Week 3

Utilitarianism, Deontology, and Virtue Ethics

Student’s Name

Institution

Virtue Ethics

Virtue ethics theory emphasizes the virtues of both character and mind and explains their related problems. This theory describes how virtues are acquired and how they are applied in different context of life. Some of the attributes such as honesty and generosity are not just a way of doing what is generous or honest but is an attributable quality in an individual. Virtue ethics theory is different from utilitarianism and deontology since it emphasizes solely on the character traits rather than the rules or consequences.

Two significant characteristics distinguish virtue ethics from deontology and utilitarianism are: First, virtue ethics emphasize a person’s character rather than the consequences. Secondly, virtue ethics also does not judge an individual as good based upon one single action in the person’s life, but it takes a considerable time for one to make a judgment on another person’s life. Virtue ethics is unique since it looks at the past mistakes that are made by one during his past (Kagan, 2018).

Utilitarianism

As a moral theory, utilitarianism holds that the role of morality is to make one’s life better by increasing the number of desirable things in the world and decreasing the number of evil acts such as lack of happiness and pain. Unlike the theory of virtue ethics, utilitarianism depends on forecasting the consequences of an action. It believes that an action is ethical when the action results in total utility for the group than any other option.

Under this theory, the magnitudes should be entirely taken into consideration since it will affect many people. Two significant characteristics that distinguishes utilitarianism from virtue ethics are: First, this theory believes that what matters most are the magnitudes of an action. It focuses on the consequences or repercussions of an action. Universalism is also another primary characteristic where the theory believes that similar moral standards apply to every individual in all situations.

Deontology

Unlike other ethical theories, deontological ethics centers on the rightness or wrongness of actions as opposed to the rightness and wrongness of the actions. Since this theory uses rules to differentiate a right from a wrong, it places a lot of weight on the adherence to obligations and duties when analyzing an ethical dilemma. Two characteristics that distinguish this theory are: First, under this theory, the moral right is defined independently. Secondly, this theory keeps the wrongness of activity in the kind of event that is somewhat than the consequences it causes. An organization that upholds these three normative ethics can maintain a better relationship with its stakeholders.

Starbuck coffee has been known by many for its moral conduct and compliance with high standards. The company’s culture is a blend of the best practices, ethical decision making and high standards of conducting business that every other company may wish to embrace. The company has managed to remain competitive in the market since it is guided by some fundamental principles. Some of the principles that govern the company include; the company assures financial success to its shareholders, and it refers to its employees as partners, and also the company ensures a quality beverage is given to its customers.

Starbuck coffee has faced a lot of crises since its inception. One ethical issue that the company was faced with was the crisis by the coffee firm when many farmers started going out of business due to problems of overproduction. The company knew that the problem of overproduction was putting many farmers out of business and the farmers ended up not being treated fairly. When the company saw this, it would have made efforts to try to resolve this problem using the three theories of normative ethics. The three approaches that would be helpful are utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics. For example, Starbucks should have used virtue ethics to check on the reaction of the farmers rather than wait for the magnitudes. Starbucks should have stood on the right virtues and try to solve problems that affected its farmers. The company should have also used the theory of deontology and treat the farmers the same way they also want to be treated.

Starbucks Coffee would make efforts to resolve this problem using the theory of utilitarianism. This would give them an opportunity to measure the actions, magnitudes and weight the good versus bad before the situation worsened. Starbucks introduced care practices that paid coffee farmers a fair price and promoting sustainability. The company should operate in a way that is not only beneficial to them but also all the stakeholders of the company including the farmers (Tabberer, 2015).

References

Kagan, S. (2018). Normative ethics. Routledge.

Tabberer, C. [ProfTab @ OkWU]. (2010, May 5). Starbucks social responsibility video [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Nly_OdvORQY