Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism is a principle in normative ethics, according to which morality is based on the common good, understood as "the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people". When addressing social, economic or political problems, the doctrine promotes the idea of making society better. Classical utilitarianism is traditionally understood as an ethical doctrine, in which the main goal of the action is to spread happiness around as much as possible.

Utilitarianism explained

Utilitarianism is an ethical and political theory developed by Jeremy Bentham, English sociologist, lawyer, one of the greatest theorists of political liberalism, and John Stuart Mill, the most influential English philosopher. Proceeding from the fact that maximizing pleasure (happiness, good) and minimizing suffering (pain, vice, punishment) are the main motives of any actions, Bentham considered moral judgment a judgment about happiness, suggesting the possibility that morality is in some sense understandable from a mathematical perspective as a balance of pleasure and suffering obtained as a result of an act. 

For instance, if a person adheres to the principles of utilitarianism, at work he will take efforts at creating a better workplace first for the colleagues and then he will take into account his own needs. 

The basic principles of utilitarianism:

• People need to concentrate on achieving pleasure, or happiness, as they are considered to have the true value. 
• Actions are approved if they produce good, and disapproved if they result in pain for the group of people. 
• Each person's happiness counts as much as anyone else's.

Political Economy and Utilitarianism

Many liberal thinkers strived to develop a theory and a deeper understanding of it. The questions that they struggled to resolve were: What is happiness? How can people bring about the greatest good? How to achieve equality and justice?

Nowadays, Western democratic governments advocate for the efficiency of the free market and government intervention, as they help to minimize damage caused to both society and economy. Though the question about the appropriate role of the government in democracies will always be urgent, political and economic policies are aimed at improving the wellbeing of the citizens. If there are vulnerable groups that experience a higher risk of poverty, social exclusion and other social problems in a society where utilitarianism is applied, the political leaders would try to change the situation for the better. 

Business and Utilitarianism

The basic principle of utilitarianism is formulated as follows: a moral subject should act in such a way as to produce the greatest balance of good over evil, taking everyone into account. Therefore, from a utilitarian perspective, a war may be ethical, depending on the potential outcome. In addition to this, it is the most common approach to moral reasoning used in business as it provides a guiding framework of cost-benefit analysis. 

According to the theory, there is the most important dividing line among utilitarians in the business environment. It separates rule and act utilitarianism. 

The act utilitarianism states that an action is morally good if there is no other action that would be of greater benefit. The act utilitarian holds that people should try to determine the consequences of the various actions that they face. For instance, some medication can't help but trigger mild adverse effects. But as they have shown efficacy for a large group of people, medication has been authorized for use by the government. 

By contrast, according to rule utilitarians, by generally following rules, more happiness is produced. One of the examples is a strategy, in which companies segment the pricing of their products or services to suit various groups of people. There are different cabin classes offered on most airlines, such as economy, first class, etc. Business class costs considerably more than economy class. However, there are quite a few differences in the service you receive.  On the other hand, passengers who don’t have enough money to fly first class, take advantage of the economy class fares. This results in the happiness of the greatest number of people. 

Workplace ethics

Corporate work standards require the code of ethics as an effective management tool for the company. The code of ethics outlines the behavior of employees, defines the ideology of the company, and sets rules for employee actions towards customers. In today’s world, it is of a high importance to have this official document as it helps overcome challenges of managing employees and build corporate reputation. 

Brands that earn customer trust are rewarded by more sales, and if an ethical component plays a great role in the company, it has a great effect on the team and its performance. 

And if an employee makes ethical decisions in the workplace, then he will maximize the good. But if he does something immoral, employees’ happiness will be reduced.

However, it is complicated to put the ethical theory into practice in the workplace and in business as capitalism still prevails, and because of it people put all their time into their own life, to the detriment of the surrounding. 

Besides, it is impossible for utilitarianism to determine for sure what will be the outcome.