Ethical decision making - Essay Example

Case Study for Critical Analysis In utilitarian approach of ethical decision making different s of action are identified and analyzed. Course of action which would produce the maximum benefits and minimum harm is chosen. In this approach ethical action is the one which would provide greatest good for the greatest number (Santa Clara University, The Utilitarian Approach). In this case Antonio Melendez had three choices, a) he could advise Kevin to report the insurance company about Empress’s illegal activity, b) he could deal the matter by his own and lastly c) he could just hide the entire matter.

The first option would definitely affect Empress. If Kevin inform the insurance company it would certainly take some serious actions against Empress and this would harm the image of Empress in the market. Choosing the second option might have led to the loss of Antonio’s job or anything equivalent to that. On the other hand the third option would not have any immediate bad effect either on Empress or on two of its employees (Antonio and Kevin). Choosing third option would produce the maximum benefit and minimum harm.

As a result in utilitarian approach Antonio would decide to choose the third option i.e. to hide the entire matter. In individualism approach that course of action is moral which would provide maximum individual benefit. According to this approach moral course of action would promote the best long term interest of the individual (Salisbury University, Ethics and Social Responsibility). In this case if Antonio takes the entire matter from Kevin and deal with it by himself, it would definitely provide maximum benefit for him in the long run.

Apparently it might not seem to be the best option as Antonio might lose his job in the process. But if he could manage the situation it would definitely prove that he has strong principles and managerial skills. This would certainly be beneficial for him in the long run. Even if he loses this job, he can represent this incident as an example of strong ethics and principles in future. 2) If I would have been in the position of Antonio, I would have chosen the third option which is mentioned above.

If decision is taken realistically then suppressing the entire matter would provide the best result in the short term. This decision would have been at the conventional level of moral development, because in conventional level decisions or actions are taken by comparing overall views on that action in the society. 3) Kevin and Antonio should not omit any traces of their employment in Empress from their resumes even if they are fired from the company. There are several important reasons behind this.

First of all this is information age, as a result if any organization really want to know about the past experience of any candidate, it can easily do that despite of all the attempts of hiding information from candidate’s end. Secondly if Kevin and Antonio can properly explain the real facts regarding Empress’s fraud in front of their next organization then it would definitely prove their level of honesty. If they can convince their next organization and properly represent their points at the time of interview, in the long run it would definitely be beneficial for them.

References Santa Clara University, The Utilitarian Approach. No Date. Thinking Ethically: A Framework for Moral Decision Making < http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v7n1/thinking.html > Salisbury University, Ethics and Social Responsibility. No Date. Chapter 4