongness or rightness of operations depends on society s conceptions of welfare or. The notion of ethical business practices has led to the formation of theories including the utilitarian theory rights theory justice theory caring theory and virtues theory which have since been integral in the understanding of business ethics. You are sitting in a control center several miles away and you have a button that can switch the trolley onto another track where there s only 1.

A defense of a utilitarian approach to business ethics written for business ethics. Examples of utilitarian ethics. We can find a lot of examples of utilitarianism in the annals of world history.

Imagine there is a trolley heading toward a group of 5 workers on the tracks. The utilitarian approach assesses an action in terms of its consequences or outcomes. I e the net benefits and costs to all stakeholders on an individual level.

In economics utility is the pleasure or satisfaction that people derive from consuming a product or service. In essence therefore the premises of utilitarianism can be referred to as a variation or extension of the philosophy of consequentialism. It strives to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number while creating the least amount of harm or preventing the greatest amount of suffering.

The second element that businesses require to apply utilitarianism is welfarism. Secure the greatest good for the greatest number. For example the airline industry offers first class business class and economy class seats on many of their airplanes.

A philosophical approach edited by werhane and donaldson. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that suggests that the best actions are those that maximize utility. For example a business may manufacture and sell substandard and unsafe products in their quest for more.