` TABLE 6–1 A Comparison of the Philosophies Used

in Business Decisions
Teleology Stipulates that acts are morally right or acceptable if they
produce some desired result,
such as realization of self-interest or utility.
Egoism Defines right or acceptable actions as those that maximize a
particular person’s selfinterest
as defined by the individual.
Utilitarianism Defines right or acceptable actions as those that
maximize total utility, or the greatest
good for the greatest number of people.
Deontology Focuses on the preservation of individual rights and on the
intentions associated with a
particular behavior rather than on its consequences.
Relativist Evaluates ethicalness subjectively on the basis of individual
and group experiences.
Virtue ethics Assumes that what is moral in a given situation is not only
what conventional morality
requires but also what the mature person with a “good” moral
character would deem
appropriate.
Justice Evaluates ethicalness on the basis of fairness: distributive,
procedural, and interactional.

Elaine might be helped by knowing which of these the company uses and wants her to
use, and which her personal priorities are based on. Egoism, teleology, deontology, and
relativism seem to be most in favor of Elaine choosing to give in and accept the
suggestion from her colleagues to start accepting more loan applications that she thinks
should be rejected rather than accepted.

At the same time, Justice and virtue ethics go strongly against the same decisions
supported by the other kind of thinking. If Elaine’s personal ethics are more strongly
located here, then we may view this as an explanation for her attitude towards this issue.

My own bias recommends utilitarianism, with a bit of egoism balanced out by deontology
and virtue ethics. One should be as considerate of oneself as of others, but there is no
need to uselessly make a sacrifice of oneself. Justice ethics are great. I do not view
myself as either the strongest or weakest person in terms of living my values. It seems I
am able to do so but rather than being able to do so completely and joyfully, I feel I have
been forced to make some compromises whether I like it or not. I have virtues and
shortcomings as does everyone else but not necessarily all of the same ones as the next
person.

In my own case, I would tend to be willing to compromise to some extent if I felt it

would help me to live up to other values - rather than the loss of all or anything. For
instance, if it would make Dennis happy and if my colleagues are pushing for it and if I
could look for other work or rationalize it to myself as being what my boss and the
corporation really wants from me then I might well give in and accept those types of loan
offers. However, if I felt strongly that it wouldn’t help, and that either Dennis would not
be around or felt that if I could go ahead and find another job and that Dennis would be
able to carry the brunt of the financial demands and risks then I would probably stick by
my guns at work and make my partner cope with jeopardized values rather than directly
betraying my own. I would suffer mild sensations of guilt about Dennis betraying his
values and benefiting from his doing so - which seems like rewarding him for immoral
behavior, but would feel better about abiding directly by my values with my employer
and I would be grateful to Dennis for helping me to do so. ` TABLE 6–1 A Comparison of
the Philosophies Used
in Business Decisions
Teleology Stipulates that acts are morally right or acceptable if they produce some desired result,
such as realization of self-interest or utility.
Egoism Defines right or acceptable actions as those that maximize a particular person’s selfinterest
as defined by the individual.
Utilitarianism Defines right or acceptable actions as those that maximize total utility, or the greatest
good for the greatest number of people.
Deontology Focuses on the preservation of individual rights and on the intentions associated with a
particular behavior rather than on its consequences.
Relativist Evaluates ethicalness subjectively on the basis of individual and group experiences.
Virtue ethics Assumes that what is moral in a given situation is not only what conventional morality
requires but also what the mature person with a “good” moral character would deem
appropriate.
Justice Evaluates ethicalness on the basis of fairness: distributive, procedural, and interactional.