BUSINESS ETHICS 4

BUSINESS ETHICS 4

Business Ethics

Characteristics of:

Utilitarianism

It holds that there is universalism in what is termed as moral and what immorality is. The standards that are in place to determine what is good and what is wrong are the same in the whole universe. Regardless of the skin tone of an individual, their beliefs, their origin or their traditions, what is right remains constant as it is the case with what is termed as wrong.

There are consequences to the actions one has to undertake, whether an individual does the right thing or the wrong thing (Fieser, 2015). When making a decision to undertake a certain action, it follows that these actions have consequences, which emanate from the real world.

Virtual ethics

Righteousness. Human beings are entitled to do the right thing all the time even when there is no one on the lookout.

It is natural and therefore, every individual is entitled to it as it is cultivated from the very natural existence where one thinks critically as to what is good and what is bad.

Deontology

It is imposed by a rule and therefore, it is not up to the humans to decide whether to act in that manner. An individual has to follow these maxims regardless of the consequences as they are stipulated and adherence to them is not an option.

There is a duty to exercise and therefore, individuals have to follow these principles to the latter, creating a sense of obligation to the humankind.

Unethical practice from the video.

Starbucks act of buying the neighboring coffee shops to avoid competition while overpricing their products is not ethical (Tabberer, 2010). Coffee shops are set up to serve all classes of people and there are individuals who cannot afford the highly-priced coffee offered by the Starbucks. Starbucks should allow other coffee shops to run to ensure that there is healthy business competition and give individuals who cannot afford their coffee a chance to buy at the cheaper outlets. Denying others a chance to serve the market is universally unacceptable since people have different tastes and preferences. Utilitarianism grants people an opportunity to offer what they got to others provided it is the right thing they are offering.

References

Tabberer, C. (5th may 2010) Starbucks Social Responsibility Video. YouTube

Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/Nly_OdvORQY

Fieser, J. (2015) Introduction to Business Ethics. [Electronic version]

Retrieved from: https://content.ashford.edu/