Moral Theories
What is considered ethical by one party may be considered unethical by another. Some universal rules may govern our behavior or thought process when dealing with our business conduct. These theories help to create a base or foundation for our business behavior and the results of action by those members within the businesses that make decisions.
To begin, ethical fundamentalism occurs when a person who has the authority to make decisions in the business looks to an outside source for ethical rules or commands. This source may be a person, book, or teaching that molds the conduct of the parties involved. Ethical fundamentalism does not permit people to determine right and wrong for themselves but uses those teachings or principles of another to govern our decision process. Utilitarianism is a moral theory that dictates that people must choose the action or follow the rule that provides the greatest good to society. The theory does not mean the greatest good for the greatest number of people. In a business context, that greater good may be for the good of the company and not those affected by the decision.
Kantian Ethics (Duty Ethics) has been based on the moral theory that says people owe moral duties that are based on universal rules. This is based on the premise that people can use reasoning to reach ethical decisions. This reasoning allows business to act as others may act toward them and will make decisions based on positive outcomes. Rawls's Social Justice Theory is based on a social contract where each person is presumed to have entered into a social contract, with all others in society, to obey moral rules that are necessary for people to live in peace and harmony. Fairness is considered the essence of justice. And Ethical Relativism is a moral theory that holds that individuals must decide what is ethical based on their own feelings as to what is right or wrong. There are no universal ethical rules to guide a person's conduct. As such, if a person meets his or her own moral standard in making a decision, no one can criticize him or her for it.