The key ethical utilitarian ethical problem for the supplier/transistor company in this case is the position of hindering medical advancement and possibly ending more lives due to fear caused from the lives lost to that point with the pacemakers. The supplier had to decide whether it would be for the greater good to continue to supply the transistors.
“Create all the happiness you are able to create; remove all the misery you are able to remove. Every day will allow you, --will invite you to add something to the pleasure of others, --or to diminish something of their pains. And for every grain of enjoyment you sow in the bosom of another, you shall find a harvest in your own bosom, --while every sorrow which you pluck out from the thoughts and feelings of a fellow creature shall be replaced by beautiful flowers of peace and joy in the sanctuary of your soul.” Advise to a young girl, June 22, 1830. According to Kerby Anderson, Jeremy Bentham developed his ethical system around the idea of pleasure. He built it on ancient hedonism which pursued physical pleasure and avoided physical pain. According to Bentham, the most moral acts are those which maximize pleasure and minimize pain. This has sometimes been called the "utilitarian calculus." An act would be moral if it brings the greatest amount of pleasure and the least amount of pain. So I believe Jeremy’s advice to the supplier would be to continue supplying the transistors.
To answer the questions “Will this produce the best outcomes for everyone affected?” or “Are we maximizing good and minimizing harm for everyone affected?” We would have to ask the questions, Will continuing to supply parts for the pacemakers be the best option for the most people in the long run? Would we be doing more harm than good if we were to discontinue supplying for the pacemakers? Will more people suffer if the supplies for the pacemakers were discontinued or would the loss of a few lives to save others in the end be worth continuing to supply for pacemakers?
Utility is a valid reason to decide right and wrong because it is considering everyone, not just a specific group. The right act is simply the act that produces the greatest balance of pleasure over suffering. In this case, anyone who may need a pacemaker, as well as families and friends of the person in need would benefit from the person receiving the equipment to assist in saving their lives, which is the right act. Of course, no one wants a single life lost while improving the pacemakers, but to discontinue them all together would have done more harm for a greater amount of lives than the few unfortunate lives lost while improving the product.
The alternatives to supplying the pacemaker parts would be to ask that more research be conducted and alternative parts be experimented with before continuing with the pacemakers. All humans in general would be affected because this product benefits everyone in need. Another alternative would be to simply not supply the pacemaker products any longer and to cease with pacemakers as a medical option to those who did not have fully functioning hearts.
The benefits of conducting more research for the pacemaker usage is that the loss of lives due to malfunctions with the pacemakers would be reduced and pacemaker’s equipment would continue to be supplied. The cost to the group would be the risk that the supplier is taking by continuing to supply the equipment for the pacemakers. What if after extensive research has been conducted, more lives are loss? What if the supplier inadvertently losses everything trying to maximize the most good for the most people? The short-term consequence is that there is pressure on the supplier to continue supplying and a decision had to be made immediately. The long-term consequence is that research would have to be continuous with constant monitoring and improvement.
The action that produces the greatest benefits over costs for all affected was to continue to supply the pacemaker equipment with the stipulations of more research. This way, lives can continue being saved with the pacemakers and the glitches that were occurring can continue to be improved.
If the policy for a company was to first, discuss and weigh the options to see what course of action would have the best benefits for the greatest amount of people that would be an excellent policy. With any choice in life, especially business, not all are going to be pleased. If a
Anderson, K. (2013). Utilitarianism: The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number http://www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4224805/
Consider Ethics Theory, Reading, and Contemporary Issues http://wps.ablongman.com/long_waller_ce_1/24/6335/1621815.cw/index.html
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