Ethical Theory: The Four Types Of Ethics

The word ethics is derived from the Greek word “ethos” which means an ethical person is one who has a character. Ethics is a norm that translates ideals and values into everyday practice. Ethics is not a manual with answers on how to act. It is only a search for the right kind of morality. It is also the standards that define what right conduct is and what is wrong conduct. Ethics is concerned with distinguishing between good and evil in the world, between right and wrong human actions and between virtuous and non-virtuous characteristics of people. Ethics is also a branch of philosophy that involves questions about morality. Thus, ethics is about making choices which signifies how people act in order to make the right choice and predict good

behavior.
According to International Business Ethics Institute, business ethics often encompassing many concerns such as corporate governance, social responsibility, reputation of the management, accurate accounting and audits and fair labor practices. It generally addresses the entire scope of responsibilities and obligations that a company has to each of its stakeholders like clients, employees, shareholders, suppliers and the community. The main aim of business ethics is to define and examine the responsibilities of business and their agents by setting the rules and regulations and code of conducts.
There are various types of ethics; however in this assignment I will mainly focus on normative ethical theories which include teleological ethics, deontological ethics, virtue ethics and existentialist ethics which are used to evaluate ethics.

Deontological ethics which is also referred to as duty based ethics is a rule driven system, with moral status contingent on adherence to the rules. The word deontology is derived from the Greek words for duty (Deon). In contemporary moral philosophy, deontology is one of those kinds of normative theories regarding which choices are morally required, forbidden, or permitted (Deontological Ethics, 2012). It also judges morality by examining the nature of actions and the will of agents rather than goals achieved. Deontological theories are based on duty and rights and these duty and rights are set down as rules that must be followed regardless of the circumstances or consequences. It specifies moral duties or obligations which are seen as self-evident. Duty based ethics are usually what people are talking about when they refer to ‘the principle of the thing’. It also teaches that some acts are right or wrong because of the sorts of things they are and people have a duty to act accordingly, regardless of the good or bad consequences that may be produced. The Ten Commandments are an example of deontology for duty based ethics which are moral duties that have been taught to us since we were

children.
On the other hand, teleology ethics is also derived from the Greek word “telos”, which means goal or end.

Teleological ethics or consequentialism is referred to as a results oriented ethics. Teleological ethics describes an ethical perspective that contents the rightness or wrongness of actions and is based solely on the goodness or badness of their consequences. It focuses on the purpose of each action and whether there is an intention or meaning for the action. It deals with the consequences of an action. It also involves examining past experiences in order to figure out the results of present actions. It determines whether the behavior is right or wrong based on the consequences of the behavior. That is, the behavior is ethical if it results in a desirable consequence to the behavior. There are four types of teleological ethics which includes ethical egoism, ethical elitism, ethical parochialism and ethical

universalism.