Ethical theory and legal issues in business management

ETHICAL THEORIES AND LEGAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Ethical Theories and Legal Issues in Business Management

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Ethical Theories and Legal Issues in Business Management

Normative Ethical Theories

Ethics also known as moral philosophy was defined as a systematizing defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong . There are normative ethical theories for the purpose of identifying moral standards to separate wrong and right conduct . It includes recognizing good practices and habits , proper duties and obligations to follow as well as the consequences of

our behaviors and decisions in general (Fieser , 2006 ) Common normative ethical theories applied in business are relativism , pragmatism , behaviorism and positivism

Relativism as a philosophical doctrine is the denial of ethical absolutes . Famous philosophers known as relativist include Ludwig Wittgenstein and Jacques Derrida . In business it means that all practices or beliefs can be equally valid and good . It also asserts that moral values are relative to particular standpoint or culture (Westacott , 2006

Pragmatism as another philosophical doctrine operates on the belief that something is right if it works satisfactorily . Pragmatic people in business are guided by practical experiences and observation rather than theory . The practical consequences are the criteria for what is valuable . Pragmatism originated in the United States during the late nineteenth century . Well known pragmatists were Charles Sanders Peirce William James and John Dewey (McDermid , 2006

Behaviorism on the other hand was a movement in psychology and philosophy that believes in the interpretation of human actions as totally determined and...