and virtue ethics case study starbucks two responses utilitarianism is the belief that “an action is morally right if the consequences of th
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PHI 445 Week 1 Discussion, Utilitarianism, Deontology, and
Virtue Ethics Case Study: Starbucks (Two Responses)
Utilitarianism is the belief that “an action is morally right if the consequences of
that action are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone” (Fieser, 2015, section 1.3).
This set of ethics considers the most moral action as the one that provides the “greatest
happiness for the greatest number” (Macat Education, 2015). This principle determines
what is moral by weighing the good and bad outcomes of our actions. The text states that
“when determining the morality of any given action, we should list all of the good and
bad consequences that would result, determine which side is weightier, and judge the
action to be right if the good outweighs the bad” (Feiser, 2015, section 1.3). Another
characteristic of utilitarianism is that it is based on consequences, we have to determine if
the consequence is worth taking the action.
Virtue ethics is the “view that morality is grounded in the virtuous character traits
that people acquire” (Feiser, 2015, section 1.3). This theory highlights character over
actions which is different from the utilitarianism. This is the belief that good mental
habits produce moral behavior. Temperance, which is the middle of overindulgence and
rejection of all pleasures-it’s a happy medium where one is able to enjoy many pleasures
in reasonable quantities. Aristotle states that finding the perfect middle ground is not an
easy task, but it is something that decent people must find (Feiser, 2015).
Deontology was developed by Immanuel Kant as “categorical imperative, which
is a moral principle that we should treat each person as an end, and never merely as a
means to an end” (Feiser, 2015, section 1.3). The main characteristic of deontology is that
we should treat everyone “as beings with instrinct value and regard them as highly as we
would our own happiness” (Feiser, 2015, section 1.3). Another characteristic of this
theory is that it follows the golden rule which states to treat other the way you want to be
treated.
One ethical problem that Starbucks was confronted with was the crisis by the
coffee industry when a lot of farmers were going out of business because of
overproduction. Starbucks would try to resolve using utilitarianism, assessing the actions
consequences and weighing the good vs. the bad. They developed café practices, which
pay farmers a premium fair price for their coffee, teaching them about sustainable
practices so the environment, as well as the industry, is protected (Tabberer, 2010). Since
Starbucks needs to act in a way that not only is beneficial to them, but as many people as
possible. Their practices serves good for the company, the farmers, their families and the
environment.
References
Fieser, J. (2015). Introduction to business ethics [Electronic version]. Retrieved from
https://content.ashford.edu/
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