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His Categorical Imperative held that people should act only according to maxims that they would be willing to see become universal norms and that people should never be treated as a means to an end. Cant’s theory implies the necessity of trust, adherence to rules, and keeping promises (e. G. Contracts). Kant argued that the highest good was the good will – the importance of acting from duty, so, for example, if a merchant is honest in order to gain a good reputation, then these acts of honesty are not genuinely moral.
Cant’s ethics are ethics of duty rather than consequence: a business behaving morally in order to impress consumers is not truly moral according to Kant. Cant’s ethical theory applies well to both employees and consumers as it does not permit people to be treated as means to an end – even if hat end is profit. Kantian ethics would also see a business as a moral community – employers and employees, stakeholders and shareholders, standing in a moral relationship with each other which would influence the way they treat each other.
This seems to require that the work that employees are given is meaningful, and that businesses should be organized more democratically. Natural Law Natural Law is often described as deontological because, in practice, it leads to a set of rules that people have a duty to follow. These rules are absolutist, because they know of no exception. For example, using contraception to prevent conception is absolutely wrong, regardless of consequences such as the spread of AIDS, unwanted pregnancies etc. However, Aquinas’ Natural Law Theory says we should try to fulfill our God-given purpose.
This is teleological, as it is interested in our design or ‘end’. The primary precepts – worshipping God, living in an ordered society, reproducing etc. – are teleological: they are the ends to which all our actions should aim. The primary precepts are also absolutist – Aquinas believed we were all made by God with a shared human purpose. Moral relativism Situation Ethics This must not be confused with cultural relativism. Cultural relativism is a very weak moral theory that says things are right and wrong relative to our culture. The theory is easily refuted. Situation Ethics says that what is right and wrong is relative to the situation.
In other words, if you asked “Is it wrong to abort a fetus? ” I would ask “Under what circumstances? ” Clearly the outcome of my actions is of central importance here. Rules may be useful, but you may need to ignore the rules in order to do the right (loving) thing – the thing that is in the best interests of the people effected. Theories that can be either Absolutist or relativist Utilitarianism- Virtue Bibb futilitarians considers the majority affected by a certain action – general welfare is important, and this is often seen as good business policy: the general good of the organization is more important than that of individuals.
So, for example, an employee, though qualified for a certain position, will have to give way to another so that the interest of the business as a whole can be preserved. A farmer may have to give up some of his land for a dam project, because it will provide irrigation for lots of rammers and generate electricity for the whole community. However, the best business transactions are the ones in which the best result is achieved, when Business and consumer, employer and employee, shareholders and stakeholders are alternatives need considering – no one can Just act on intuition if they wish to maximize utility.
Economically Utilitarianism would seem to be a good ethical approach to business; however, in many cases it is not simple and clear cut. For example, closing a polluting factory may be good for the environment, but not for the local community who may need the Jobs. Whatever the business does it is going to upset one group of people or another. Utilitarianism does not always help here.
Virtue Ethics Virtue Ethics from Aristotle shows that business cannot be separated from society – everyone is part of the larger community, the ‘polis’, the corporation, the neighborhood, the city, the country or the world and our virtues are defined by that larger community. Business is part of that community. Virtue ethics focuses on the character and motivation of the agent and on the agent’s ability to pursue demoniac. Virtue is also learnt through observation of others’ behavior – as far as equines is concerned an individual cannot be ethical in a vacuum, but always as part of the ethical community.
This applies to the employers as well as the employees who must show the virtues of character such as honesty, prudence, fairness and courage. The virtues of co-operation seem to triumph over competition, but does this mean that the virtuous person in business will be the good corporate citizen rather than the high-flier, wheeler-dealer or the entrepreneurial innovator? Virtue Ethics is interested in the most general traits that make a harmonious society possible, so the raids that make for good business must be the same as those of a good society; the virtues of a successful businessman and those of a good citizen must also be the same.
In business, as in society, trustworthiness and co-operation are essential; even the most devious business dealings presuppose an atmosphere of trust, and competition is only possible (as in sport) within a context of general co-operation. Business is an essential part of society, not separate from it, and, as in society, living together is central, making a profit is Just a means. The previous theories have approached Ethics differently to introduce ethics in three rods Actions with Morale Motivation that always interact with people, society and environment.
This has led the government to produce acts to protect the ethical approach in the Business framework such as employment acts; equality acts; environmental protection acts; advertising and promotion acts and more; Also ethics have implied businesses with different organization such as Human Rights, the Office of Fair Trade and media which created pressure points when the operate locally and internationally , thus businesses have been pushed to act ethically in every operation to only that but it became a competitive advantage to create and attract new stakeholder to the business such as producing a statement of a social responsibility and list of duties toward society, environment and employments.
CARS cooperate social responsibility Definition: CARS definition as “the obligations of business to pursue those policies, to make those decisions or to follow those lines of action which are desirable in terms of the This is code of responsibility which states the purpose of the CARS in business as the obligation in which raise the awareness towards objectives and values of our societies to ensure decisions are made to maintain the relation between communities and business policies. A CARS statement: ‘Our biggest challenge this century is to take an idea that seems abstract3sustainable developmental turn it into a reality for all the world’s peoples. Kopi Anna, former UN Secretary General One of humankind’s greatest challenges this century will be to ensure sustainable, Just and balanced development.
The needs of current and future generations cannot be met unless there is respect for natural systems and international standards protecting core social and environmental ales. In this context, it is increasingly recognized that the role of the business sector is critical. As a part of society, it is in business; interest to contribute to addressing common problems. Strategically speaking, business can only flourish when the communities and ecosystems in which they operate are healthy. In developing nations: Definition A country that is poor, and has a mainly agricultural economy but has a desire to advance both socially and economically. Another term is “Third World”. Some examples of developing countries include Honduras, Guatemala, Egypt and Benign. Http://www. Investigated. Com/definition/developing-country. HTML) Those nations has been suffering from corruption, unfair human acts, abuse and all sort of unethical behavior that has stopped them from development despite the fact that they may have more resources and treasures than any developed country such as Diamond in Sierra-Leon and Monuments in Egypt, those countries had corrupted regimes that opened the doors for unfair business practices and bad working conditions but those nations are customers for any companies which likes to go global but the argue loud can they act ethically globally as well as they do locally?! That creates the challenge for any business to not to fail in entrapment that ethics and morality may create.
We have seen many unethical businesses that are still running and exist so that agencies has researched top 10 unethical businesses which include Iranian, total oil, Marlboro and Freeport-Anchorman whom have been highlighted for different ethical behaviors, two related examples of business in developing nations are: Example 1 Freeport-Anchorman The cooper and gold company has been accused on infringing upon the land of West Pans and oppressing their rights. In 1998, a lawsuit was brought against the company accusing Freeport of human rights abuses in West Papua. These abuses included; house arrest, death threats, psychological harassment and surveillance monitoring by the security forces who were employed by Freeport. The lawsuits failed because the district court ruled the alleged abuses were not a violation of the ‘law of nations’. The unethical companies mining procedures still continue today, unopposed by laws and officials.