Premium Essay

Deontological Versus Teleological Ethical Systems

In:

Submitted By somerfawn
Words 882
Pages 4
Deontological Versus Teleological Ethical Systems
ADJ/235
July 8, 2011

Deontological Versus Teleological Ethical Systems
Ethical Systems
Ethical systems are ordered principles or guidelines to make moral decisions. They are the source of moral beliefs. Ethical systems help define what is right or good. Ethical systems are morals that are shared by a group of people, but not all people always agree to what is right or good. There are seven major ethical systems. These major systems are ethical formalism, utilitarianism, religion, natural law, ethics of virtue, ethics of care, and egoism. Each of these major ethical systems is either classified as deontological, teleological, or virtue.
Deontological Ethical Systems
A deontological ethical system is based on the idea that we have a duty to do certain things and not doing certain things. The word deontological comes from “deonto” meaning “duty” in Greek (Wittjen). With the deontological ethical system, one would consider the basic duties and rights of individuals or groups and make a decision based on your moral beliefs.
Ethical formalism is deontological and is a type of theory which defines moral judgments in terms of their logical form rather than their content. Ethical formalism is considered as an absolutist system. If something is wrong, it is wrong all the time. Just as if something if right, it is right all the time. For example, the death sentence is wrong because death to someone and anyone is wrong all the time regardless of a crime they may have committed (Wadsworth, 2005).
Religion Ethics is deontological. Religion ethics is when a religion provides moral judgments and directions on how to live one’s life. What is good is that which conforms to god’s will (Wadsworth, 2005). An example of religion ethics would be to not steal because one of the Ten Commandments is thou shall not steal.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Healthcare Ethics

...that has led to lost wages and, far worse, the loss of his right leg below the knee. Leo is weighing his options. He has heard about a new clinical research trial open to insulin-dependent diabetics that pays $100 a week to research subjects. He has also been quite depressed and begun to wonder if his children might not be better off without him. He has several life insurance policies that would pay off generously if something were to happen to him, and he has broached the subject of assisted suicide with his long-time physician. Is there a way, he asks his physician, to have his death look like it was from natural causes so his children could collect on the policy? CHAPTER QUESTIONS 1. What ethical responsibilities do health care professionals have to their patients? 2. What ethical rights do patients have?...

Words: 9363 - Pages: 38

Premium Essay

Arguments for and Against Euthanasia in Terms of Teleological and Deontological Theories

...to the foundation of ethical theories. We can talk about two main general categories in which we can place the ethical theories: teleological and deontological. From the first category we enumerate the Aristotelian perspective or the one developed by J. St. Mill, while the Kantian perspective is exemplary for deontological ethics. According to the teleological perspective, a form of human behavior is described as moral or non-moral according to the goals explicitly set. The mere achievement of these goals is a necessary and sufficient condition to qualify as moral people’s actions or deeds without taking into account the “intermediate stages” of the actions performed to achieve those goals. Deontology, as a general horizon of articulating the ethical theories, believes on the contrary that in every moment of our existence, every action or deed that we accomplish can be described as moral or non-moral according to the ethical principles underlying our behavior. The very important consequences arising from the two general theoretical horizons concern two different perspectives on “human nature”, or what we call the essence of the human being. Starting from this horizon we will have the consequentialist and deontological dimensions related to euthanasia. The bioethical dimension in which we will discuss the issue of euthanasia involves both dimensions or horizons. The arguments against euthanasia seem to rely rather on the Kantian deontological horizon, while euthanasia...

Words: 9099 - Pages: 37

Premium Essay

The Morality of Commercial Life

...lecture 1: Lindblom: What is this market system? A market system exists only when markets proliferate and link with each other in a particular way. A market system is a system of society-wide coordination of human activities not by central command but by mutual interactions in the form of transactions. Three kinds of markets are the most familiar: The labor markets, the agricultural markets, and markets for services and goods that industry provides to customers. Two less obvious kinds of markets are no less necessary for a market system. One is markets for intermediate services and goods produced for other producers. The other is market for capital. In market systems people do not go their own way; they are tied together and turned this way or that through market interactions. In our time it is a governed market system, heavily burdened or ornamented with what old-fashioned free marketers decry as ‘interferences’. Although buying and selling may be natural to human-kind, market systems are not. The market system that lies closest to our span of attention is the capitalist market system. In ostensibly democratic societies, market skeptics sometimes fear that the market system may bring an end to democracy. One of their fears is that big corporations already exercise powers inconsistent with democracy; and that multinational corporations overwhelm small nation-states. Despite the growing consensus in favor of the market system, it is of course possible that the millions...

