...Normative Decision Theory As a manager for a smaller video game development company we are currently deciding if we should go to a telecommuting policy, and increasing employee input in the decision policy. The main reason that we are thinking about drafting a telecommuting policy is to combat the increased prices of gasoline and longer commute times. We realize that if we did implement a telecommuting policy it would also be more efficient to give our workers more say and input in development so that way everyone is one the same page. Management believes that using the normative decision theory especially implementing the tree theory of it would be best in helping us come to a decision. The use of the tree theory asks eight questions, some of which may be skipped depending on how you answer, to figure out the level of participation in decision making. After putting our company thru the tree theory we have determined we have: high quality requirements, high commitment requirements, no need for real leadership, well stated problem, low commitment probability, moderate goal congruence, and possible subordinate conflict. The main problem management has faced so far is that our company has a very unique circumstance in that we offer a unique product and are a smaller company which allows our employees more freedom. We have decided that going to telecommuting policy would be best for the company, anyway that we can help our employees to save money will hopefully get them to work...
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...KARON MILLER | | |PHILOSOPHY 333 | |ASSIGNMENT 1 | |APPILCATION OF NORMATIVE ETHICAL THEORIES | |CASE 2.3 | |Imagine that you are a physician and one of your patients is a four-year-old girl in severe renal failure. She is failing to thrive| |on dialysis and it has become evident that without a kidney transplant in the near future she will not survive. The chance of a | |successful transplant is roughly ninety percent if the kidney comes from a close relative whose tissue type is virtually identical | |to that of the recipient. A successful transplant is far less probable if the tissue match is less close, even if the kidney is | |from a near relative. And implanting a poorly matched kidney from a relative holds out no greater probability of success than the | |implantation of an equally poor match from a cadaver. The probability of getting a good tissue match from a cadaver is lower than | |getting one from within the family. You inform the child's family (her parents and two older siblings); all agree to undergo | ...
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...The professional ethics issue that arises from Case 1.2 is based on Dr. Smith’s actions, presenting the question: “Is it wrong to not report child abuse and essentially hide evidence of abuse by not documenting, to enable a child abuser to obtain counseling that they have not previously sought?” The two theories used to examine this question will be Rule Utilitarianism and Kantian Deontological ethics. Rule Utilitarianism The basis of Utilitarianism requires the complete maximization of happiness. This is a consequentialist theory that consists of the good, what goal is morally worth pursuing, and the right, or what is done with the good. Rule Utilitarianism focusses on types of actions which conforms to rules applied to the Greatest Happiness Principle, examining the long term consequences rather than immediate. When there is an act that follows this rule, it will produce as much overall happiness as any alternative rule. When examining the above moral using Rule Utilitarianism, we examine the overall happiness. In applying the greatest happiness principal, the long term consequences are examined. Dr. Smith is treating abusers who would have not sought assistance for fear of being reported. With treatment, both the abuser and the child’s happiness can be increased over the long term. Dr. Smith refuses to report child abuse to the authorities and does not include any mention of abuse in his documentation. Keeping the promise of not reporting, is a moral obligation and a...
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...Paper about Thucydides versus Plato on the nature of the Good Life 1: Thucydides versus Plato on the nature of the Good Life. Some have claimed that Thucydides is making empirical claims, whereas Plato is making normative claims. Is that true? Support your answer in your paper. Plato and Thucydides together had strikingly dissimilar views on their tactic on the good life. Many have demanded that Plato is making normative rights, whereas Thucydides has made empirical claims. Let's first take a look at Plato. Plato's philosophy on the decent life was based on the confidence that all has an objective or use that is classically suited for asset, beauty, fairness, and excellence of the exact thing, and all will depend on the conclusion of that role. He reflects the decent life as being reached and finished by the flawless love and lack of wish. Plato states that the good life is the disorder a person exhibits regarding entire virtue. Virtue inclines to come after the nonappearance of desires, or prospects, so true contentment means being satisfied to the opinion one doesn’t have needs. He’s persuaded that everyone has the control to be virtuous. He too believed the gentleman and citizens are the formation of the City; they are it’s slaves and it’s broods, and the separate has no right to assert separate rights against the Urban. In his circumstance, justice is putative as a compromise, and appreciated, not as good in itself, nonetheless for lack of control to do wrong; no...
