Ethical Theories and Their Application Business
It is vital for businesses to understand the importance of ethics in this dynamic environment. An organisation’s corporate culture is supposed to be characterised by ethical behaviours for it to make decisions that are more likely to be socially responsible rather than motivated solely by making profits. Organisations that are committed to long term success recognise and realise that creating a culture where ethical behaviours are rewarded and encouraged is the ultimate key to survival and growth. This paper aims at outlining three ethical theories and to evaluate how business ethics have been violated in the Zimbabwean banking sector.
Definition of terms
Business ethics- According to Joseph 2003, business ethics refers to clear standards and norms that help employees to distinguish right from wrong behaviour at work.
Ethical theories- these are theories that involves learning what is right and wrong and doing the right thing but the fact that the right thing is not straight forward brings in the subject of ethical dilemmas
Utilitarianism theory
The philosophy of utilitarianism is one of the most commonly used and accepted ethical theories and is linked to Jeremy Bentham and John S Mills. According to Crane and Matten (2010) utilitarianism is defined as an action which is morally right if it results in the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people affected by the action. This principle focuses solely on the consequences of an action and it weighs the good results against the bad results. It also encourages the action that results in the greatest amount of good for all people involved. Utilitarianism is very powerful in business since it puts at the centre of the moral decision a variable which measures the value of an action. In a business situation one can analyse the two possible actions in a single business decision for example the dualisation of the Masvingo – Beitbridge highway saw business premises being destroyed for the benefit of many
Definition of terms
Business ethics- According to Joseph 2003, business ethics refers to clear standards and norms that help employees to distinguish right from wrong behaviour at work.
Ethical theories- these are theories that involves learning what is right and wrong and doing the right thing but the fact that the right thing is not straight forward brings in the subject of ethical dilemmas
Utilitarianism theory
The philosophy of utilitarianism is one of the most commonly used and accepted ethical theories and is linked to Jeremy Bentham and John S Mills. According to Crane and Matten (2010) utilitarianism is defined as an action which is morally right if it results in the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people affected by the action. This principle focuses solely on the consequences of an action and it weighs the good results against the bad results. It also encourages the action that results in the greatest amount of good for all people involved. Utilitarianism is very powerful in business since it puts at the centre of the moral decision a variable which measures the value of an action. In a business situation one can analyse the two possible actions in a single business decision for example the dualisation of the Masvingo – Beitbridge highway saw business premises being destroyed for the benefit of many