Utilitarianism theory of ethics refers to which one of the following ?
Welfare
Welfare — option 1.
The principle. Utilitarianism judges an act by its consequences, and specifically by the welfare or utility it produces. The famous formulation is the greatest happiness of the greatest number: an act is right in proportion as it tends to promote happiness and wrong as it tends to produce the reverse. It is therefore a teleological or consequentialist theory — welfare is the criterion, and nothing else counts.
Why the other three options are the direct opposite. Duty, obligation and rules are the vocabulary of deontological ethics, which judges the act in itself and expressly refuses to look at consequences. The question sets the two great traditions of moral philosophy against each other, and asks which word belongs to which :
| Utilitarianism (teleological) | Deontology | |
|---|---|---|
| Criterion | Welfare / utility / happiness | Duty, obligation, rule |
| Judges | The consequences of the act | The act itself |
| Central question | Does it produce the greatest good for the greatest number? | Is it right in itself, whatever follows? |
| Chief figures | Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill | Immanuel Kant |
The two forms of the theory :
| Form | Test applied |
|---|---|
| Act utilitarianism | Does this particular act maximise utility? |
| Rule utilitarianism | Does the rule under which this act falls maximise utility if generally followed? — a partial answer to the objection that act utilitarianism can justify anything in a single case |
Mill’s refinement of Bentham is worth knowing. Bentham treated pleasures as differing only in quantity, measurable by his felicific calculus. Mill insisted they differ in quality too — intellectual and moral pleasures rank above bodily ones — which is the point of his remark that it is better to be a dissatisfied human than a satisfied pig.
Where it is used in business, and where it fails. Cost-benefit analysis is utilitarianism in operation: a project is approved if aggregate benefits exceed aggregate costs. Its weakness is that aggregation ignores distribution. A decision can maximise total welfare while inflicting severe harm on a minority, and utilitarian reasoning by itself supplies no ground for objecting — which is precisely the protection deontological ethics provides, and why business ethics in practice draws on both.
Hence, the answer is Welfare.
Similar Questions
Which one of the following is not a principle of corporate Governance ?
Match the items given in the List - I and List - II and suggest the correct code :
List - I List - II (a) Ethics (i) Right code of behaviour for a group or profession (b) Morality (ii) Prescribes right conduct for everyone (c) Moral standard (iii) Needs some inclination to follow morality (d) Meta Moral Standard (iv) Practical and pragmatic Code :
Assertion (A) : When a corporation acts ethically and socially responsible in its business decisions and strategic planning, then the corporation will be more sustainable.
Reason (R) : Socially responsible corporate behaviour is increasingly seen as essential to long-term survival of companies.
Read the following passage and answer the questions :
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Statement (I) : The science of ethics is a normative science.
Statement (II) : Normative sciences judge the value of the facts in terms of an idea; concerned with judgements of ‘what ought to be’ but not with factual judgements.
Code :
Assertion (A) : Decisions in small matters largely tend to set a pattern for the more important ones you may make as managers.
Reasoning (R) : A multi-industry survey conducted in the USA indicated that 40% of the managers said that their superiors had at some time told them to do certain things unethical.
Code :
Deontological theory of ethics is concerned with which of the following ?
(a) Duty ethics
(b) Obligation ethics
(c) Rule based ethics
(d) Classical ethics
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Match the items of List (I) with those of List (II); and choose the correct combination :
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Assertion (A) : Bad corporate governance can cast doubt on a company's reliability.
Reasoning (R) : Companies that do not cooperate sufficiently with auditors can publish non-compliant financial results.
Code :
Which among the following are also called Corporate Social Responsibility ?
(a) Corporate Conscience
(b) Corporate Citizenship
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Code :
Important Questions from Corporate governance and business ethics
Which one of the following is not a norm of corporate governance ?
Which one among the following is not a true statement?
Who among the following has not given a model on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?
For customers, which are the areas of ethical and social responsibility concerns?
A. Product Safety
B. Fair Price
C. Fair Wages
D. TQM
E. Proper disclosures and information
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
"Corporate governance is to conduct the business in accordance with the owner's (shareholders) desires" is conceptualized by