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...defined as a body of systematized knowledge. Concerning what is; a normative science as a body of systematized knowledge relating to criteria of what ought to be and concerned with the ideal as distinguished from the actual’. * Positive science is concerned with what is, while normative science is concerned with what ought to be. * A positive science studies the existing facts but does not comment on whether the existing state is desirable; but a normative science comments on the desirability or otherwise of the observed facts in the context of the ideal or ‘norm’. * In positive science we only observe facts. We do not comment whether things are ethically or morally right. We do not pass any judgment regarding the rightness or wrongness of the thing. * We do not comment on what should be the level of income, prices, employment or how national income should be distributed etc. * In short we do not comment on what ought to be or what not ought to be. * In normative science it involves value judgments, that is, it is concerned with what should be the level of national income or wage rate; how national income should national income be distributed etc. * To sum up, we can say that while positive science is based on logic or scientific reasons , normative science is based on moral, ethical and philosophical beliefs of the people. * Positive science is descriptive in nature and normative science is descriptive in nature; one describes while the other...
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...These groups are usually secondary and can be identified in three different types. Compared to formal organizations a century ago, there has been much evolvement. There are many trends in the formal organizations today and many different characteristics. There are three types of formal organizations that need to be considered. The first type is the Utilitarian organization. This is the most common type. The majority of people in the world will choose to join one of these organizations in their lifetime. This is the organization one will join if an income in being made. Being a member of this type of organization has the purpose of making a living. The second type is the normative organization. This is an organization that someone joins to serve a purpose. According to Macionis (2005), “People join normative organizations not for income but to pursue some goal they think is morally worthwhile.” (p. 119). This type can also be known as a volunteer group. The final type of formal organization is the coercive organization. These are the groups that others are forced to join such as a prison or hospital. It is very important to realize that any formal organization can meet the characteristics of one or all of these types. Formal organizations have been around for many years. Over the past century there have been many changes in the formal organizations. Organizations in the past faced many challenges. They did not have the technology that is available today. Due to this, information...
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...Application of the Normative Ethical Theories on Case 1.2 Abstract In this paper two chosen moral theories are being applied and analyzed on the provided case where John Smith, M.D., is a psychiatrist with a private practice. He has been extremely successful in helping child-abusing parents with his effective therapies but systematically refuses to report child-abuse cases to the authorities. This confidentiality has resulted into more abusive parents who were afraid of being reported to authorities and has avoided taking their child to the physicians (1). The leading idea here is to analyze the case on the basis of two ethical theories; Rule Utilitarianism and Kantian Ethics. Also to analyze the decisions and actions that pertains to the case on the basis of professional ethics issue. This will also focus on the questions below: * Identify the moral issue in the case * Analyze the case based on both the ethical issues and explain the insights into how the case and issue should be dealt with * What precisely should be the conclusion Moral Issue in the Case In this case John Smith, M.D., is a psychiatrist with a private practice. He has been extremely successful in helping child-abusing parents with his effective therapies but systematically refuses to report child-abuse cases to the authorities. Dr. Smith believes that by rigorously protecting confidentiality, he is able to help precisely those people who are most likely to injure their children. (1). Is...
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...Does marketing contain a set of well-defined principles that can help managers to make better decisions? If so, are these principles communicated effectively? We assumed that the answer to the first question was ”yes,” and undertook a project to see how much progress has been made in developing marketing principles. Our goal was to develop an inventory of marketing principles and to see how this inventory changed over time. But in trying to develop this inventory, we were confronted by the second question, that is, the communication of knowledge. Thus, we sought to develop an inventory of the principles that are actually being communicated. As a working definition, we defined principles as normative statements that specify a condition followed by a suggested action. That is, marketing principles should provide operational guidelines, telling managers how to act in a given type of situation. An example of a principle is that the illustration in a print ad should be placed above the copy. Principles should help marketing managers to make better decisions because they incorporate marketing knowledge derived through previous research and experience. A well-developed set of principles can act as a basis for an expert system. For example, Burke et al. (1990) developed an expert system in advertising based heavily upon the principles presented in the advertising textbook by Rossiter and Percy (1987). Well-supported principles of marketing should be of interest to marketing practitioners...
