Question

After summarizing utilitarian theory (in a minimum of 100 words), answer the following questions in three to five sentences each: What are the strengths and weaknesses of utilitarianism in relation to business ethics? How would Friedman respond? How would Freeman? How would a utilitarian respond to this week's case study (Nestle and Advertising)?

Answer 1

Pl rate if it helped. Thank You

Utilitarianism is a philosophical and political concept that refers to the doctrine of Bentham and his followers. Utilitarian is a moral philosophy that plays an important role in economic science. This theory holds that the best course of action is the one that achieves the highest of what is perceived to be helpful and pleasurable. Utilitarianism instructs us to do the greatest good we can for the greatest number of our ethical compatriots. In terms of utilitarian theory, the hedonist version says we should generate the most pleasure (or diminish as much pain) as we can for the relevant moral parties. John Stuard Mill’s understanding of utilitarianism is “produce the greatest balance of happiness over unhappiness for all members of our moral community”. This focus on happiness rather than pleasure is one of the most fundamental changes Mill made to the utilitarian starting points elucidated by Bentham because it includes the shift to qualitative consequentialism. Jeremy Bentham, who laid the groundwork for utilitarianism, described the pleasure as all that pleases us from the action, causing no pain to anyone involved. Utilitarianism is another form of consequentialism, which holds that the outcome of any action is the only criterion for judging the right and wrong of that act. Unlike other forms of consequence theory, such as egoism, utilitarianism assumes that the interests of all people are fair. Bentham and Mill both advocated expected utility (a form of foreseeable consequences) when we make plans and choose actions. Bentham and Mill said we should assess the value of our actions by determining the best balance of utility over disutility.

1. There are many strengths that utilitarianism can benefit business ethics. Utilitarian assumes a behavior is right and morally acceptable when it brings pleasure and happiness to many people. To them, social efficiency is not only a measure of the results of behavior but also a goal to strive for. As a result, utilitarianism can lead business to make decisions that are beneficial to the society and increasing social welfare as they regard happiness of the community. Business that follows utilitarianism will involve in business transactions that make everybody happy including shareholders and stakeholders. However, there are also weakness to the utilitarian theory, such as unforeseen consequences and error in calculation. When results only reflect a consequence of the behavior, which are measured by economic indicators, they can be incomplete. As a result, decisions made based on incorrect assumptions will lead to faulty consequences. In addition, it is difficult to calculate values for different audiences (customer, supplier, shareholder, etc ) when various aspects such as benefit, loss and utility are taking into consideration.

2. Freeman’s theory would be more comparable with the utilitarian theory than Friedman as he favors creating values for many people in the business (customers, stakeholders and stockholders), while Friedman only favors the stockholders’ benefit.

3. Utilitarian would deem Nestle advertising campaign as unethical as they wrongly advertised the benefit of baby formula without informing the consumers about the consequences of misusing it. Even though, their marketing technique is not illegal, Nestle’s failing to disclose or warn parents about the consequences had led to many deaths in third world countries. Nestle misleading advertisement about the benefit of formula also resulted in parents primarily using formula over breastfeeding instead of using it as a supplement. This prevent infants from all the health benefit of breastfeeding. Utilitarian theory suggest we generate greater good for the greater number, therefore, Nestle should put consumer’s safety in priority over maximizing the company’s profit.