Utilitarianism: calculation of costs(-) and benefits(+) Universalism: duty Virtue: character Relativism: societal consensus

 An action is judged as right or good on the basis of its consequences/results  Greatest good for the greatest number of people  Net benefits(+) over costs(-) are greater than other choices  2 Types of Utilitarianism:  Act-based: calculate consequences of each action we perform, then determine on a case by case basis whether an action is morally right or wrong i.e. wasting time by watching TV is morally wrong since our time could be spent on charity work for greater social benefits  Rule-based: a certain behavioral rule or principle is morally right if the consequences of adopting that rule are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone i.e. adopting moral rule: “stealing is wrong” against theft would clearly has more favorable consequences than unfavorable for everyone

 Use when:  Resources are fixed or scarce  Priorities are in conflict  No clear choice fulfills everyone’s needs/goals  Large or diverse groups are in a zero-sum (one gain, one loss) decision  Problems with utilitarianism include:  No agreement exists about the definition of “good” for all concerned  No agreement exists about who decides  The actions are not judged, but rather their consequences  How are the costs and benefits of nonmonetary stakes measured?  Does not consider the individual  The principles of rights and justice are ignored

 The means (method/ system) justify the ends of an action  Regardless of consequences, based on universal principles i.e. justice, fairness, honesty, and respect  Must do the right thing, even it’s not good for most of people  Categorical imperative (Kant): duty to act responsibly and respectfully toward all individuals in a situation  Choose to act if and only if every person on earth, in that same situation, should act exactly the same way  In an ethical dilemma, act in a way that respects and treats all others involved as ends as well as means to an end

 Major weaknesses include:  Principles are imprecise and lack practical utility  Hard to resolve conflicts of interest  Does not allow for prioritizing one’s duties

 A situation where one relationship /obligation places you in direct conflict with existing relationship /obligation  A situation in which you cannot legally be involved in one business activity, because you have connections with another business that would gain an unfair advantage from your involvement  Example: The businessman who also being a politician might has conflict of interest between his profit from company and the wealth of nation, by imposition some rules or taxes related to his business.

 Three categories of rights  Legal: differs from particular legal systems i.e. freedom of speech in the US which is a freedom to speak freely without censorship or limitation  Moral (and human): are universal and based on norms in every society i.e. right to work  Contractual 1.The contract should not commit the parties to unethical or immoral conduct 2.Both parties should freely and without force enter the contractual agreement 3.Neither individual should misrepresent or misinterpret facts in the contract 4.Both individuals should have complete knowledge of the nature of the contract and its terms before they are bound by it  Negative: duty others have to not interfere with actions related to a person’s right i.e. protecting property, enforcing law and order, freedom of speech  Positive: duty others to provide for your needs to achieve your goals i.e. medical assistance, job training, housing, educational opportunities

 The weaknesses of using a rights approach include:  The justification that individuals are entitled to rights can be used to disguise (hide s/t) and manipulate selfish, unjust political interests and claims i.e. to what extent should the government intervene to protect individuals from infringement (to do s/t that limits s/o’s legal rights) on their rights by other individual, or from corporations  Protection of rights can exaggerate (make s/t seems worse than it really is) certain entitlements in society at the expense of others i.e. reverse discrimination  The limits of rights come into question

 It is the practice of favoring members of a historically disadvantaged group at the expense of members of a historically advantaged group.  Example: In the United States, whites and Asians are discriminated against in college admissions, with preferential treatment given to blacks, Native Americans, and Latinos in an effort to bring more of these minority students into the best schools. This can invoke resentment in those who are members of the so- called "advantaged" group who do not get the same treatment as their peers on the basis of individual merit (or of their own, supposedly advantageous race). Source:

 Two recognized principles of fairness include:  Equal treatment  Equal opportunity, access to advantages  Four types of justice include:  Compensatory: compensation  Retributive: punishment  Distributive: distribution of benefits and burdens  Procedural: decision practices, procedures, and agreements among parties

 Problems using the principle of justice include:  Who decides who is right and who is wrong?  Who has moral authority to punish those who act unfairly?  Can opportunities and burdens be fairly distributed?

 Focus on long-term characteristics, general notion of good person  A concept of living life according to a commitment to the achievement of a clear ideal— “What sort of person would I like to become, and how do I go about becoming that person?”

 No universal standards or rules  People set their own moral standards for judging their actions  Ethical relativism is the theory that holds that morality is relative to the norms of one's culture. That is, whether an action is right or wrong depends on the moral norms of the society in which it is practiced.  Benefits include:  Ability to recognize and value the distinction between individual and social values, customs, and moral standards

 Problems using an ethical relativism approach include:  Implies an underlying laziness  Contradicts everyday experience  Creation of absolutists  No mechanism to solve conflicts among different viewpoints

 Immoral management means intentionally going against ethical principles of justice and of fair and equitable treatment of other stakeholders  Amoral management happens when others are treated negligently (not carefully enough) without concern for the consequences of actions or policies  Moral management places value on fair treatment of others involved