Kantian Ethics is the best approach to the issues surrounding business. Assess this view.

AS and A Level Religious Studies & Philosophy

Genesis Dann Stillwell Ethics Homework 17.10.11

Question: ‘Kantian Ethics is the best approach to the issues surrounding business.’ Discuss.

In this essay I will identify the issues surrounding business. I will explain Kant’s theory and then evaluate whether this is the best approach, compared to the other theories such as: Utilitarianism, Natural Theory, Christian Ethics, and Virtue Ethics.

One issue surrounding business is the relationship of the business to the consumers. Kant’s theory is deontological and objective because it looks at the morality within the action itself and not the result from it. Kant’s theory expresses the importance of treating people as ends in themselves rather than only as a means to an end. This is a very useful approach as businesses need to use their consumers not only as a means for their profit, but also use them as an end, i.e. providing them the product with quality. Another feature of the theory is the importance of carrying out an action because of duty and not by other influences. For example, an inexperienced child purchasing a loaf of bread from a baker, the baker gives the correct amount of change. If the baker did so out of duty, therefore it is morally right, if he did so because it will make him and his business look impressive, then it is morally wrong. However businesses, using this approach, are strictly limited, in the basis that businesses are set up, initially, for profit. Therefore it will inevitable that the consumers will be used as a means to this, rather than doing it as a duty to provide the consumers with goods, because if a company operates within duty and not concerning profit, this would result to closure of companies. An approach such as Utilitarianism, of maximising the positive effects of the business also ensuring the profit of the company, may be a more suitable approach. However with Utilitarianism it focuses on the maximisation of welfare to the most number of people, which tends to alienate the minority. Therefore duty is the way for this inclusiveness, to ensure everyone is treated equally.

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Another issue of business is the relationship to the employees. Kantian ethics would see a business as a moral community – employers and employees, stakeholders and shareholders. It is a community in which have interrelated duties with each other. Kant also expressed the importance of promises, e.g. contracts, and by not fulfilling these promises, will be seen as morally incorrect, as in his categorical imperative, to not fulfil a promise must be universalise, however people would not want to live in a world with empty promises. This is a very useful approach as it ensures equality within the workplace, and from this duty, initially the business would profit. However the weakness of this approach would be the case of conflicting duties. For example, an employer has duty to ensure the welfare of the employees by providing them wages and benefits, however the companies turnover resulted to a deficit, and the employer is then faced whether to act in duty towards his employees or towards his shareholders. Again utilitarianism may answer this by looking at long term benefits of the action, therefore the employer may choose to fulfil his duty towards his shareholders, as they provide the capital for the business and the money for his employees.

Globalisation of businesses is a crucial issue. Kantian ethics suggests that the continuing globalisation of businesses may be the first step to fulfil one of his categorical imperative, the kingdom of ends. This theory is very useful, as it can also accommodate the Christian Ethics of spreading the love of God by interaction between rich and poor countries to development, and ensure that people universally flourish, this was expressed by Jesus as a duty. However Joanna Rozpedowski, identified that idea of Globalisation came from an economic point of view, not from a philosophical duty.

In conclusion, I believe that Kantian ethics is a good approach to the issues surrounding business but not the best. It ensures equality towards the consumers, integrity within a company, and a development towards a long-term benefit of the world. However the practical issue of business as always a means to profit, restricts this, therefore I believe Utilitarianism is a better approach towards these issues.

Kantian Ethics is the best approach to the issues surrounding business. Assess this view.

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