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...Meta ethics, normative ethics, applied ethics 1 Running head: META ETHICS, NORMATIVE ETHICS, APPLIED ETHICS. Meta ethics, normative ethics, applied ethics Gina Padilla Crj 220 Ignacio V. Vila April 14, 2012 Meta ethics, normative ethics, applied ethics 2 Running head: Meta ethics, normative ethics, applied ethics. Meta ethics talks about the nature of ethics and moral reasoning. Discussions about whether ethics is relative and whether we always act from self-interest are examples of meta- ethical discussions. In fact, drawing the conceptual distinction between Meta ethics, Normative Ethics, and Applied Ethics is itself a "meta ethical analysis." Normative ethics is interested in determining the content of our moral behavior. Normative ethical theories seek to provide action-guides; procedures for answering the Practical Question ("What ought I to do?"). The moral theories of Kant and Bentham are examples of normative theories that seek to provide guidelines for determining a specific course of moral action. Think of the Categorical Imperative in the case of the former and the Principle of Utility in the case of the latter. Applied Ethics attempts to deal with specific realms of human action and to craft criteria for discussing issues that might arise within those realms. The contemporary field of Applied Ethics arouse in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Today, it is a thriving part of the field of ethics. Numerous books and web-sites are devoted...
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...ethics Branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of ultimate value and the standards by which human actions can be judged right or wrong. The term is also applied to any system or theory of moral values or principles. Ethics is traditionally subdivided into normative ethics, metaethics, and applied ethics. Normative ethics seeks to establish norms or standards of conduct; a crucial question in this field is whether actions are to be judged right or wrong based on their consequences or based on their conformity to some moral rule, such as “Do not tell a lie.” Theories that adopt the former basis of judgment are called consequentialist (see consequentialism); those that adopt the latter are known as deontological (see deontological ethics). Metaethics is concerned with the nature of ethical judgments and theories. Since the beginning of the 20th century, much work in metaethics has focused on the logical and semantic aspects of moral language. Some major metaethical theories are naturalism (see naturalistic fallacy), intuitionism, emotivism, and prescriptivism. Applied ethics, as the name implies, consists of the application of normative ethical theories to practical moral problems (e.g., abortion). Among the major fields of applied ethics are bioethics, business ethics, legal ethics, and medical ethics. 1. Clearly define the ethical problem. The ethical problem is if I should be honest and report this security breech. 2. Employ applicable laws and regulations. I would...
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...Non-Consequentialist Ethical Theories Initially, the non-consequentialist theories have their roots from the normative ethical theories. As such, “normative ethical theories are methodologies or systems to good thought and choice making. They are used as guidance by explaining both the past and the future” (Wku.edu, 2003, para. 1). From a future perspective, they show us the line path to follow when making choices. On the other, from a past viewpoint, they give criteria to the assessment of decisions or choices officially made. Additionally, every normative theory usually incorporates a particular philosophical support, worked out by its scholars, together with reactions of substitute methodologies for being somehow insufficient. From a non-consequentialist point of view, it is important to understand that the theory does not ignore or underestimate the impacts of a decision. For instance, if one looks at William Ross’ (a non-consequentialist) principles, one can see that some of the principles such as prima facie duties and non-injury are intended to maximize the good while minimize what is considered wrong: This is in contrast with other principles such as fidelity or justice. Likewise, from a deontological ethics approach, non-consequentialism alludes to a class of morals in which the standard of commitment is the premise of good choice making. Rather than Consequentialism, it doesn't consider the connection or result of the activity, yet the way one thinks when they settle...