Words: 5820 - Pages: 24

Premium Essay

Making It Possible

...Ethics, Moral Dilemmas, and Tough Decisions: The Many Challenges on Working on IT I. Introduction Information technology in combination with changes in organizational structures and methods of working has led to an increasing amount of information and also to totally new forms of information and in the creation of records. Much of the information previously produced on paper is now being produced in electronic form, for example as e-mail and in databases. The Dutch archive theoretician Eric Ketelaar [1999] has invented the word “archivalisation” to describe the phenomenon where more and more material is deemed to be worthy of documenting and archiving. This means that a considerably larger amount of information requires handling. Electronically generated and stored information is also exposed to change and manipulation in quite a different way to that involved with paper-bound information. The e-government services, where the whole idea is to exchange information electronically, will radically redirect paperbound information and documents towards electronically generated and managed information and documents. A 10-year period is a long time when dealing with the preservation of electronic records. This is of course due to the rapid technological development, and includes, for example, the problems associated with obsolete software and file formats. Goldstein [2004]0 stresses the need for a quick solution to the problem of archiving electronic information for the future...

Words: 5537 - Pages: 23

Premium Essay

Ethics: Debeer

...Unethical Values Within De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited is a South African-based mining and trading company, which controls the flow of diamonds in the United States marketplace (Aurora, 2008). De Beers distributes diamonds, ships them, and distributes them to significant intermediaries, wholesalers and retailers (Atkinson, 2000). 1. Unethical behaviour: Unfair trading and competition The first unethical conduct identified within the De Beers example is unfair trading and competition, particularly in the formation of cartels. Unfair competition is unethical in terms of the Teleological Framework, as it focuses on the negative result of the conduct of an individual or company as a juristic person, which forms the basis of self-interest (ethical egoism), thereby going against the rights of others (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009). This section will briefly explain the De Beers example of this form of unethical conduct, and look at ways in which De Beers could redeem their reputation. We will begin with the definition of a cartel. A cartel is a group of people, organisations, or companies that cooperate together to control production, marketing, and pricing of a product (Smith, 2003). Cartels are an example of unethical conduct and are thus explicitly illegal under antitrust laws in many countries of the world, as they eliminate fair market competition. A cartel’s biggest effect is driving the price of a commodity up and well beyond what is...

Words: 3858 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Student

...sense of power advocated more severe punishments for transgressors than did those with a diminished sense of power. Further, moral clarity mediated the link between power and severity of punishment. We discuss the implications of these findings for managers in organizations and researchers interested in punitive reactions to moral transgressions. Ethical standards of professional conduct often are implicit or tacitly held (Flynn & Wiltermuth, 2010; Haidt, 2001; Turiel, 2002), making it difficult for members of organizations to know which types of behavior are permissible and which are not (Treviño, 1986). Although many employees can and do seek guidance on moral matters from colleagues (Treviño, 1990), the advice they receive often varies according to whom they ask. Coworkers can send mixed signals about what constitutes morally appropriate behavior. Indeed, the viewpoints expressed by top management frequently differ from those expressed by immediate supervisors, close peers, or even an organization’s formal code of conduct (Jones & Ryan, 1997; Tenbrunsel, Smith-Crowe, & Umphress, 2003). Given this ambiguity surrounding ethical standards in the workplace, it may seem prudent for managers to refrain from punishing others harshly for their moral transgressions. When managers are...

Words: 14855 - Pages: 60

Premium Essay

Social Contracts and Marketing Ethics

...helpful comments on earlier versions of this article. Funding by the Carol and Lawrence Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research and the Georgetown University School of Business summer research fund is gratefully acknowledged. Abstract This paper describes the need and the search to date for a normative moral foundation for marketing. Social contract theory appears promising because of its clear correspondence to the exchange relationships central to marketing thought and practice. It is introduced in a specific formulation known as Integrative Social Contracts Theory. ISCT provides a coherent framework for resolving ethical issues arising between different communities and is therefore particularly appropriate because marketers frequently engage in boundary-spanning relationships and crosscultural activities. The application of ISCT to ethical decision making in marketing is explored through the use of bribery as a major illustrative...

