Ethical decision making – A utilitarian approach Dr. Jana Swarup Kumar, Dr. Basu Abhash Kr. Assistant Professor in Commerce, Ramananda College, Bishnupur, Bankura. West Bengal, India. Online published on 3 November, 2012. Abstract Business managers face different ethical dilemmas. Cutting across on quality to reduce costs, to lay off workers to enhance profit, to outsource jobs to avail economy in cheaper labour abroad are some of such example of dilemmas. Constant changes in business environment and pressure to cope up with such changes do not allow the luxury of enough time for reflection and adjustment. This pressure may be political, professional or social. The question is how to respond to these pressures. The response should be such one that will encompass all approaches of decision making so that right course of action is taken in the needful. One decision may not suit everyone particularly when people have different stakes, very often conflicting in nature. So the main burden on the business managers is to take decisions that are not only right but also ethical and equally likely in the sense that to a sizable extent it would offer good to a mass. This study endeavors to assess the viability of consequentiality approach that a business manager can use in decision making. Top Keywords Ethical Egoism, Psychological Egoism, Consequential/Teleological Philosophy, Non-consequential/Deontological Philosophy, Utilitarianism, Absolutism, Preference or Desire Satisfaction, Altruism, Greatest Happiness Principle (GHP). Top |