Each moral theory holds a specific approach in how to handle life’s decisions. In the social work profession there are many ethical theories that drives our decision making process. Explained below are the top five most discussed ethical theories. Ethics of care, is a normative ethical theory. This theory about what makes action morally right or wrong. It is one of a cluster of normative ethical theories that were developed by feminists in the second half of the twentieth century. The ethics of…
Ethics can be described as the discipline that deals with good and bad judgment as well as with moral expectations and obligations (Aras, 2006). In the conventional approach to business ethics (Schaefer, 2016), decisions and actions are influenced by norms and expectations of human behavior in a given society. Whether or not one is ethical is defined by the prevailing thought processes in that society (Beauchamp, 1983). One of the biggest challenges with this approach is mainly posed by the…
or is it just something we are conditioned to do by society? Many people have different opinions on this question, and whenever election time arrives arguments tend to flare up. Many of us are raised to believe once we are old enough we have to vote in the election or we aren’t truly good, upstanding citizens of society. In essence, we are bullied by our elders into believing we have to vote to be good people. If it is, as they claim, so moral for a person to vote, then why is it in the past…
Deontology, Consequentialism, and Virtue ethics. These ethical theories, each emphasizes different viewpoints on how to reach a resolution according to the guidelines defined within the theory itself, and they act as a viewpoint on which guidance is obtained towards a decision. The term deontology comes from the Greek word deon, meaning duty.2 The theory of Deontology states that some acts are always wrong regardless of the outcome and people or society at large are judged by their actions and…
What is Ethics? One cannot really decide and conduct oneself in an ethical or unethical manner without examining ethics. Ethics is rooted from the Greek word “ethos” meaning “character.” In its simpler form, ethics indicate the beliefs of what is right and wrong (Ortmeier & Meese, 2010, p.59). However, the enormous challenge is defining what is “right.” Every human being, religion, and culture have contrasting views and interpretations of ethics. Many individuals misconstrue ethics with…
Virtue Ethics or Virtue Theory is an approach to ethics with the basis of an individual’s character as the main element of ethical thinking. “Character is virtue in action.”1 Deontological ethics or deontology is an approach that focuses on the right or wrong of actions and the consequences of those actions. Utilitarian ethics or Utilitarianism approaches ethics through the moral worth of an action which is solely determined by its contribution to overall utility in maximizing happiness or…
others with respect is not a hard task, however, there are numerous situations where I tend to forget my moral and ethical values, and my actions are unjustified. Ethics and morals helps an…
of Eric Katz’s ‘Nazi Engineers’, it is clear that technology is value laden and societies’ ethics ultimately determine the direction its technology goes. Katz writes this essay to educate his students about Nazi ethics so they can avoid their misguided moral reasoning and learn about the ethics embedded in technology. To articulate the reasoning of the Nazis, Katz uses three main ethical ideologies used in Nazi society; Technological Neutrality, Doubling, and Integration and Ideology in…
When we say ethics, many would mean it is an individual’s knowledge of what is good or bad using various distinct senses. In business, the decision to act morally in an organization is the right one. This would not only bring certainty on an organization but also enhance the image of an organization as a whole. However, a moral standard applied in business could also be applied to individual’s daily lives such as stealing, cheating or lying. In simple words, business ethics is the set of laws…
Utilitarianism and the Ethics of Care are differ greatly in their origins which dramatically affected how the systems deal with moral problems facing society; this is especially true with the Ethics of Care as it is considerably more “modern” when compared to the more traditional system of Utilitarianism. This traditional and duty driven system of producing the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people versus the compassion and empathy fueled understanding is the center of how ethics…