Theoretical frameworks and concepts

Ethical Theories

Theories

Ethical theories are the foundations used for ethical analysis as they provide different viewpoints that a person can receive guidance in order to reach an ethical decision. The theories emphasize different viewpoints like following one's duties in order to attain a decision that is ethically correct and predicting an outcome from a given scenario.

When developing a training program for employees, the ethical theories that would be proposed are deontology and utilitarianism. This is because these theories will allow an employee to analyze a situation from both perspectives before they reach their decision. Both these theories fall under the normative ethics which is a study of ethical action. It is mostly concerned with the questions a person would ask them self when they are considering the best way to act morally. Normative ethics analyses standards to establish what if an action is right or wrong.

Deontology theory

This theory states that a person should always adhere to their duties and obligations when faced with an ethical dilemma Ronzoni, 2010.

Because the upholding of one's duty is considered to be ethically correct, a person will follow his/her obligation to the other person or society. This theory demands that a person adheres to the law and always keeps the promises they make.

For a large corporation, there will be a set of rules and guidelines that employees will have to follow in the performance of their duties. Since deontology is mostly concerned with the action, employees will perform their duties following the moral norms or rules. Training employees to always perform their duties ethically, would ensure that the corporation adheres to the laws of the country, follows strict guidelines in production and manufacturing of goods, and the service the corporation delivers to its customers will be top notch.

The deontology theory may contain many positive attributes, but it also has some negative attributes. There might be a hidden meaning towards a person's actions. For example, and employee might decide they will never be late for a meeting, which will appear to be a noble duty, but there might be a hidden reason towards this action. Maybe the employee prefers to sit in a particular place or sit. Another negative attribute of the deontology theory is the fact that it is mostly concerned with the individual's welfare and not others.

Utilitarianism theory

This theory deals with the individual's ability to foresee the consequences of their actions. A person will have to analyze the choice they make to ensure that they benefit more people Weymark, 2005.

Using this theory a person can compare similar past solutions, and develop a system that determines which choice will be most beneficial for a majority of people.