Philosophies of Interest - Assignment Example

of the Philosophy of the Concerned 31 October Philosophy Questions Answer Proposition 30 needs to be passed because it is strongly in confirmation with the utilitarian ethics, portending maximum good to the maximum number of people (Rosen 174). Proposition 30 intends to increase income tax on high income groups to support education. In this context it needs to be understood that though the income tax will be raised over an income bracket, its negative impact will be supported by each tax payer individually.

Hence, the income constraints imposed by prop 30 will be not impending collectively on a large group if taken practically, but will be spread over a pool of individuals. In contrast, the funneling of money raised through prop 30 into the education system will benefit the entire society in a collective sense, thereby accruing maximum good to the maximum number of people. Also, in a utilitarian context, the outcome of prop 30 will be propitious in the sense that the proposed increase in taxes will not impact the high income segments that drastically, since they will yet be left with much money to support their lifestyle, and will still lead to an outcome that will be favorable and good for the entire society that is the best possible outcome (Scarre 126).

Answer 2. Given the context that a CEO decides to lay off 10 percent of the workforce to restore profitability of a firm that has shown looses for two consecutive quarters; Gandolfi will certainly disagree with this strategy. In the vast body of literature produced by Gandolfi on the concept of downsizing, he has immaculately proved beyond doubt that the firms opting for large scale layoffs in response to constrained financial and economic scenarios are not only very rarely able to outperform financially, but layoffs also lead to debilitating consequences, which negatively impact the moral of the left over employees and managers (Gandolfi 3).

Yet, most of the CEOs prefer to opt for downsizing, which though registers favorably in the financial statements in the short run, leads to unfavorable long term consequences like lose of the trained and skilled labor, creation of distrust and apprehension in the human resources, depletion of moral, shaking of the investor confidence, falling of stock prices and unemployment. This viewpoint will certainly be supported by Aristotle, who held that the highest good was desirable for itself and all the other goods were subservient to it (Peters 10).

Hence, retaining the workforce during tough times is a good that brings within its fold many other goods like employment, investor confidence, high moral and profitability in the long and the short term. Works CitedGandolfi, Franco. “Learning from the Past- Downsizing Lessons for Managers”. Journal of Management Research 8.1 (2008): 1-17. Print. Peters, FH. The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1991. Rosen, Fredrick. Classical Utilitarianism from Hume to Mill.

London: Routledge, 2003. Print. Scarre, Geoffrey. Utilitarianism. London: Routledge, 1996. Print.