What Is Wrong With Virtue Ethics

Comparing and Contrasting Harvard Framework with Virtue Ethics
The main thesis of Dr. Abela’s essay, “What is Wrong with Business?,” is that business ethics has a major deficiency with regards to the method by which it is discussed and taught. Moreover, not only it is the case that business ethics suffers from just one deficiency, but in fact three. This thesis can be contrasted and compared with the “Ethics: A Basic Framework” (hereafter “Harvard Framework”), where the author chastises management decision making in business, for lacking a detailed approach to ethical analysis.
The “Harvard Framework” argues that ethics in business is most often left to instinct and emotions, and only when issues surface. Instincts differ from one person to
Abela went on to talk about the case study of Reebok, the producer of athletic shoes, clothing, and accessories. He mentioned this company in reference to a recent ad that stated “cheat on your girlfriend, not your workout.” He brought up this ad not to attack or tarnish Reebok in anyway possible, but merely to give out an example about ethics. He argued that there are several, if not many, theories of business ethics that may point differently to whether this ad is ethical or not, given the preference proposed in regards to the highly, if not improbable, hypothetical choice between cheating on a girlfriend versus working out.
Then, he continued to say that even when – after he gave out definitions of several theories in this field – there are lots of such theories, they do end up overlapping eventually in some aspects. Still, even when the theories may agree on a specific course of action,
These rights are written into law, which highlights the fact that the “Harvard Framework” is utilizing the law as proof that its proposed requirements for an action to be ethical abide by the law. On the other hand, it seems that Dr. Abela is not concerned with whether something is lawful or not, but more about the occasions of thinking about ethics, the why of being ethical, and the how of being ethical.
Dr. Abela asks open-ended questions and debates them without caring about whether something is lawful or codified. The main argument of Dr. Abela is that while we have norms to uphold, we should not vindicate them using reason alone. The issue is that reason alone is not enough to show why anyone should be ethical, and theories of ethics fail at giving us a clear answer.
The “Harvard Framework” states that one of the other questions that should be considered upon taking a specific action is that there are ideals or values that shall be honored, by observing how a specific behavior may be received. Therefore, best practices in this category are those that draw praise or admiration. Finally, there are the commitments that the “Harvard Framework” cares about, where everyone in society has duties towards other people, whether that is honesty or telling the truth. While Dr. Abela argues that