Words: 18024 - Pages: 73

Premium Essay

Kam Vi

...Knowledge Area Module VI Contemporary Issues and the Ethical Delivery of Health Services Student: Harold Taitt, harold.taitt@waldenu.edu Student ID # A00293212 Program: Ph.D. Health Services Specialization: Health Management and Policy Faculty Mentor: Dr. Robert Hoye, robert.hoye@waldenu.edu Faculty Assessor: Dr. Jim Goes, jim.goes@waldenu.edu Walden University May 10, 2013 Abstract Breadth Component In this age of rapidly evolving technological advances, many of the legal and ethical issues that are challenging the delivery of health care and the health care profession are new. As we confront the legal, moral, and ethical aspects of health care, we are seldom faced with decisions that require or are resolved by simple right or wrong answers (Edge & Kreiger, 1998). In the Breadth component of KAM VI, I focus on several ethical theories and how those theories influence the way ethical issues and concerns are addressed and managed in the allocation and delivery of health care services. I critically assess and evaluate those theories, concepts, and derivative principles as they impact important decisions and the implications of those decisions within the context of social change and with special emphasis on health care management and policy. In addition, I discuss the key assumptions on which the selected theories are constructed, compare and contrast the writers’ interpretations across theories, and conclude by providing a critical commentary on the merits of the selected...

Words: 34918 - Pages: 140

Premium Essay

Ethics

...philosophy) involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject areas: metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. Metaethics investigates where our ethical principles come from, and what they mean. Are they merely social inventions? Do they involve more than expressions of our individual emotions? Metaethical answers to these questions focus on the issues of universal truths, the will of God, the role of reason in ethical judgments, and the meaning of ethical terms themselves. Normative ethics takes on a more practical task, which is to arrive at moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct. This may involve articulating the good habits that we should acquire, the duties that we should follow, or the consequences of our behavior on others. Finally, applied ethics involves examining specific controversial issues, such as abortion, infanticide, animal rights, environmental concerns, homosexuality, capital punishment, or nuclear war. By using the conceptual tools of metaethics and normative ethics, discussions in applied ethics try to resolve these controversial issues. The lines of distinction between metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics are often blurry. For example, the issue of abortion is an applied ethical topic since it involves a specific type of controversial behavior. But it also depends on more general normative principles, such as...

Words: 6480 - Pages: 26

Premium Essay

De Beers

...De Beers' Multifaceted Strategy Shift Faced with such challenges as new sources of competition and suspicion about conflict diamonds, Gareth Penny had to rethink the basics A diamond may be forever, as De Beers' famous advertising slogan contends, but is the same true of a business model? That was the question facing Gareth Penny, managing director of De Beers, in the late 19'90s, when the famed diamond cartel found itself beset by a series of events that ultimately forced it to examine and then retool its business strategy. Since the company was founded in 1888, De Beers followed a strategy of supply control. In addition to mining its own diamonds, it bought diamonds from other producers and had what it called the "central selling organization," controlling some 90% of the world's diamonds. Its tight control over such a vast amount of supply enabled De Beers to keep prices high for a commodity that is neither particularly scarce nor useful. If a competitor offered diamonds on the market outside of De Beers' central selling organization, De Beers would simply flood the market with similar stones, thus eliminating any pricing power the competitor might offer. By the end of the 1990s, the business model of controlling supply and managing how much of its inventory went to market at any time was no longer effective: New sources of diamonds were discovered in sufficient quantity that they could be sold competitively outside of De Beers' central selling organization. Demand for...

Words: 5529 - Pages: 23

Premium Essay

Ethics Mgmt

...should be used to define and then defend recommendations made in the final Recommendations step. Guidelines for Analyzing Cases Problem and Issue Identification 1. What are the central facts of the case? What assumptions are you making about these facts? 2. What is the major overriding issue in the case? What major question or issues does this case address that merits study at this point in the course? 3. What sub-issues or related issues are present in the case that merit consideration now? Analysis and Evaluation 1. Who are the stakeholders in the case and what are their stakes? What challenges, threats or opportunities are posed by these stakeholders? 2. What economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities does the company have, and what is the nature and extent of these responsibilities? 3. If the case involves company actions, evaluate what the company did or did not do in handling the issue affecting it. Recommendations 1. What recommendations do you have for this case? If a company's strategies or actions are involved, should the company have acted as it did? What action should the company take now? Why?...

