1. Applying Moral Philosophies to Business Ethics
Chapter 3
Applying Moral Philosophies to Business Ethics

2. Moral Philosophy…
refers to principles or rules that people use to decide what is right or wrong
presents guidelines for determining how to settle conflicts in human interests
guides businesspeople in formulating strategies & resolving specific ethical issues
there is no one moral philosophy accepted by everyone

3. Moral Philosophy Perspectives
Teleology
Egoism
Utilitarianism
Deontology
The Relativist Perspective
Virtue Ethics
Justice Perspectives
Distributive
Procedural
Interactional

4. Teleology…
considers an act morally right or acceptable if it produces some desired result such as pleasure, knowledge, career growth, the realization of a self interest, or utility
assesses moral worth by looking at the consequences for the individual

5. Categories of Teleology
Egoism
right or acceptable behavior defined in terms of consequences to the individual
maximizes personal interests
Utilitarianism
conduct a cost/benefit analysis
determine behavior on the basis of principles of rules that promote the greatest utility rather than on an examination of each situation

6. Deontology… focuses on the rights of the individual, not consequences
believes in equal respect and view certain behaviors as inherently right
individuals have certain inherent freedoms
rule deontologist conformity to general moral prinicples
act deontologists evaluate ethicalness based on the act

7. The Relativist Perspective…
defines ethical behavior subjectively from the experiences of individuals & groups
a positive group concensus indicates that an action is considered ethical by the group
acknowledges that we live in a society in which people have different views and many different bases from which to justify a decision as right or wrong.

8. Virtue Ethics…
what is moral in a given situation is not only what conventional wisdom suggests, but also what a “moral” character would deem appropriate
elements include: truthfulness, trust, self control, empathy, & fairness
negative virtues include: lying, cheating, fraud & corruption

9. Three Types of Justice…
Distributive justice-an evaluation of the outcomes or results of a business relationship
Procedural justice-based on the processes and activities that produce the outcomes or results
Interactional justice-based on an evaluation of the communication processes used in business relationships (often based on the accuracy of information provided)