Premium Essay

When Might One Approach to Ethics Be More Appropriate Than Another

In:

Submitted By mlguerrier
Words 410
Pages 2
When might one approach to ethics be more appropriate than another?

Ethics is learned at an early age and stays with one throughout one's life. It is because each one of us is part of the society and the foundation for a civilized society should be strong and rational. Ethics are about how we meet the challenge of doing the right thing when it will cost us more than we want to pay. Morals describe our beliefs, customs and traditions that are reflected in our personal convictions about right and wrong. Values are our core beliefs or desires that guide or motivate our attitudes and actions. They also define the things we value and prize the most, and, therefore, provide the basis for ranking the things we want in a way that elevates some values over others.
The approach to ethics can be defined in three different ways 1. Ethics as virtue 2. Ethics as consequence 3. Ethics as principle. In ethics as a virtue the characteristics includes being honest, showing integrity, promise-keeping, loyalty, fairness and ration. Virtue ethics necessarily does not deal with the rightness or wrongness of individual actions, but it provides guidance as to the sort of characteristics and behaviors a good person will seek to achieve. It looks at the virtue or moral character of the person carrying out an action, rather than at ethical duties and rules, or the consequences of particular actions. Ethics as a consequence says that right or wrong depend on the consequences of an act, and that the more good consequences are produced, the better the act. A consequence based approach to ethics gives priority to the value we attach to the results of actions. It emphasizes that the effects of our actions on us and others tend to play a prevailing role in ethical decision-making. It claims that we should assess the probable good and bad effects of the different options open to us in a

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Ethics and Social Responsibility

...WEEK 1 DQ # 1- One of your friends uses the terms ethics and morality interchangeably. You do not think this is correct. How would you explain the difference between ethics and morality? Provide an example of morality and one of ethics in your explanation. DQ # 2- Select two major ethical theories covered in your readings for Week One. What are the major differences between these two theories? Which one of these theories is most aligned to your personal beliefs? Explain. DQ # 3- What are examples of virtues, values, and moral concepts?  How does each of these relate to one another?  In what ways are they separate and in what ways are they connected? DQ # 4- In Ch. 6 of Basic Ethics, the author discusses the relationship of religion as it relates to morality and ethics.  Using your own personal experiences as a resource, what, if any, relationship exists between religion, morality, and ethics?  Explain your answer. Assignment (Individual)- Ethics Essay WEEK 2 DQ # 1- What are potential results if members of a community accept their community’s benefits, such as emergency services or school systems, but decline to contribute to the community beyond paying taxes? Explain.       DQ # 2- Provide an example of a socially responsible effort within your community. In what ways does this influence the community? How do these efforts affect the individuals within the community. DQ # 3- Consider the community in which you live.  What is your responsibility within your own community...

Words: 989 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Ethic

...Consequentialism is general approach to ethical dilemmas which inquire about the consequences to relevant people of making a particular decision. So basically consequentialism word itself suggests that it is an ethical approach which “depends on the consequences”. This view is also sometimes referred to as teleology (from the Greek word telos which means goal). Ethics is a branch of Philosophy that examines ethical concepts and issues. It inquiries into such things as goodness, right action, and moral responsibility. It answers the question, “What do I do?" It is the study of right and wrong in human endeavours. At a more fundamental level, it is the method by which we categorize our values and pursue them. Do we pursue our own happiness, or do we sacrifice ourselves to a greater cause? A proper foundation of ethics requires a standard of value to which all goals and actions can be compared to. Consequentialism, as its name suggests, is the view that normative properties depend only on consequences. This general approach can be applied at different levels to different normative properties of different kinds of things, but the most prominent example is consequentialism about the moral rightness of acts, which holds that whether an act is morally right depends only on the consequences of that act or of something related to that act, such as the motive behind the act or a general rule requiring acts of the same kind. Two people who figure large in any discussion of ethics are Jeremy Bentham...

