Chapter 3 Flashcards
Utilitarianism
The highest principle of morality is to maximize happiness, the overall balance of pleasure over pain
By Utility he means:
Whatever produces pleasure or happiness and whatever prevents pain or suffering
Bentham’s Utilitarianism (Review)
Maximizing utility is a principle not only for individuals but also for legislators. In deciding what las or policies to enact, a government should do whatever will maximize the happiness of the community as a whole.
Utility (review)
Citizens and legislators should ask themselves the question: If we add up allowances the benefits of this policy, and subtract all of the costs, will it produce more happiness than the alternative?
Cost Benefit Analysis
- Utilitarian logic goes by the concept-cost benefit analysis
- It is often used by companies and governments all the time
- Consider the way utilitarian logic is applied to cost benefit analysis
Cost benefit analysis tries to bring rationality and rigor to complex social choices by translation all costs and benefits into monetary terms- and then comparing them
Cost Benefit Analysis (Cont)
- That is why in deciding what is the best policy, in deciding what the law should be, in deciding what is just
Citizens and legislators should consider “if we add up all of the benefits of this policy and subtract all of the costs, the right thing to do is the one that maximizes the balance of happiness over suffering, That is what it means to maximize utility
- This Utilitarian logic often goes under the name of cost benefit analysis which is used by companies and by governments all the time
- This involves placing a value usually a dollar value to stand for utility on the costs and benefits of various proposals
Phillip Morris Study
Cost Benefit Analysis for Smoking Recently the Czech Republic proposed to increase the excise tax on smoking
Costs: Increased health care for those Benefits:
who developed smoking related illnesses. 1. Tax revenue from cigarette sales
2. Health care savings from early deaths
3. Pension Savings
4. Savings in housing costs for the elderly
- Net gain if citizens smoke: Net public finance gain of 147 million
- Given the savings in housing, health care and pension costs the government will enjoy a saving over $1227 for each person who dies prematurely from smoking
Product Liabilty
- “The field of law which refers to the legal liability of manufactures and sellers to compensate buyers, users and even bystanders, for damages or injuries suffered because of defects in goods purchased”
- The defendants can grange from the manufactures, subcontractors, distributors, and retailers
Strict Product Liability
- Seller is responsible for all defective items that unreasonably threaten the personal safety of a consumer or bystander
- Plaintiff must prove the product was defective
- The defective caused the injury
- Defect rendered the product unreasonably dangerous
Criteria Similar Cases
- a rather public incident or number of incidents that point to a design flaw
- a t
Cost Benefit Analysis
Cost Benefits Analysis:
- Applying the utilitarian theory requires the following steps:
1. A determination of which individual’s will be affected by the action in question
2. A cost benefit analysis (a decision-making technique that involves weighting the costs of a given action against the benefits of the actions)
3. A choice among alternative actions that will produce maximum societal utility (the greatest positive net benefits for the greatest number of individual
Problems with the Utilitarian Approach
On some situations, an action that produces the greatest good for the most people may not seem to be the most ethical
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
The Concept that corporations can and should act ethically and be accountable to society for their actions
It’s not imposed on corporations by law but it does involve a commitment to self-regulation in a way that attends to the text and intent of the law as well as to ethical norms and global standards
Some types of CSR activities that businesses are engaging in today include:
1. Environmental Efforts
2. Ethical Labor Practices
3. Charitable donations
4. Volunteer work
The Corporate Aspects of CSR
Any socially responsible activity will benefit a corporation
Benefits include:
- an increase in goodwill from the local community
- an increase in sales
- Higher employee retention
At times benefits may not be immediate
The Social Aspects of CSR
Bc business control so much of the wealth and power in this country, business has a responsibility to use that wealth and power in socially beneficial ways
The social aspects of CSR require corporations to demonstrate that they are:
- promoting goals that society deems worthwhile
- moving toward solutions to social problems
Companies may be judged on:
- How much they donate to social causes
- How they conduct their operations with respect to employment discrimination, human rights, environmental concerns, and similar issues.
