Ethical Issues Essay Example

Introduction

An ethical issue occurs when a situation that requires a person to choose between two options which are either ethical or unethical.

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Issue

In our case our case, Luke is in a dilemma on whether he should tell his brother the confidential information before the official announcement? In this case, Luke is torn in a matter on an ethical issue that requires him to choose between faithfulness to the company or his brother. Due to family relationship between him and Owen, Luke feels somehow obligated to let his brother aware of the impact that will reduce property value upon the decision that will affect his timing of selling the house. In this regard, he also needs to respect the contract between him and the company.

Utilitarianism

According to Eggleston (5), utilitarianism is effectively defined by five characteristics; consequentialism, welfarist, aggregation, individualism, and maximization.

Entirely on facts about the consequences of acts .and in this case, if Luke decides to share the information with his brother, then he will be breaching his contract with the company, and on the other end if he decides not to disclose the information to his brother, then Owen will feel betrayed.

When we talk about welfare, it can be easily be compared with action and reaction, for every action there is a reaction, and so the consequences can contain goodness or badness depends on entirely on facts about welfare.

Individualism is the view that the sources of value to be found in the world are individual. In our case, I believe Luke is not a direct beneficiary if he decided to let the information loose, so individualism is of less help in our case.

Aggregation is opposing views on which the value of a state of affair is determined by imposing some other mathematical function on the state of affairs. It can also be defined as the value in which a state of affair is determined by summing the values associated with the individuals in that state of affair values associated with the individuals. According to my understanding, if Luke decides to tell Owen about the company purchase of land, Owen will immediately sell his property making him the beneficiary. By so doing, the mathematical function of the value will be inappropriate, it will be in favor of his brother leaving the company betrayed (Addiss 9).

The essential component of utilitarianism is the maximization of which the view that is desirable for the value of the state affairs to be as great as possible.

In reference to utilitarianism in general, I can conclude that Luke should not have disclosed the information, hence, it will be in favor of the company, and this will leave Owen feeling betrayed by his bother.

Universal Ethics

Most important questions that blow our minds when we talk of managerial practices and business ethics are the differentiated moral perceptions that exist alongside cultural diversity. Some scholars are of the idea of incepting ethical relativism in the course of teaching managerial practices and business ethics, while there are strong critics to the idea. Ethical relativism is put to the test in various vices that exist in work practices and they range across; scandals in the corporate setting, corruption cases, violation of the most basic human rights, and neglecting the environment around the work-place. Universal ethics has emerged as a trend in the recent process of globalization. There are various philosophical traditions as well as more recent approaches that are aimed at promoting universal ethics in practice, but such proposals do not get a straight affirmation. Ethics should be applied in real life situations as a basis for finding a common ground for acceptable practices and a person's perception and beliefs. In this case, Luke had to do what he perceived was right, with the basis if the moral beliefs and practices that will keep his mind at ease. Moral values do not have an ultimate right or wrong; rather, they are subjective to a dogmatic insistence that certain actions are of ethical relativism. Ethical issues are discussed globally, and they exist as a basic understanding among employees and employers in a work setting, and it is inevitable for them to vary across corporations. In this regard, it beats logic that different cultures lead to different ethical relativism and practices, hence, what is morally acceptable is established on a framework of the establishment of common ground.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Luke can apply the utilitarianism approach in a manner that the option does more good than harm to stakeholders, and by that, he will justify himself to the company's stakeholders and also show loyalty to the company. He will be able to finally analyze which decision will create the most value and benefit for the company's stakeholders. I believe it would be wise of Luke if he does not tell his brother about the company buying the land, and by doing so, relativism could not be visible, and he will always remain loyal to the company.

Works Cited

Eggleston, Ben. "Utilitarianism." 2012: 452-458.

Addiss, David G. "Mindfulness, Compassion, and the Foundations of Global Health Ethics." Practitioner's Guide to Ethics and Mindfulness-Based Interventions. Springer, Cham, 2017. 295-322.