Business Ethics and Corporate Governance, Second Edition

WHICH APPROACH TO USE?

Each of these theories discussed above has its own nuances, strengths and weaknesses and followers. Though all these theories can be claimed to be a set of ethical principles, each theory addresses an ethical aspect of behaviour that cannot be ignored. It is difficult to arrive at a standard answer on how to reconcile a decision situation when different views are competing with one another.¹⁷ Ethicists Velasquez, Cavanagh and Moberg¹⁸ have provided a schematic for ethical decision making that uses the criteria of utility, rights and justice together. According to these authorities, if an action meets all three criteria, it can be considered ethical. On the other hand, when an action falls short of all these three criteria, ...