Bifalgorithm post · IntroductionToBusiness OP 8D04gAa · 2026-10-07-36573 · 2.2. How Organizations Influence Ethical Conduct*

How do duty-based ethics and individual rights guide ethical decisions?

How do duty-based ethics and individual rights guide ethical decisions? (IntroductionToBusiness OP 8D04gAa · 2026-10-07-36573 · 2.2. How Organizations Influenc…

Ideas in this flowchart

  • Ethical decision-making through duties and individual rights
  • Duty-based philosophy requires keeping promises and following the law.
  • Decisions are consistent because they are based on an individual's duties.
  • This philosophy is not necessarily concerned with the welfare of others.
  • Conflicting duties can make an ethically correct resolution unclear.
  • A technician has a duty to follow the law and arrive on time for homeowners' meetings.
  • The technician must choose how to drive when running late.
  • Speeding would violate the duty to uphold the law.
  • Arriving late would violate the duty to be on time.
  • The conflicting obligations do not clearly protect the welfare of others.
  • Individuals and groups possess rights that guide ethical decisions.
  • Human rights, including life, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness, are bestowed at birth.
  • Human rights cannot be arbitrarily taken away.
  • Denying an individual’s or group’s rights is unethical and illegal in most parts of the world.
  • Legal rights are guaranteed by government and its laws.
  • The U.S. Constitution, its amendments, and state and federal statutes define citizens’ rights.
  • Legal rights include religious freedom, speech, assembly, due process, and access to counsel.
  • Privacy is considered a fundamental right in many matters.
  • Legal rights apply without regard to race, color, creed, gender, or ability.
  • Rights may be disregarded only in extreme circumstances, such as wartime.
  • Concept check: formation of individual business ethics, utilitarianism, and recognition of unethical activities.
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How do duty-based ethics and individual rights guide ethical decisions?

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IntroductionToBusiness OP 8D04gAa · 2026-10-07-36573

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"this philosophy will always keep their promises to a friend and will follow the law. They will produce very consistent decisions, because they will be based on the individual’s set duties. Note that this theory is not necessarily concerned with the welfare of others. Say, for example, a technician for Orkin Pest Control has decided that it’s his ethical duty (and is very practical) to always be on time to meetings with homeowners. Today he is running late. How is he supposed to drive? Is the technician supposed to speed, breaking his duty to society to uphold the law, or is he supposed to arrive at the client’s home late, breaking his duty to be on time? This scenario of conflicting obligations does not lead us to a clear ethically correct resolution, nor does it protect the welfare of others from the technician’s decision.\n\nIndividual Rights In our society, individuals and groups have certain rights that exist under certain conditions regardless of any external circumstances. These rights serve as guides when making individual ethical decisions. The term human rights implies that certain rights—to life, to freedom, to the pursuit of happiness—are bestowed at birth and cannot be arbitrarily taken away. Denying the rights of an individual or group is considered to be unethical and illegal in most, though not all, parts of the world. Certain rights are guaranteed by the government and its laws, and these are considered legal rights. The U.S. Constitution and its amendments, as well as state and federal statutes, define the rights of American citizens. Those rights can be disregarded only in extreme circumstances, such as during wartime. Legal rights include the freedom of religion, speech, and assembly; protection from improper arrest and searches and seizures; and proper access to counsel, confrontation of witnesses, and cross-examination in criminal prosecutions. Also held to be fundamental is the right to privacy in many matters. Legal rights are to be applied without regard to race, color, creed, gender, or ability.\n\nC O N C E P T C H E C K\n\n1. How are individual business ethics formed?\n\n2. What is utilitarianism?\n\n3. How can you recognize unethical activities?"

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