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...To Treat or Not To Treat To treat or not to treat, that is the question? What would you do? How does the subject of cancer treatment apply to the moral theories of Egoism and Utilitarianism? Which theory best addresses this problem? I would assert Egoism best handles the dilemmas undressed by this ethical scenario. Egoism is a normative ethical theory that contends we act morally when in any given situation the right thing to do will be whatever maximally promotes long term self-interest. It does not describe how people behave; rather, it describes how people "ought" to behave. (Class notes February 23) This is a key element of all normative theories. Another key element of egoism lies in “long term”. Simply stated, an ethical egoist would typically not endorse running up credit card debt. While it might fulfill one's interests in the moment, it would undermine one's long term self-interest. James Rachels says it best; "Ethical egoism endorses selfishness, but it doesn't endorse foolishness.” Rachels also suggests each of us possess the ability to know what is in our own best interest, therefore to attempt to provide charity to another would directly disregard that ability. In essences, to give a man a fish would suggest they do not have the same ability you possess to acquire their own fish. Based on principles outlined by James Rachels and others, Thomas Hobbes may be viewed to be an ethical egoist, although he argued that if everyone follows their own long term...
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...INTRODUCTION In ethics, consequentialism is explain that an action should be judged right or wrong on the basis of their consequences. Consequentialism theory is also known teleological moral theories. Which teleological word is from Greek ” Telos”,means “end” and ” logos” means “science”. This theory of morality derives duty or moral obligation from what is good or desirable as an end to be achieved. 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. ( www. plato.stanford.edu) Consequentialist, have two major theories that is ethical egoism and utilitarianism. Both these theories agree that human beings ought to behave in ways that will bring about good consequences. They differ, however, in that they disagree on who should benefit from these consequences. The ethical egoist essentially says that human beings ought to act in the interest of all concerned. ( Jacques P. Thiroux , Keith W. Krasemann) The rough idea behind ethical egoism is that the right thing to do is to look out for own self-interest. That’s mean we are morally required only to make ourselves as happy as possible and have...
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...Virtue ethics is one out of three major parts of normative ethics. As the word ‘virtue’ describes the whole concept of virtue ethics i.e. it points to a set of character which leads to good behaviour. It portrays the behaviour of an individual not overall society. It includes the behaviour of a person towards others and is based on moral characters and virtues. Virtue ethics helps in encouraging people to adapt good behaviour in order to attain a good life. It is not based on duties or consequences unlike other two normative ethics. Virtue ethics indicate to help other because it is the kind thing to do. For example helping a old women to cross the road, is the kind thing to do but in helping her you are not getting any benefit it just a act of kindness. Virtue ethics add lots to morality as sometimes, there is necessity to think more than duty and consequences as a life exist between a person’s duty and consequences. Ethics of care often considered a part of virtue ethics. This theory also describes the character of individual and not of society as whole. It is based on the emotional relation i.e. friendship, care etc of an individual with other people. It gives significance to humanity and relationship with human. Family comes in the first step of care ethics. For example if a person mother is suffering from cancer in the last stage, and plead to award her death in order to free her from suffering and not be more burden on other family members. Ethics of caring is also...
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...Ethics Essay ETH 316 June 4, 2012 There are several ways to approach the level of normative ethics. Those most common are virtue ethics, deontological ethics, and utilitarianism. This paper intends to describe and compare the differences and similarities between the three. It will also take into account the relationship between virtue, values, and moral concepts and how they may relate to any of these theories. Utilitarianism, deontological ethics, and virtue ethics are all parts of normative ethics. Utilitarianism recognizes the consequences of ones actions. Deontology is an emphasis of ones duty or rules involved with their life. Virtue ethics is also known as agent-based or character ethics. This type of ethics focuses on virtue or moral character. When a person exercises virtue ethics, that person makes their own excellence via knowledge gained by experience. This type of ethics is a good example to others and promotes basis for a life that others appreciate (Boylan, 2009). Utilitarianism is when a person feels that an action or thought is morally correct. Any result of promoted by the thought or action produces more of a utility for the group promoting the thought or action (Boylan, 2009). Deontological ethics are those that judge morality of an action by way of following rules. This type of ethics determines right or wrong based on the rules they are given and the duty of following those rules. The person that believes deontological ethics is best for them will...
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