Business Ethics Essay Example
Business Ethics
Module 2 – Written Assignment
1. Act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism are the two different forms of utilitarianism Shaw and Barry distinguish. According to our textbook, act utilitarianism is the classic and most straight forward version of utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism states that we must ask ourselves what the consequences of a particular act in a particular situation will be for all those affected. If it brings more total good than those of any alternative course of action, then this action is the right one and the one we should perform (Barry, V. & Shaw, W., 2010). I take this to mean that as long as an individual determines right from wrong when producing happiness, then happiness will be accomplished if the actions chosen to reach such happiness are “right.” Rule utilitarianism also wants the outcomes of one’s actions to be happiness, but does not necessarily worry about right from wrong as long as the decisions of their actions produce an outcome of happiness. 2. Declining marginal utility of money is what economists call making the distribution of income more equal to maximize happiness. Utilitarians want an ultimate outcome of happiness and feel the “right” way to do so is by distributing income more equally, especially to those workers who now earn less than other workers. Utilitarians believe this will increase total happiness. 3. Robert Nozick’s entitlement theory is a theory of economic justice and states that people are entitled to their holdings as long as they were acquired without violating other people’s rights (Barry, V. & Shaw, W., 2010). The first principles of Robert Nozick’s entitlement theory is if a person acquires their holdings fairly, then they are entitled to them. The second principle is in regards to the transfers of already-owned goods. Nozick’s theory here states that a person is also entitled to a holding if holdings are legitimately transferred to others and how they
Module 2 – Written Assignment
1. Act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism are the two different forms of utilitarianism Shaw and Barry distinguish. According to our textbook, act utilitarianism is the classic and most straight forward version of utilitarianism. Act utilitarianism states that we must ask ourselves what the consequences of a particular act in a particular situation will be for all those affected. If it brings more total good than those of any alternative course of action, then this action is the right one and the one we should perform (Barry, V. & Shaw, W., 2010). I take this to mean that as long as an individual determines right from wrong when producing happiness, then happiness will be accomplished if the actions chosen to reach such happiness are “right.” Rule utilitarianism also wants the outcomes of one’s actions to be happiness, but does not necessarily worry about right from wrong as long as the decisions of their actions produce an outcome of happiness. 2. Declining marginal utility of money is what economists call making the distribution of income more equal to maximize happiness. Utilitarians want an ultimate outcome of happiness and feel the “right” way to do so is by distributing income more equally, especially to those workers who now earn less than other workers. Utilitarians believe this will increase total happiness. 3. Robert Nozick’s entitlement theory is a theory of economic justice and states that people are entitled to their holdings as long as they were acquired without violating other people’s rights (Barry, V. & Shaw, W., 2010). The first principles of Robert Nozick’s entitlement theory is if a person acquires their holdings fairly, then they are entitled to them. The second principle is in regards to the transfers of already-owned goods. Nozick’s theory here states that a person is also entitled to a holding if holdings are legitimately transferred to others and how they