Words: 1370 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Ethical Decision Paper

...are, by their very nature, not easy to resolve. As such, it is important to have a process or outline with which to structure and guide one’s thoughts and decisions about such dilemmas. Having such a process helps the decision maker, in this case, a counselor, put a little emotional distance between himself or herself and the problem at hand. Writing it all out would also be beneficial for two reasons. Frist this would allow the counselor to tactilely and concretely see the options of action he or she might take. Second, such documentation would be beneficial in its inclusion into the clients file, should such documentation prove needful in the event of a lawsuit should something go amiss. Using such a process shows that the counselor put real thought into the problem and considered all options and consequences and chose to the best of his or her ability the course of action that would do the least amount of damage to the client. The Process of Ethical Decision Making One of the purposes of this class was to equip new and soon-to-be counselors with the knowledge and skills needed to make to think through ethical problems and arrive at a solution that will be in the best interest of one’s client. To show the process of ethical decision making I will work through a fictitious, but plausible dilemma. A private practice, professional counselor, Angie, has been seeing a patient, Brook for the previous 6 months. Brook, an alcoholic, has been incapable of achieving and maintaining...

Words: 2393 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Ethics

...personal moral norms. International engagement involves working within other societies where you are likely to be faced with different norms. Deciding when it is appropriate to act under one norm or another requires careful consideration. An example of a moral norm may be: “it is wrong to physically harm a child, and those who do so should be punished.” An ethical dilemma in your international engagement may arise when your moral norms differ from those of a society regarding: ▪ Treatment of/value in women and other gender/sex issues ▪ Treatment of/value in children and the elderly ▪ The environment, waste, and consumption ▪ Business practices, loyalty, contractual agreements, and work ethic ▪ Treatment of/value in animals ▪ Privacy and community ▪ Religion, religious dogma and tradition Ethical pluralism is also known as “value” or “moral” pluralism. It is related but not identical to the concepts of moral relativism (there exist many moral theories and there is no objective standard by which they may be judged) and cultural relativism (that norms, values, and practices may be understood as sensible within their respective cultural contexts). Relevance to ISL: Sustainability Ethical pluralism suggests your actions may be in opposition to local norms, or you might be expected to act in opposition to your own norms. Either one of these conflicts may make your work unsustainable. Example: You may be working on an project involving sexual education for youth. This may be...

Words: 5904 - Pages: 24

Premium Essay

Ethics

...Conflict in Ethics and Research Practical ethics studies sometimes confuse sight of what conventional ethics needs to achieve: “a good life for good people over a lifetime in society with others”. Ethical assimilation is essential for all institutes. This is predominantly correct for health care, where there is a fundamental defeat amongst health care providers. "Business and health care do not mix," it is said. (Epic, 1999-2011) When care is delivered and financed by a corporation, and established by business employees (and their families) as a substantial part of benefit, this proposal is unsustainable. This uncovers an un-integrated methodology to health care ethics. The shocking Tuskegee project for example, conceded for more than 40 years from 1932 - 1972. In Tuskegee Alabama, black men were dying of syphilis as physicians examined the development of the disease so it could be studied. It took until 1972 when a leak to the press lead to the termination of the project. In the early 1940s the establishment of the drug penicillin proved to be a successful cure for syphilis. However, the experiment prolonged; even in 1947 when penicillin had become the typical treatment for syphilis. The actions taken at Tuskegee are of importance even today because of the many advances made in medical science. In 1973 an ethics committee panel found that the men had agreed willingly to be observed and treated. However, there was no verification that researchers had given informed consent...

