This document discusses the ethical theory of consequentialism. Consequentialism, also known as teleological ethics, judges the morality of actions based solely on their outcomes or consequences. The document contrasts consequentialism with non-consequentialist theories like deontology. It then discusses two types of consequentialism: ethical egoism, which holds that the morally right action is whatever benefits the individual the most, and utilitarianism, which argues that the action with the best overall consequences for the greatest number of individuals is the morally right one. The document notes some criticisms of consequentialism, like how researching all consequences can be impractical.
2. “ A discipline used to explore the
rightness or wrongness of business
activities” – BESR, Lesson 2
BUSINESS
ETHICS
Traditional
Ethical Theories
Consequentialism Deontological ethics Moral Rights Ethics of care
Virtue
Ethics
TOPICOVERVIEW
“foundation of business
ethics”
6. You run a factory in a very poor country and a child comes to your
door and asks for a job.
Non- Consequentialism
“It is wrong to employ children —
children have human rights, and
one of those rights is the right to
play and to be educated, rather
than to be toiling in factories or
fields.” - Deontologist
EVENT
ACTION
RESULT Consequentialism
“ If turning the child away means
that she would starve, or turn to
something worse (like prostitution)
then it would be ethically better to
give her the job.”
Give her a job.
Unidentified
8. CONS OF CONSEQUENTIALISM
• individuals must research the consequences of their
acts before they can make an ethically sound choice
• doing such research is often impracticable, and too
costly
• the time taken by such research leads to slow decision-
making which may itself have bad consequences, and
the bad consequences of delay may outweigh the good
consequences of making a perfect decision
10. PSYCHOLOGICAL
EGOISM
• We DO act
in our own
self-
interest
ETHICAL
EGOISM
• We SHOULD
act in our
own self-
interest
ETHICAL EGOISM
Ethical Egoism was founded
from Psychological Egoism.
11. ETHICAL EGOISM
Main proponent of Psychological Egoism
Interprets some acts of altruism to be
egoistic: “I was in pain to consider the
miserable condition of the old man; and
now my alms, giving him some relief,
does also ease me.”
12. ETHICAL EGOISM
The correct moral action is the one
that meets the self interest of an
individual.
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SELF-INTEREST GREATER GOOD
13. ETHICAL EGOISM
2 grounds of ethical egoism:
1) Human person by
nature is not purely
egoistic
2) Ethical egoism tends
to violate objective
moral principles
14. ETHICAL EGOISM
1) Human person by nature is not purely egoistic
PURE EGOISM
EGOISM and ALTRUISM
A child is
drowning
You save the
child
Reward &
praise
EVENT
ACTION
RESULT
A child is
drowning
You save the
child
You feel at
ease
EVENT
ACTION
RESULT
15. ETHICAL EGOISM
2) Ethical egoism is not a viable theory
Egoism tends to violate objective moral
principles just to satisfy one’s interest.
If business world is dominated by egoists, expect:
Exploitation
of workers
Deception of
consumers
Violation of basic
Human rights
Environmental
Abuse