What value, if any, do you see in business students studying the basics of ethical theory?

Business ethics is the study which demonstrates the right & wrong activities of the individual from the business point of view. In conducting the business it is highly important that the organization should perform the activities that are legal and promote healthy competition in the market. It is important for every organization or business to follow the certain code of ethics so that the business can work for the common good of the society. For every business student, it is highly important that it should have basic knowledge about the business ethics s that it can become a professional businessman and work according to the rules and regulations (Shaw, 2013).

There are many ethical theories which the business students learn in their business schools such as Utilitarianism and Egoism. The utilitarianism theory states that the individual should act is such a way that it can cause happiness or pleasure for the huge amount of people. It means that the businessmen should try to provide benefit to the huge amount of people. Today many organizations produce products & services by keeping the demand of preferences of the customers in mind that portraits that the corporations are applying the utilitarian approach. Another ethical theory which the business students should study is the Egoism (Shaw, 2013).

According to the egoism theory the individual acts for its own self-interest. It can be seen that many corporations primary aim is to earn the profit and there are many examples out there in which the corporation had acted for their own self-interest. The ethical theories that have been discussed help the students to know the importance of ethics in business and how they can perform different activities efficiently. It is important to work for the benefit of the society and does not perform illegal activities which not only decrease in the review of the company but also the people will not buy goods from such corporation who does not work ethically.

Which  normative  theory  or  general  approach  to  ethics  do  you  find  the  most  plausible  or  attractive,  and  why?

The normative ethical theories set the standards and tell which activities are ethical and which are not. There are many normative ethical theories like Kant’s, Egoism and Utilitarianism. After going through all the normative theories and their importance for the business I find utilitarianism theory the most plausible or attractive. According to the utilitarianism theory, the individual should act is a way which provides maximum pleasure to the huge number of people. If the business will focus on this theory they will able to provide the huge amount of products to the people and the reputation of the business will increase (Shaw, 2013).

If the business will apply utilitarianism approach than the business will not work for its own self-interest rather it will work for the common good of the society. Today the customers have become quite aware and like to buy goods from such corporation who work ethically and focus on the development of the society. The organization should focus on corporate social responsibility and work for the growth and development of society along with its own growth. Through this not only the revenue of the corporation will increase but also the corporation will survive for a long period of time. In simple words, it can be said that the utilitarianism approach will prove quite beneficial for the growth and sustainability of the businesses (Shaw, 2013).

I did not find Egoism theory effective for the corporation because the competition has increased in the market and if the corporation does not divert their attention toward their customers and their preferences than the business will unable to satisfy the needs of the customers and ultimately it will affect the performance of the business. Today it is important that the business should analyze the trends and focus on the needs of the customers so that they can stay happy and revenue of the business will increase. Therefore the utilitarianism theory, in my opinion, is more beneficial for the businesses (O'Sullivan, Smith, & Esposito, 2012).

Can  people  who  disagree  about  normative  ethical  theory  still  reach  agreement  on  practical  ethical  questions  in  the  business  world?  If so, how?

The people who do not accept ethical theories will still reach the same ethical conclusion because if someone has taken a right decision then it will be acceptable to everyone despite someone accepts the ethical theories or not. A correct decision does not depend on the ethical theory or needs theory to be called a correct decision. In business, there are many people who take the decision by keeping the needs and demands of the customers in mind which means that they are taking an ethically correct decision. Now if the businessmen who have taken ethical decision does not have much information about the utilitarianism theory or another theory have still reached to the same ethical conclusion (O'Sullivan, Smith, & Esposito, 2012).

It is quite obvious that if the decision is morally correct and ethical than it will be acceptable for the people who are following different ethical theories. Different ethical theories reach to the same conclusion that is why a good decision is acceptable for everyone. It is important that the decision should be morally correct otherwise the people will not accept it. In business meeting, if the decision has promoted the benefit for both society and organization that no one would raise question against such question because it is not only ethically correct but also has worked for the benefit of the society. It is important that the business should realize the importance of ethics in the corporate world. It is not important that which ethical theory should be implemented in the corporation, the thing that is important is the decision should be morally correct and should be according to the rules & regulations.

The codes of ethics have been formed so that the business can work ethically. It is the duty of the management of the corporation to implement the code of ethics so that the employees have the awareness about the significance of ethics and how it leads to the success of the corporation. Overall ethics play a major role in the success and profitability of the business (O'Sullivan, Smith, & Esposito, 2012).

References of Business Ethics

O'Sullivan, P., Smith, M., & Esposito, M. (Eds.). (2012). Business Ethics: A Critical Approach: Integrating Ethics Across the Business World. Routledge.

Shaw, W. H. (2013). Business Ethics: A Textbook with Cases. Cengage Learning.