BUST10004 Business Ethics

Question

What Rule Should Rule?

Case Scenario 1:

You may remember hearing about Martha Stewart's criminal conviction related to her sale of stock in a friend's company based on an insider tip that the friend was selling his shares of his own company's stock. (She actually went to jail not for the insider trading itself but for lying about what happened and her reasons for selling her shares of the stock.)

Answer

1. According to utilitarianism, I would not buy the products because the outcomes of it make the children unhappy. The child labor is wrong based on the consequences. Utilitarianism advocate for doing well to others and making sure the result of the action does not lead to sadness (Fenech & Lotz, 2018). Virtues ethics look more on the moral character of the people to carry out specific actions.The virtue ethics would not allow me to continue buying the products which are as a result of child labor. Child labor is against the law, and that is why I would stop buying products from the factory. It is good for children to have their rights and go to school. If people stop buying the product from the company, it will close, and children will have their right. Virtue ethics encourages doing good for others (Kahane et al, 2015).  I will also not purchase the product because of egoism. My ego does not permit me to buy cheap products which are as a result of children exploitation. The moral practice of egoism gives individual opportunity to select the best for themselves but not advocate for activities which can make other people unhappy.

2. Furthermore, I would not continue working for my employer. I would leave the job and look for another one. Duty-based ethics advocates for doing something which is right and avoiding the wrong one. It is wrong for an employer to exploit the children when they are supposed to be in school. Duty-based ethics urges everybody to do the right thing and avoid negative or adverse consequences. It suggests that if an action is producing desirable outcomes, then it is good to continue doing it (Carr, 2016). Utilitarianisms I would stop working in the firm due to utilitarianism which works toward making other people happy and doing good to them. Child labor is wrong and interferes with children’s right. According to virtue ethics, I would leave the job because it is not morally excellent to use product which comes from children exploitation. Virtue ethics encourages doing well to others and making them happy.

3. Additionally, due to egoism, I would advocate factory closure because it affects the future life of the children. I will not tolerate Low wages to the children, child exploitation because of my ego.  Duty-based ethics requires someone to do the right thing (MacDonald, 2015). Therefore, I would advocate for factory closure because they are going against the rights of the children. All children are expected to be in school and not working in the firms. Assistance should be provided to the families of the children concerning basic needs such as food, cloth, and shelter if they cannot afford.  The utilitarianism would ensure the factories are closed because the outcome would be useful to the children. They would get a chance to go back school. The consequences of the closure are beneficial to the children, and that is why utilitarianism would advocate for it. Virtue ethics give people basic and a reason for doing the right time every time.  It will not tolerate the child labor, therefore, requesting their closure so that children can have their rights.

References

Carr, D. (2016). Virtue, character, and emotion in people professions: towards virtue ethics of interpersonal professional conduct. In Towards Professional Wisdom (pp.113-126). Routledge.

Fenech, M., & Lotz, M. (2018). Systems advocacy in the professional practice of early childhood teachers: from the antithetical to the ethical. Early years, 38(1), 19-34.

Kahane, G., Everett, J. A., Earp, B. D., Farias, M., & Savulescu, J. (2015). ‘Utilitarian’judgments in sacrificial moral dilemmas do not reflect impartial concern for the greater good. Cognition,134, 193-209.

MacDonald, J. B. (2015). Analyzing the Effects of Egoist and Utilitarian Evaluations on Subjects’ Responses to (Un) ethical Salesperson Behavior. In Proceedings of the 2000 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference (pp.282-287). Springer, Cham.