CONSEQUENT IAL ISM

M A R Y J O Y FA B R E R O | C A R L A FAT I M A FA R

“ 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 careVirtue

Ethics

TO

PIC

OV

ER

VIE

W

“foundation of business ethics”

BUSINESS

ETHICS

Traditional

Ethical Theories

Consequentialism Deontological ethics Moral Rights Ethics of careVirtue

Ethics

TO

PIC

OV

ER

VIE

W

DESCRIPTIVE

“How the world is”

Describe moral

belief/system of group or

societies

NORMATIVE

“How the world should be”

Help us figure out what is

right or wrong

BUSINESS

ETHICS

Traditional

Ethical Theories

Consequentialism Deontological ethics Moral Rights Ethics of careVirtue

Ethics

TO

PIC

OV

ER

VIE

W

NORMATIVE

“How the world should be”

Help us figure out what is

right or wrong

DECISION

MAKING

PLANS,

MOTIVATIONS,

VIRTUES

ACTIONS RESULTS

CONSEQUENTIALISM THEORYNON- CONSEQUENTIALISM

• A.k.a Teleological ethics (Greek: Telos: end, purpose, intention)

approach in decision making wherein

a person bases moral judgement on

the outcomes of the action

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

CONSEQUENTIALIST:

“the morally right action is the one

with the best overall consequences

(for an individual or group)”

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

CONSEQUENTIALISM

ETHICAL

EGOISMUTILITARIANISM

PSYCHOLOGICAL

EGOISM

• We DO act

in our own

self-

interest

ETHICAL

EGOISM

• We SHOULD

act in our

own self-

interest

ETHICAL EGOISMEthical Egoism was founded

from Psychological Egoism.

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.”

ETHICAL EGOISMThe correct moral action is the one

that meets the self interest of an

individual.

>SELF-INTEREST GREATER GOOD

ETHICAL EGOISM2 grounds of ethical egoism:

1) Human person by

nature is not purely

egoistic

2) Ethical egoism tends

to violate objective

moral principles

ETHICAL EGOISM1) 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

ETHICAL EGOISM2) 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