Words: 1152 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Philosophy

...Assignment 1: Application of the Normative Ethical Theories * 15% of your final mark * Length: 1000 ±100 words * Submit after completing Units 1 & 2 (approximately 5 weeks into the course, according to the recommended schedule). 1. Choose ONE of the cases that appear in Units 1 & 2 of the Philosophy 333 Study Guide except Case 2. 1. However, please refer to the discussion regarding Case 2.1 in Unit 2, under the heading “Applying Normative Theories to a Moral Situation”, as an example of how to apply moral theories to a case. 2. Clearly state a professional ethics issue that pertains to the case. It is recommended that you state your issue in question form. 3. Choose TWO out of the five moral theories studied in Unit 2, but only one version of Utilitarian theory at most (e.g. not both Act and Rule Utilitarianism). 4. In essay-form[1], and in one document, apply each of the two theories to the case, focusing on your stated issue, by doing the following: a. For each theory, provide an explanation of the theories basic approach to moral evaluation and decision making. b. Ethically analyze your stated issue using each of the two theories. The idea here is to adopt the strategy of each of the theories to present what you think is a reasonable and balanced ethical analysis of your issue. In doing so, your aims are (i) to show that you understand how the theories work and (ii) to show that you can use them to express the ethical reasoning...

Words: 10819 - Pages: 44

Premium Essay

Business and Stakeholders Analysis

...BUSINESS ETHICS AND STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS Kenneth E. Goodpaster Abstract: Much has been written about stakeholder analysis as a process by which to introduce ethical values into management decision-making. This paper takes a critical look at the assumptions behind this idea, in an effort to understand better the meaning of ethica] management decisions. A distinction is made between stakeholder analysis and stakeholder synthesis. The two most natural kinds of stakeholder synthesis are then defined and discussed: strategic and multi-fiduciary. Paradoxically, the former appears to yield business without ethics and the latter appears to yield ethics without business. The paper concludes by suggesting that a third approach to stakeholder thinking needs to be developed, one that avoids the paradox just men* tioned and that clarifies for managers (and directors) the legitimate role of ethical considerations in decision-making. So we must think through what management should be accountable for; and how and through whom its accountability can be discharged. The stockholders' interest, both short- and long-term, is one of the areas. But it is only one. Peter Dnicker, 1988 Harvard Business Review W HAT is ethically responsible management? How can a corporation, given its economic mission, be managed with appropriate attention to ethical concerns? These are central questions in the field of business ethics. One approach to answering such questions that has become popular during...

Words: 7650 - Pages: 31

Premium Essay

Ethics in Nursing

...Ethics in Nursing Practice, Values and Decision Making Name Name of College Abstract Nurses work with a wide range of patients, and each patient presents their own economic, social and cultural differences. While nurses work to provide care for the sick, injured and dying, they are always working within the boundaries of their professional codes of ethics. The nursing code of ethics is more than laws and common etiquette, and upholding the code of ethics is understood and agreed upon by people in the nursing profession. The two kinds of ethical theories discussed most in nursing are consequentialist and nonconsequentialist theories. By examining these two theories, nurses are able to evaluate the principle of confidentiality and how to apply the principle within reasonable limits. Further understanding of these normative theories gives nurses the abilities to evaluate conflict avoidance and resolution. As nurses further navigate the world of ethics, they discover how the code of ethics is influenced by a person’s culture, and they acquire a solid foundation for current ethical decision-making models used in their industry. Ethics in Nursing Practice, Values and Decision Making Nurses who take care of patients are encouraged to do so with a certain level of politeness. Other than being polite, nurses are required to be skilled, and they must follow the laws which govern them in their field of practice. Between all of the skills, politeness and laws...

Words: 3298 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

How Personal Can Ethics Get?

...HOW PERSONAL CAN ETHICS GET? RICK LYMAN STEWART W. EDWARDS, PhD LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR – BUS 520 10/22/11 Ethics are generally formed from culture, behaviors, backgrounds, religions, and policies. Ethical behaviors are generally derived from experience and common sense. It is been argued that Ethics are not considered as benchmarks, however, groups of individuals constitute the power of firms and bad ethics will be driven out by the majority of opinion. Obviously issues that have ethical overtones are presented to everyone, and they make decisions on those issues. Are those ethical decisions? We try to imagine that only the 'right' choice is an ethical decision. But often all options may appear to be somewhat ethical. An ethical decision then is made when one fairly assesses the outcome on all those involved, even those barely involved. Considerations like legality and morality may have to be taken into account, but ethics is not about laws or morality if laws and morality harm rather than help. An ethical decision may ignore national boundaries and seek to help people on either side of them equally. This may not be legal, even though it is moral. An ethical decision might be to allow a polygamous family, for example, to go on living together in love and peace even though by most standards of morality and law this may be illegal and immoral because the ethical person will look at the good or harm that will come to the people involved. An ethical...

