Business Ethics and Consequentialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Ethics and Consequentialism - Essay Example Ethics compliance includes implementing acts that serve the common good for the greater number of recipients. 1.Utilitarian ethics issues in this Case. There are utilitarian ethics issues in the case of the pacemaker case. The electronics company can generate the greater good to the greatest number of people. The principle of consequentialism or utilitiarian ethics states that the end justifies the means. The correct action is that action that brings out the greatest good to the entire community or population (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/#JerBen). For example, it is a common good to kill a convicted felon to prevent individuals from committing the same illegal acts (Portmore, 2011). Jeremy Bentham insisted that correct actions are those that bring about or increase happiness, and reduce pain (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/#JerBen). Applying the above consequentialism theory to the case, producing the electronic parts of the pace maker produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people (http://www.scu.edu/ethics/dialogue/candc/cases/supplier.html). The purpose of the pacemaker is to prolong the life of the dying person. Without a heart, the person will die. The pacemaker helps the heart beat. Without the pacemaker, the person would die a natural death. Consequently, the pacemaker prolongs the life of the pacemaker recipient for several years. By focusing on helping the pacemaker manufacturer improve the functional quality of the pacemakers, the electronics company helps increase the success of the pacemakers. Consequently, there is an increase in the pacemaker’s capacity to keep the failing human heart from stopping its continuous beating motion (http://www.scu.edu/ethics/dialogue/candc/cases/supplier_comments.html). 2) Jeremy Bentham Concept on the Case. Jeremy Bentham, father of utilitarianism, will rightly approve the decision to continue producing the electronic parts of the pacemakers. By helping the pacemaker manufacturers improve the functional quality of the pacemakers, the electronics company increases the functional quality of the pacemakers. Consequently, the pacemaker adds more years to the dying patients’ lives. For the dying person, adding more years to one’s earthly life is a greater good when compared to just letting the patient die a natural death (Bentham, 2009). The popularity of the pacemaker is its capacity to prolong the dying person’s life by stimulating the non-beating heart to beat. Without the pacemakers’ stimulating motion, the patient would have died instantly. The improved pacemakers will increase the patients’ and their families’ pleasure of having their dying relative live additional years on earth and avoiding the pain of losing their dying relative at an earlier date. 3. Utility test. Step A. There are three alternatives. The first alternative is to stop supplying the electronic parts of the pac emakers. Second, the electronics company will continue producing the electronic parts of the pacemakers and coordinate with the pacemaker company to improve the success rate of the pacemakers (Mandal, 2010). Step B. The are consequences and costs of each alternative. In terms of alternative 1, the short term and long term benefits (consequences) include removing the possible of future medical suits from the pacemaker patients and being wrongly blamed for the pacemaker’