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Professional Ethics: Moral Reasoning & Ethical Theory

This document discusses professional ethics and ethical theories. It covers: 1) The meaning of professional ethics as the moral values that similarly trained people develop to control task performance or resource use while adhering to professional rules and values. 2) Factors that form individual ethics like family, peers, life experiences, and personal values. 3) Major ethical theories including utilitarianism, which evaluates actions based on harms and benefits to produce the greatest good, and Kantian rights, which focuses on minimizing violations of basic rights like privacy. 4) No single ethical theory is perfect, and they provide complementary guidance for decision-making.

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Marsya Lynnda
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175 views15 pages

Professional Ethics: Moral Reasoning & Ethical Theory

This document discusses professional ethics and ethical theories. It covers: 1) The meaning of professional ethics as the moral values that similarly trained people develop to control task performance or resource use while adhering to professional rules and values. 2) Factors that form individual ethics like family, peers, life experiences, and personal values. 3) Major ethical theories including utilitarianism, which evaluates actions based on harms and benefits to produce the greatest good, and Kantian rights, which focuses on minimizing violations of basic rights like privacy. 4) No single ethical theory is perfect, and they provide complementary guidance for decision-making.

Uploaded by

Marsya Lynnda
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

PROFESSIONAL

ETHICS
• Chapter 1
• MORAL REASONING &
ETHICAL THEORY
Introduction
• Ethical problems in management are
complex because the extended
consequences, multiple alternatives, mixed
outcomes, uncertain occurrences and
personal implications

• We do have ethical problems when:


– We make decisions that affect others
(especially if the decisions hurt or harm
them in ways beyond their control)
The Meaning of Ethics

• ‘Principles of morally acceptable conduct of


individuals’
• ‘Individual’s beliefs about the right and wrong
behavior’
• Three consideration when defining ethics:
– Ethics is individually defined
– Vary from one person to another
– Ethics is relative , not absolute
The Meaning of Professional
Ethics

Moral values that a group of similarly trained


people develop to control their performance of a
task or their use of resources.
(adhere to professional rules and values when
deciding how to behave)
The Formation of Individual
Ethics

Factors form
Individual Ethics

Situational
Family Factors
influence
Personal Values
Peer Influence Life experience & morals
The Views of Ethics
Views of Ethics

Utilitarian Kantian Rights

Enlightened
Golden Rule
Self-Interest
• Utilitarian
– Any action/decision should be evaluated
in terms of its potential harms and
benefits. A morally right action results in
the greatest good for the greatest
number of people.
• Golden Rule
– Based on religious teaching (Christ’s
teaching)
– ‘do to others as you would have them do
to you’
• Kantian/Rights
– Immanuel Kant : every person has certain
basic rights
• Right of free consent, right of privacy, right
of freedom of conscience, right of due
process
– The action is morally right when it
minimizes the violations of those rights
• Enlightened Self-Interest
– As ones pursue their self interest, they
also improve the well being of others (still
would maximize benefits and minimize
harm)
Normative Philosophy & Ethical
Relatives
• Philosophy - the study of thought and
conduct
• Normative philosophy – the study of
proper thought and conduct (how we
should behave)
Ethical Theory
• Five major systems relate to managerial decisions:
– Eternal Law (Natural Law)
– Classical Teleological Ethical Theory:
Utilitarianism
– Classical Deontological Ethical Theory :
Universalism
– Distributive Justice Theory
– Personal Liberty Theory
• None is perfect
• Eternal Law
– Thomas Jefferson believed that the truths of
this law were self-evident
– Based on religious teaching : do unto others as
you would have others do unto you (Golden
Rule)
– Cannot be applied universally
• Utilitarianism
– Jeremy Benthan & J.S Mill
– Emphasis on the outcome/consequences of the
behavior
– Right if benefit people, wrong if harm people
– Greatest good for the greatest number
• Universalism
– The moral worth of an action depends on the
intentions of the person making the decision or
performing the act.
– Other people should be seen as valuable ends ,
not as impersonal means to achieve one’s own
means.
• Distributive Justice
– John Rawls
– Different bases: to each person equally, to
each according to needs/
efforts/contribution/competence
– In practice (pg 10)
• Personal Liberty Theory
– Robert Nozick
– Action is wrong if violate individual
liberty (relate to Kantian View)
– Justice depends on equal opportunities
for choice and exchange, not upon equal
allocations of wealth and income
Conclusion
• No system is perfect.
• Each compliment each other and
provides guide in decision making

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