Words: 1949 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Managing Ethics in the Workplace

...Managing Ethics in the Workplace Trinidad,Loudine T. BSE-4C Marketing Prof. Rose Marie Ramos Managing Ethics in the Workplace Managing workplace ethics promotes shared values that result in better cohesion of the workforce, and play a crucial role in the success of any organization Workplace ethics are the application of morality, or concepts such as good and bad, right and wrong, justice and virtue to all activities of the business. It closely relates to corporate social responsibility, but is much wider in scope. The scope of business ethics lies in two dimensions: 1. Workplace behavior ethics, or the illegal and questionable practices of individual managers, such as wrongful use of resources, mismanagement of contracts and agreements for personal gain, conflict of interests, and the like. 2. Business ethics issues, such as ethical dilemmas when making decisions, dealing with stakeholders, and the like. The primary requirement for managing ethics in the workplace is an understanding that workplace ethics is a continuous and on-going process ingrained to management practices, and not a deliverable defined project. It influences the way the organization functions, and remains independent of profits or product range. • Ethics Policy Irrespective of the dimension of business ethics, the basic requirement for managing ethics in the workplace is to have a strong ethics policy in place that makes the company’s ethics policy transparent...

Words: 4295 - Pages: 18

Premium Essay

Engineering

...ENGINEERING ETHICS Concepts and Cases This page intentionally left blank F O U R T H ENGINEERING ETHICS Concepts and Cases g E D I T I O N CHARLES E. HARRIS Texas A&M University MICHAEL S. PRITCHARD Western Michigan University MICHAEL J. RABINS Texas A&M University Australia • Brazil • Japan • Korea • Mexico • Singapore • Spain • United Kingdom • United States Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases, Fourth Edition Charles E. Harris, Michael S. Pritchard, and Michael J. Rabins Acquisitions Editor: Worth Hawes Assistant Editor: Sarah Perkins Editorial Assistant: Daniel Vivacqua Technology Project Manager: Diane Akerman Marketing Manager: Christina Shea Marketing Assistant: Mary Anne Payumo Marketing Communications Manager: Tami Strang Project Manager, Editorial Production: Matt Ballantyne Creative Director: Rob Hugel Art Director: Cate Barr Print Buyer: Paula Vang Permissions Editor: Mardell Glinski-Schultz Production Service: Aaron Downey, Matrix Productions Inc. Copy Editor: Dan Hays Cover Designer: RHDG/Tim Heraldo Cover Image: SuperStock/Henry Beeker Compositor: International Typesetting and Composition  c 2009, 2005 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced, transmitted, stored, or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, scanning, digitizing, taping, Web distribution,...

Words: 48169 - Pages: 193

Premium Essay

Ethics

...ETHICS Introduction The behaviour of the practicing management accountant is prescribed and regulated by the management accountant's personal code of ethics, the code of ethics of the employer, societal norms, and the law. In addition members of the Society are regulated by the Society's code of ethics. As more organizations adopt codes of ethics, management accountants will increasingly be asked to design systems to control, evaluate, interpret or apply ethical judgement. The following develops the basis for forming ethical judgements. The management accountant fulfils four broad roles concerning ethics: 1. to ensure that management has developed and installed a comprehensive and internally controlled code of ethics. 2. to verify that the code of ethics and its controls are comprehensive and that everyone in the organization understands and complies with it. 3. to report to management any deviation from the code of ethics and its control systems. The Board of Directors may ultimately have to address any failures in the code or its controls. 4. to act in accordance with the code of ethics in making personal decisions. What are Ethics and Morals? Ethics are the rules people use to define and regulate moral behaviour. Morals distinguish right from wrong. Descriptive ethics are codes of ethics as actually practiced. Descriptive ethics provide no value judgements. Normative ethics, or moral reasoning, develops statements about whether a practiced ethical system is good or bad...

