Arguments for and against using Utilitarian principles
Question : What is Utilitarianism? Identify and discuss the arguments for and against using Utilitarian principles in the workplace.
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that proclaims that the morally right course of action in any given situation is the one that produces the greatest amount of pleasure over pain for everyone affected (Ferrell, Fraedrich &Ferrell 2008).This is evident in business decision making processes done by analysts, legislators and managers, for instance on deciding to invest resources in public project, to minimize cost by using foreign labors and such. Thus, the argument on whether utilitarian principles should be applied in workplace practices is highly debated as it carries both pros and cons. First and foremost, utilitarianism in an organizational context “provides a clear and straightforward basis (Shaw, Barry & Sansbury 2009, p67)” for developing and testing guidelines and protocols. Pain and pleasure is graded in a scale of continuum to measure intensity of the emotion (Burns 2005). As such, organizations can utilize this to derive objective decisions, as the approach uses quantitative result oriented method, and calculates cost and benefit of the consequences of all possible alternatives. For instance, a departmental manager ordered to cut cost in his department may revise all employees’ salary in the interest of obtaining higher utility for all parties rather than lay off some staff. Secondly, utilitarianism enables an unbiased approach of decision making, thus a way to resolve conflicts involving self-interest (Mill, 1863). This approach requires the decision maker to take the standpoint of an impartial third party and give equal weightage to everyone’s interest. As such, the outcome of the decision will not be influenced by self interest and chances of negative implication to all individual are minimized. This is advantages, as incidents such as Bhopal Disaster that killed 20000, as a result of poor maintenance to
Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that proclaims that the morally right course of action in any given situation is the one that produces the greatest amount of pleasure over pain for everyone affected (Ferrell, Fraedrich &Ferrell 2008).This is evident in business decision making processes done by analysts, legislators and managers, for instance on deciding to invest resources in public project, to minimize cost by using foreign labors and such. Thus, the argument on whether utilitarian principles should be applied in workplace practices is highly debated as it carries both pros and cons. First and foremost, utilitarianism in an organizational context “provides a clear and straightforward basis (Shaw, Barry & Sansbury 2009, p67)” for developing and testing guidelines and protocols. Pain and pleasure is graded in a scale of continuum to measure intensity of the emotion (Burns 2005). As such, organizations can utilize this to derive objective decisions, as the approach uses quantitative result oriented method, and calculates cost and benefit of the consequences of all possible alternatives. For instance, a departmental manager ordered to cut cost in his department may revise all employees’ salary in the interest of obtaining higher utility for all parties rather than lay off some staff. Secondly, utilitarianism enables an unbiased approach of decision making, thus a way to resolve conflicts involving self-interest (Mill, 1863). This approach requires the decision maker to take the standpoint of an impartial third party and give equal weightage to everyone’s interest. As such, the outcome of the decision will not be influenced by self interest and chances of negative implication to all individual are minimized. This is advantages, as incidents such as Bhopal Disaster that killed 20000, as a result of poor maintenance to