Sale of Sand to the Saudis
Joe Raymond is a sales manager at Granite, Rock and Sand, and is in jeopardy of losing his job if he does not improve his unit’s sales performance. Joe cannot afford to lose his job because he will not be able to pay his mortgage on his new home. He began to interview candidates for a vacant position in this unit, where he is approached by a candidate, Jessica Morris, a former employee of Granite’s competitor, Silt, Sand and Such. She offered Joe inside information on Silt, Sand and Such that would help solve his problems on the condition that she is hired for the job. Joe is now faced with an ethical dilemma -- accepting her offer to save his job and home, or refuse it and hire someone more suited for the vacant sales position.
Joe’s decision making dilemma can take the route of ethical egoism or virtue ethics. Ethical egoism claims that it is necessary and sufficient for an action to be morally right to maximize one's self-interest (Shaver, 2010). If Joe decides to choose ethical egoism he will considered his problems to be solved because he is seeking his own interest. From an ethical egoism standpoint Joe will make his decision based on the benefits he can gain. Benefits, such as, retaining his job, paying his mortgage, improve sales in his unit, possibly beat out his competitors, and even possibly earning a promotion or reward for improving his sales unit.
Virtue ethics on the other hand focuses on what kind of person Joe should be. Virtue ethics assumes that persons will make good decisions, because their character has been shaped in the right way and not because of personal benefits (Hursthouse, 2013). Virtue ethics implies that Joe will make his decision based on moral character. Virtuous employees generally evaluate and ethically judge business situations before decision making. So a virtuous Joe will evaluate the pros and cons and make a decision based on his morals and values.
If Joe decides to make his decision based on ethical egoism his
Joe’s decision making dilemma can take the route of ethical egoism or virtue ethics. Ethical egoism claims that it is necessary and sufficient for an action to be morally right to maximize one's self-interest (Shaver, 2010). If Joe decides to choose ethical egoism he will considered his problems to be solved because he is seeking his own interest. From an ethical egoism standpoint Joe will make his decision based on the benefits he can gain. Benefits, such as, retaining his job, paying his mortgage, improve sales in his unit, possibly beat out his competitors, and even possibly earning a promotion or reward for improving his sales unit.
Virtue ethics on the other hand focuses on what kind of person Joe should be. Virtue ethics assumes that persons will make good decisions, because their character has been shaped in the right way and not because of personal benefits (Hursthouse, 2013). Virtue ethics implies that Joe will make his decision based on moral character. Virtuous employees generally evaluate and ethically judge business situations before decision making. So a virtuous Joe will evaluate the pros and cons and make a decision based on his morals and values.
If Joe decides to make his decision based on ethical egoism his
References: Boatright, J. R. (2009). Equality, Liberty, and virtue. In Ethics and the conduct of business(6th ed., p. 79). Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall. Shaver, Robert, 2010. "Egoism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2010 Edition). Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2010/entries/egoism/ Hursthouse, Rosalind (2013), "Virtue Ethics", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2013 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.). Retrieved form: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2013/entries/ethics-virtue/