BUSN290
Professor Craig Johnson
Oct. 2, 2013
In chapter 1, I get to know five widely used ethical methods that are Utilitarianism, Kant’s Categorical Imperative, Rawls’s Justice as Fairness, Confucianism and Altruism. I choose Utilitarianism to compare with Confucianism.
Utilitarianism is what we should consider both short- and long-term consequences when we make some ethical choices. The goal of Utilitarianism is to expand profits as possible as they can. In other words, it is a way that trying to do the greatest good for the greatest number. Then, by depending on only on results, Utilitarianism seems to prove that the ends illustrate the process. Although in the modern society there are some certain principles in our mind, such as justice, honest, integrity---that should never be against.
Confucius, the Chinese philosopher, put forward the Confucianism. Confucianism especially emphasizes on the relationships. As the development of global economy, ethical relations will become more and more important. Humaneness or benevolence is the most important Confucian virtue. It tells us that we should treat others with love and take care of others through getting knowledge from the education and some other ways. Everyone can make mistakes in their whole lives, so we should have a heart of tolerating others. However, Confucians always think that profit should be never occupied in the first place.
Every two things have something in common without the exception between Utilitarianism and Confucianism. Both of them are opposed to ethnocentrism which it uses its’ own standard of culture to judge another culture. These two ethics approaches are relevant for modern business and organizational ethics. In addition, both of them have the same purpose that they get profits at last.
There are also some differences between Utilitarianism and Confucianism. Utilitarianism is a way which people usually weigh the merits and demerits to get more profits as possible as