Utilitarianism and Universal Ethical Theories
Fact
My work in the Ethics Department for ABC Company is to offer advice to employees about their ethical obligations in a corporate setting. In my duty as an internal consultant, all the communications I receive in my capacity are confidential. Luke, another employee of ABC, approaches me with a work situation that needs an ethical recommendation. Luke has been tasked with developing a newly acquired piece of land to build an adult entertainment retail store. Luke is aware that once the news about the adult entertainment store goes public, the value of neighboring properties will decline significantly. Coincidentally, the piece of land is near the residence of Owen, the brother to Luke. Luke is torn between his obligation to the company and loyalty to his brother Owen.
Issue
Owen recently told Luke of his plans to sell his house. However, Owen is convinced that in a few years, the value of his property will increase, and therefore, declines an average offer on his house. However, Luke is aware that once the construction of the adult entertainment store starts, all properties nearby, including the one belonging to Owen, will depreciate. In this case, an ethical issue arises because of the conflict of interests. Luke is obliged to keep the project confidential since ABC plans to announce the project in a month publicly. However, Luke is close to his brother and, keeping the secret of the adult entertainment store from Owen will destroy their relationship and, cause Owen to miss out on a reasonable offer on his house. Luke faces an ethical dilemma whereby he has to choose between remaining honest and truthful to ABC or his brother.
Application of Ethical Theories
Several theories can be applied in the situation to help Luke make an ethical decision. In this ethical dilemma, Luke can apply either utilitarianism theory or the universal ethics theory.
Utilitarianism
The utilitarian approach suggests that one should evaluate the consequences and decide which choice would benefit most people, based on the result. According to Kaptein et al. (2011), in utilitarianism, the end justifies the means. Luke must analyze the advantages and disadvantages of his choices and make a decision based on the option that will produce the highest good for the majority.
The first choice that Luke has is to inform his brother of the upcoming project. As stated earlier, the project will automatically degrade the value of all the properties in the neighborhood. Owen refused an average offer on his house in the hope that his property will appreciate in the coming years. If Luke does not tell his brother of the upcoming project, Owen will sell his property at a low price in the future. The well-being of Owen will be affected as a result of Luke’s silence. Therefore, Luke can hint to his brother of the upcoming project and advice him to sell the house before the value depreciates. However, if Luke tells his brother of the forthcoming project, his job at ABC Company will be at risk.
Luke can also choose to keep his obligation to the company and fail to alert his brother. In so doing, Luke will keep his job and remain a trustworthy employee of ABC Company. However, if Owen learns that his brother Luke kept silence on a project that would degrade his property, their relationship will be destroyed. Owen will consider Luke as untrustworthy and will never confide in him again. Thus, if Luke fails to alert his brother, their strong relationship will suffer a permanent blow.
The problem with applying utilitarianism is that one does not consider their happiness (Kaptein et al., 2011). Utilitarianism requires one to choose the option that will make the majority happy. Therefore, in this case, Luke has to consider the choice that will produce the highest good for the majority. Thus, although Luke stands to lose something significant in both options, he has to make a decision that will good for the majority.
Universal Ethics
The theory of universal ethics requires one to focus on their morality rather than the rules or the consequences. In line with Abun et al. (2018), the virtue of a person is primarily influenced by their surroundings. In this case, Luke has to consider his surroundings in terms of professional and family. Whereas Luke has a moral obligation of confidentiality to his company, he also has a duty of honesty to his brother. Luke has to carefully consider which of the two surroundings dictate his moral standards.
If Luke draws his moral standards from ABC Company, then he will put his work first and keep the secret from Owen. Luke will save his company from lousy publicity since spreading news of the upcoming project may spark adverse reactions from the people living in the neighborhood. On the other hand, if Luke draws his moral standards from his family, then, he ought to tell Owen of the upcoming project. In so doing, Luke will prevent his brother from selling his property at a low price in the future. Furthermore, Luke will safeguard the relationship with his brother.
Conclusion
Luke faces an ethical dilemma that needs an immediate response. In my capacity as an internal consultant, I would advise Luke to apply universal ethics and persuade his brother to sell the property before ABC makes the project public. Since Luke draws his moral standards from both his workplace and his family, he has to make a choice that would protect both parties. Luke would, however, have to omit the fact that ABC plans to build an adult entertainment store. Although Luke would have to conceal the entire truth from his brother, he will secure his job and save his brother from selling his property at a low price in the future.
References
Abun, Damianus & Magallanes, Theogenia. (2018). Universal business ethics: A challenge to multinational companies.
Kaptein, M., & Wempe, J. F. (2011). Three general theories of ethics and the integrative role of integrity theory.