How successfully might a utilitarian approach be applied to issues arising in business ethics? 40 marks
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Cours
3. Applied Ethics. b) Business Ethics (H573)
Établissement
OCR
Bullet-point essay revision plan written by a student aiming for top grades. Discusses the question 'How successfully might a utilitarian approach be applied to issues arising in business ethics?' and includes a personal thesis statement. Includes scholars such as Mill/Bentham/Kant/Aristotle and mo...
How successfully might a utilitarian approach be applied to issues arising in business
ethics?
Intro:
• Utilitarianism - principle of utility.
> Acting for the greats good for the greatest number of people.
> Act Utilitarianism - developed by Bentham.
> Teleological approach.
> Rule Utilitarianism - developed by Mill.
• Business ethics - refers to the corporate social responsibility businesses have beyond
their shareholders.
Thesis:
• Superficially successful.
> Teleological approach - businesses have to consider their impact.
> Can be multifaceted - eg, consumers/employees/climate etc.
• However - unrealistic + contributed to further marginalisation of minority groups.
> Ultimately - impossible for businesses to follow consistently because businesses do have
to make a profit in order to stay on the market.
> Poses an ethical dilema of nurturing the community or satisfying it’s shareholders.
> Teleological approach - inherent flaw.
> Uses people as a means to an end.
> Kantian ethical approach might be more successful - although still limited.
Utilitarianism:
• Act Utilitarianism - Bentham.
> Atheist + radical empiricist.
> Developed Hedonic Calculus - draws on Greek traditions + Aristotle’s belief that
happiness results from use of reason + cultivating virtues.
> Teleological reasoning + quantitive approach.
> HC designed to rate pleasure under certain criteria.
• Rule Utilitarianism - Mill.
> Philosopher + active reformer.
> Qualitative approach - places happiness as the standard of utility.
• Bentham’s HC can provide a thoroughly premeditated guide of business owners - useful
under pressure.
> Situational approach - appreciated complexity of moral business dilemas.
• However - there will always be a ‘utilitarian sacrifice’.
> Minority suffers whilst major enjoys the maximised pleasures.
> eg, Business owners of Rana Plaza sacrificed the lives of their workers.
> Needs to be balanced to provide greater equality.
Corporate Social Responsibility:
• Utilitarianism would support a business’s CSR - businesses have to consider their
impact.
> ‘greatest pleasure/happiness/ for the greatest number’.
> CSR.
> Employees - safe working conditions/minimum wage/employment security etc.
• However - unrealistic.
> Business still have to make a profit in order to stay on the market.
> Milton Freedman - economist who wrote ‘ The Social Responsibility of a Business is to
increase its profits’.
> Argued it is actually unethical to prioritise CSR above shareholders.
> Taking money away from profits to fulfil CSR = stealing from shareholders.
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