Aristotle's Virtue Ethics And Organizational Ethics In An Essay.

Discuss about the Virtue Ethics for Aristotle and organisational.

Ethics is an area of study and research along with a concept that determines and evaluates the moral and ethical correctness of an act on the basis of certain principles that have been defined on the ethical grounds (Britz, 2016). There are a number of different theories that have been developed to judge an activity on ethics and the same have been used to evaluate the issue in Operation Safe Skies.

Project Background

Occidental Engineering, an engineering firm has been working on a project termed Operation Safe Skies for producing a prototype of next gen air traffic control system and the same is in contract with the United States Federal Aviation Agency. The firm had bid extensively and had bid less than they should have to win the contract and the project team has build a prototype by working eighteen hours a day to live up to the expectation. However, Wayne Davidson, test engineer for the project has devised the presence of a critical defect in the build which says that the system will lose track of one or more aircrafts which may result in collision and other activities. The developers are sure that they will fix the bug in a period of one month. Deborah Shepherd, Project Manager is adamant to release the product with the bug as fixing the same would result in missing the deadline of the contract and the decision does not go well with Wayne.

• Theory of Consequentialism

The theory of Consequentialism is an ethical theory that determines the ethical correctness of an act on the basis of consequences and implications that result from the same. If the consequences are positive in nature and result in the benefit of all the parties involved then it is termed as an ethically correct act (Bbc, 2016).

There are two different set of activities that are involved in the issue and ethical dilemma of Operation Safe Skies. First and the foremost is the act that is being suggested by Deborah to go ahead with the launch of the product and rectify the defect later on. It will result in consequences that will include success for the Occidental Engineering by meeting the due deadline as per the contract. However, it may result in some of the negative implications that will be severe than the success of the firm. The implications may include the air collision of the aircraft and the loss of life and property as well. The act that is being suggested by Wayne includes the delay of the product which will result in loss of reputation of the organization but will be beneficial in terms of safety and security of the air traffic control system and the involved parties.

Ethical Analysis

As per the theory of Consequentialism, the activity suggested by Deborah is termed as ethically incorrect and the path recommended by Wayne is evaluated to be ethically and morally correct.

The second ethical theory that has been applied to understand the ethical dilemma involved in the project is Virtue Ethics. This is the theory that has its principles on the basis of the character of the person and the parties that are involved. It suggests that happiness and care of self and fellows shall be the prime aim of life and an act that results in the fulfillment of the same is ethically correct (Hursthouse, 2016).

In the project, Deborah is suggesting going ahead with the launch in spite of the presence of the critical bugs and her motive behind the same is the protection of the firm and happiness of herself and her team. However, she is well aware of the potential damages the defect may cause and has put aside the care for the aircraft society and the common citizens. Wayne on the other hand is suggesting delaying the launch and rectifying the defect in order to protect the loss of life and property. There are elements of care and happiness for all in the decision proposed by Wayne.

As per the theory of Virtue ethics, the act of Deborah is termed as ethically incorrect whereas Wayne and his decision is evaluated as ethically correct (Bowden, 2016).

The third theory that has been applied to the project of Operation Safe Skies is the theory of deontology. As per this theory, an act is evaluated as ethically correct or incorrect on the basis of its adherence to the rules and duties that define the same. More the adherence to the rules more is the ethical correctness as per this theory of ethics (Gaus, 2016).

The primary rule of any project is to deliver the product as per the requirements that are specified with the presence of minimal or zero defects and to meet the deadlines as well. Deborah is sticking to the last objective with her decision and has missed out on the earlier two. If the product is launched with the defect, it will have a critical bug along with non-adherence to the initial set of requirements. Wayne on the other hand is following the ethical compliance along with the set of best practices as a test engineer. He has clearly pointed out the defect and its consequences.

Virtue Ethics

As per the theory of Deontology, Deborah and her decision stand as ethically incorrect whereas it has been evaluated than Wayne is correct on the ethical parameters (Nill, 2016).

As per ACS Code of Professional Conduct, there are six principles that must always be followed and get reflected in the activities of a professional.

• Public interest should be get at the top priority
• The activity must reflect an enhancement of the quality of life in the work done
• Honesty must always be involved in every single activity
• Competence must be an integral element
• Professional development shall be enhanced
• Professionalism in terms of integrity of the society must reflect

In the act that is suggested by Deborah most of the principles of ACS Code of Professional Conduct are missing as she has put down the public interest and the element of truth by hiding the defect from one and all. Also, the quality of life and professionalism are missing from the decision that has been proposed. However, the act of Wayne stands as per the principles that are described above (Acs, 2016).

Conclusion

Operation Safe Skies is a project that includes the critical functionalities and has a set of requirements that must always be adhered to. The deadline of the project is also very critical as the missing of the same would result in some serious consequences. The ethical dilemma that is involved in the project has been evaluated on the basis of three different ethical theories viz. theory of Consequentialism, Virtue Ethics and the theory of Deontology. All of these three theories are based on different set of principles and methods to evaluate an act on the ethical grounds. However, all of these theories have the same end result and feedback. The act that has been suggested by Deborah, Project Manager has been evaluated to be ethically incorrect and the one that is recommended by Wayne, test engineer has been termed as ethically correct.

There are alternatives that are suggested to minimize the gap that exists between the two decisions. Deborah can incorporate more number of resources in the development team who are aware of the project activities and can assist in the rectification of the defect. The same would result in the faster process and would also not cause a loss to the reputation of the firm by missing the deadline. There can also be legal extensions demanded for the delivery date as per the conditions and scenarios. The same may result in some penalties and punishments but would be bound by legal and regulatory policies. Communication is a key in all the project and the same can be utilized to have meetings and discussions with the external stakeholders and project sponsors to make them understand the implications of the defect with an assurance that the same will be completely rectified.

References

ACS,. (2016). ACS Code of Ethics. Retrieved 30 August 2016, from https://www.acs.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/7835/Code-of-Ethics.pdf

BBC,. (2016). BBC - Ethics - Introduction to ethics: Consequentialism. Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 August 2016, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/consequentialism_1.shtml

Bowden, P. (2016). Virtue ethics, Aristotle and organisational behaviour. Retrieved 29 August 2016, from https://www.unisa.edu.au/Documents/EASS/HRI/GIG/bowden-virtue.pdf

Britz, J. (2016). TECHNOLOGY as a threat to PRIVACY: Ethical Challenges. Web.simmons.edu. Retrieved 29 August 2016, from https://web.simmons.edu/~chen/nit/NIT'96/96-025-Britz.html

Gaus, G. (2016). What is Deontology?, Part One: Orthodox Views. Retrieved 29 August 2016, from https://www.gaus.biz/deontology1.pdf

Hursthouse, R. (2016). Virtue Ethics and Human Nature. Retrieved 29 August 2016, from https://www.humesociety.org/hs/issues/v25n1-2/hursthouse/hursthouse-v25n1-2.pdf

Nill, M. (2016). Deontology. Retrieved 29 August 2016, from https://cw.routledge.com/ref/ethics/entries/deontology.pdf.