Words: 7801 - Pages: 32

Premium Essay

Syllabus of Mba 3rd Trim(Gitam, Hbs)

...management and their application in industry. UNIT I: Strategic Management-Basic process of strategic management; Benefits and limitations of strategic management; Goals and objectives, Business Vision, Mission and Objectives. UNIT II: Environment and Resources Analysis: Environmental Analysis, Industry and Competitive Analysis, the External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix, Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM), Internal Analysis; Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) Matrix, Porter’s Five Forces Model, SWOT Analysis and VRIO framework. UNIT III: Strategy Formulation: Porters Value chain - Generic competitive strategies - Portfolio Analysis and its limitation - BCG matrix and GE matrix - Building competitive - advantage for a firm - Strategy versus tactics and making a Strategic Choice - ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’. UNIT IV: Strategy Implementation and Control: Corporate Strategy - Business Strategy - Functional Strategy and Global Strategy - Issues in Strategy Implementation and Balanced Score Card. UNIT V: Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility in Strategic Management. Caselet (Not Exceeding 200 Words) Activity:...

Words: 2945 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Master

...Chapter 1 Ethical Reasoning: Implications for Accounting Ethics Reflection PENN STATE CHILD ABUSE SCANDAL: A CULTURE OF INDIFFERENCE What motivates an otherwise ethical person to do the wrong thing when faced with an ethical dilemma? Why did Joe Paterno and administrators at Penn State University look the other way and fail to act on irrefutable evidence that former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky had raped and molested young boys, an offense for which Sandusky currently is serving a 30- to 60-year sentence? According to the independent report by Louis Freeh that investigated the sexual abuse, four of the most powerful people at Penn State, including president Graham Spanier, athletic director Timothy Curley, senior vice president Gary Schultz, and head football coach Joe Paterno, sheltered a child predator harming children for over a decade by concealing Sandusky’s activities from the board of trustees, the university community, and authorities. The Freeh report characterizes the inactions as lacking empathy for the victims by failing to inquire as to their safety and wellbeing. Not only that, but they exposed the first abused child to additional harm by alerting Sandusky, who was the only one who knew the child’s identity, of what assistant coach Mike McQueary saw in the shower on the night of February  9, 2001.1 McQueary testified at the June  2012 trial of Sandusky that when he was a graduate assistant, he walked into the locker room and heard sounds of slapping...

Words: 31231 - Pages: 125

Free Essay

Khanh

...The ethical dimension of human resource management Human Resource Management Journal London 2000 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Authors: Diana Winstanley Authors: Jean Woodall Volume: 10 Issue: 2 Pagination: 5-20 ISSN: 09545395 Subject Terms: Studies Human resource management Business ethics Classification Codes: 9175: Western Europe 9140: Statistical data 6100: Human resource planning 2400: Public relations Geographic Names: United Kingdom UK Abstract: The relative absence of debate about ethical issues within the area of human resource management is addressed. IT is argued that ethics is not about taking statements of morality at face value; it is a critical and challenging tool. The discussion starts with what should be familiar terrain: ethical arguments that uphold a managerialist position, such as ethical individualism, utilitarianism, and "Rawlsian" justice. Other theories are then introduced that broaden the field of ethical concern in an endeavor to be more socially inclusive: stakeholding and discourse theory. Copyright Eclipse Group Ltd. 2000 Full Text: Until very recently the field of business...

Words: 9380 - Pages: 38

Premium Essay

Business Research

...Business Research Methods Cooper 12th Edition Solutions Manual Click here to download the solutions manual INSTANTLY!!! http://www.solutionsmanualtestbank.com/products/2014/10/2 6/business-research-methods-cooper-12th-edition-solutionsmanual Business Research Methods Cooper 12th Edition Solutions Manual Business Research Methods Cooper Schindler 12th Edition Solutions Manual ***THIS IS NOT THE ACTUAL TEXTBOOK. YOU ARE PURCHASING the Solution Manual in e-version of the following textbook*** Name: Business Research Methods Author: Cooper Schindler Edition: 12th ISBN-10: 0073521507 Type: Solutions Manual - The file contains solutions and questions to all chapters and all questions. All the files are carefully checked and accuracy is ensured. - The file is either in .doc, .pdf, excel, or zipped in the package and can easily be read on PCs and Macs. - Delivery is INSTANT. You can download the files IMMEDIATELY once payment is done. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Our response is the fastest. All questions will always be answered in 6 hours. This is the quality of service we are providing and we hope to be your helper. Delivery is in the next moment. Solution Manual is accurate. Buy now below and the DOWNLOAD LINK WILL APPEAR IMMEDIATELY once payment is done! Prepare to receive your Business Research Methods Solution Manual in the next moment. -------------------------------------Business Research Methods Solution Manual Business Research Methods 12th...

Words: 8218 - Pages: 33