1. Ethics Theory and Business Practice
2.1 Utilitarianism – Part One
Maximizing the Good

2. aims to introduce consequentialism as a way of evaluating ethics
to describe how utilitarians judge the ethicality of an action’s consequences in relation to how much good it causes
to explore some contrasting ideas about what is ‘good’ for people and how these might impact on utilitarian evaluation

3. consequentialism
judges the ethicality of decisions and actions in relation to their consequences
rather than in relation to their intrinsic rightness
see Video Activity 2.1

4. utilitarianism judges consequences in terms of good and bad
so if a decision or an action produces more good than bad, it is ethical
see Video Activity 2.1

5. a utilitarian justification for rationalization
a company may need to ‘rationalize’ its workforce in order to improve performance
some will lose their jobs in this rationalization
but others will benefit from the improved performance
if more people benefit from the improved performance than suffer from the rationalization, the rationalization is justified on utilitarian grounds

6. will Ford’s rationalization plan
theory in practice
will Ford’s rationalization plan
maximize the good?
see Theory in Practice: Will Ford’s Rationalization Plan Maximize the Good?

7. what does ‘the good’ consist of?
class activity: what do you value above all else; if a Genie were to ask you what one thing you would like more of, what would you ask for?
discuss the extent to which the goods identified by the class are a) valued in themselves or b) valued as a means to the achievement of a further valued end
refer back to these goods when explaining the three categories on the following slides

8. three possible responses
hedonistic utilitarianism
objective-good utilitarianism
J.S Mill’s utilitarianism

9. first response: hedonistic utilitarianism maximizing pleasure/happiness
the only thing that we value in its own right is pleasure and the only thing that we seek to avoid in its own right is pain
so pleasure must be the ultimate ‘good’ and pain must be the ultimate ‘bad’
therefore, maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain must be the ethically correct thing to do

10. second response: objective-good utilitarianism
pleasure is not the only good
indeed, some forms of pleasure are intrinsically bad
and some things are good even if they do not bring us pleasure
see Lecture Exercise 2.1a
use this to distinguish something that is valued for the intrinsic pleasure it brings (1), something that is valued as a means to the ultimate achievement of pleasure (2), and something that is valued as an objective good (3).

11. some objective goods
ask class to identify some physical and intellectual states that might be considered objectively good regardless of heir connection with pleasure

12. third response: J.S. Mill’s utilitarianism distinguishing higher pleasures from lower pleasures
some pleasures are intrinsically superior to others
to enjoy higher-order pleasures in the long term, we may need to forego lower-order pleasures in the short term
in particular, we may need to cultivate our capacity to appreciate higher-order pleasures

13. analyses of the good applied to business
analysis of the good
business it ethical insofar as it …
hedonistic utilitarianism
causes more pleasure than pain
objective-good utilitarianism
creates and preserves beautiful things; furthers knowledge and learning, promotes freedom; preserves people’s dignity; encourages those who are associated with the business to realize their full intellectual, cultural and physical potential
J.S. Mill’s utilitarianism
promotes products and services which develop people’s cultural and intellectual capacities; facilitates employees’ intellectual and cultural development
see This seven-minute video shows a short TV debate on CNN, involving Dr Gail Dines and Stormy Daniels, about the pros and cons of soft-pornography videos. It could be used to augment or to replace the discussion of Spearmint Rhino, which appears in the book.

14. utilitarianism and ethical employment practices
see Video Activity 2.2

15. key points
utilitarianism highlights the importance of consequences to business ethics
there is more than one way of defining ‘good’ consequences
therefore we need to take a comprehensive overview of what the good consists of if we are to apply utilitarianism to business