Ethical Issues and Application of Ethics Theories - Case Study Example

Type here Topic: "Ethical Issues and Application of Ethics Theories" Type your module here here According to Mario Alexandrou, Stakeholders are m those people who are in some way or the other, getting affected by a business situation. They can end-users or clients, people who will draw out the requirements for a projects or who will have their say in the final decisions being made (2009). In the case being discussed, the major stakeholders are Carly and other directors, Jeremy, Z Museum, M's, young painters (artists). There can be multiple operational/ethical issues impacting these stakeholders. Carly Y might be affected by the success of show as his standing as a director may increase following a successful show. Similarly, Carly also wants to show the work of young artists in his museum as it was a success in a museum in London. This will affect both Z museum and Carly as a successful show will increase the rating of the museum and will help them become a popular place. Similarly, Carly will also benefit by controlling a successful museum as his standing and worth will increase. The other stakeholder in the case is Jeremy Q. Jeremy Q is going donate a good sum of money to museum in an attempt to increase recognition in the corporate sector, which will give him chance to attract a corporate sponsorship for his collections. So, he may also be affected greatly by the success of the show. M's will also not remain unaffected by the show. They have been forced to become a stakeholder by the persuasion of Jeremy and Carly. Both have offered them to use their services in future if they sponsor the show. This means future financial gains for M's if show becomes a success. Similarly, young painters will get exposure and there may be a change that the success of their painting in the show may lead them to fame. These were some of the stakeholders and how ethical or operational issues impact these stakeholders. According to Manuel Velasquez, Teleology theory states that what make an action good or wrong are the consequences of that action. For example, a "right action" always leads to right consequences and vice versa. In our case, all the stakeholders were working for their own benefits. For example, Jeremy wanted publicity and corporate sponsorship for his collections. Similarly M's wanted more business opportunities in the future and Carly wanted to enhance his reputation. In surge of their own benefits, all the stakeholders were working for the success of Z museum. However, according to Teleology theory, this self-interest is justified as long as the final target is achieved, that is the success of Z museum. However, if the Museum fails to put on a great show, the actions of these stakeholders would be classified as unethical or wrong actions, as suggested by this theory. Similarly, Manuel Velasquez defines Deontology theory as "it is not the consequences but the motivation behind these actions that determine the actions right or wrong". In our case everyone was lacking the real spirit and working for their self-interest or personal success (2009). Hence, their actions, according to deontology theory were wrong as they were not working for the success of the Museum, which was the main target, but instead everyone was seeking growth in his own personal stature. However, one cannot classify this behavior as truly negative behavior. According to Shaw, egoism theory sets the personal achievement and pleasure as the main goal for one's actions. The behavior of the stakeholders can be justified if their actions are viewed in the light of this theory. The director was working for his growth in reputation, Jeremy for his publicity, M's for future business. All of them were indirectly putting their efforts for the success of the show at the Museum. Their actions are justified by the egoism and Teleogical theories but, their actions cannot be considered as totally ethical under deontology (2005). In order to analyze the costs and benefits of these actions to Z Museum, we will have to look at the entire cost in great detail. As far as the negative costs that were incurred by the museum are concerned, they include Jeremy's demands such as bring in an expensive consultant for $20,000. It will also include the costs of special crate that will be used by the Museum to bring in the painting. Similarly, another negative cost that could be associated with these actions is the manipulation of the financial statements for the sake of revenue or the profits. These might affect the shareholders of Z Museum as they collect all their information from financial statement. So, manipulating the financial statement is like misleading the owners or investor of the company, which is wrong and results in a negative externality because of the company's actions. Similarly, as all the parties are working not for the success of the Museum, but, for their own benefits, there is a chance that there won't be a cohesive effort for the success of the Museum and this failure might mean failure for all the stakeholders. This is a negative externality for these writers and hence this is included in the negative costs created by the company. The positive effects of the company's actions could include success of all the stakeholders, assuming that the show held at Z Museum was a success. Similarly, it would also help M's and Jeremy to make their business better. A better business means that these companies' will employ more people and the whole society is going to benefit from the success of the company. Similarly, success of the show will increase the business revenues and may open door for future sponsorship which may be good for the museum. Looking from overall societal point of view, this will also help the promotion of young writers, who will get exposure and this may lead them out of oblivion to fame. If we look at positive and negative consequences created by the company's actions, we can easily conclude, from utilitarianism theory, that Z Museum bestows more benefits that costs on its stakeholders and hence they should go all out and conduct the show. Manuel G. Velasquez (2001). Business Ethics: Cases and Concepts. Prentice Hall Mario Alexandrou. (2009). Web Strategist and Project Manager: Defining Stakeholders. http://www.mariosalexandrou.com/definition/stakeholder.asp William H. Shaw. (2005). Business Ethics. Wadsworth Publishing Read More