Words: 6340 - Pages: 26

Premium Essay

Phil 235 Lesson 3 Notes

...Lesson 3 – Informed Consent, Substitute Decision-Making, and the Family Centered Approach * It should be noted that a choice might properly require only low/ minimal competence, even though its expected risks exceed its expected benefits or it is more generally a high-risk treatment, because all other available alternatives have substantially worse risk/benefit ratios. * Thus, according to the concept of competence endorsed here, a particular individual’s decision-making capacity at a given time may be sufficient for making a decision to refuse a diagnostic procedure when forgoing the procedure does not carry a significant risk, although it would not necessarily be sufficient for refusing a surgical procedure that would correct a life-threatening condition * The greater the risk relative to other alternatives—where risk is a function of the severity of the expected harm and the probability of its occurrence—the greater the level of communication, understanding, and reasoning skills required for competence to make that decision. * It is not always true, however, that if a person is competent to make one decision, then he or she is competent to make another decision so long as it involves equal risk. * Even if the risk is the same, one decision may be more complex, and hence require a higher level of capacity for understanding options and reasoning about consequences. * The evaluation of the patient’s decision-making will seek to assess how well...

Words: 3335 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Branding

...OVERVIEW Qualitative Research Methods: A Data Collector’s Field Guide Module 1 Qualitative Research Methods Overview F A M I L Y H E A L T H I N T E R N A T I O N A L Qualitative Research Methods Overview OVERVIEW T • • • • • • his module introduces the fundamental elements of a qualitative approach to research, to help you understand and become proficient in the qualitative methods discussed in subsequent modules. We recommend that you consult the suggested readings at the end of the module for more in-depth treatment of the foundations of qualitative research. This module covers the following topics: Introduction to Qualitative Research Comparing Qualitative and Quantitative Research Sampling in Qualitative Research Recruitment in Qualitative Research Ethical Guidelines in Qualitative Research Suggested Readings Introduction to Qualitative Research What is qualitative research? Qualitative research is a type of scientific research. In general terms, scientific research consists of an investigation that: • • • • • seeks answers to a question systematically uses a predefined set of procedures to answer the question collects evidence produces findings that were not determined in advance produces findings that are applicable beyond the immediate boundaries of the study Qualitative research shares these characteristics. Additionally, it seeks to understand a given research problem or topic from the perspectives of the local population it involves...

Words: 5199 - Pages: 21

Free Essay

Dysphagia Management for School Children: Dealing with Ethical Dilemmas

...she receives her nutrition, hydration and medications. One morning Hillary’s home-room teacher approached the speech-language pathologist with a note written on a prescription paper ‘ordering’ oral feeding for Hillary while she is at school. The speech-language pathologist, John, is very concerned. He feels that it would be against professional standard to allow Hillary to eat orally. John feels that Hillary’s mother and physician do not have the student’s best interest at heart. Dysphagia Intervention in Schools As more students with chronic conditions receive their care in a traditional school setting, the speechlanguage pathologist is required to have a medical knowledge base for pediatric communication and swallowing disorders. Dysphagia intervention is becoming a more prominent component of the caseloads of speech-language pathologists who practice in the school setting. While this can be a rewarding challenge, scenarios in which clinicians find themselves can also have a more acute feel when managing a feeding tube and/or risk for aspiration. The “team” of school professionals extends to include pediatricians and pediatric neurologists as well as child psychiatrists and psychologists. Often, when clinicians perceive moral angst, they search for “the right” answer. A case-based approach in ethics illustrates that more often than not a single “right” answer does not exist. Clinical ethics is a discipline of bioethics...

Words: 2116 - Pages: 9