Abstract
Current discussions of business ethics usually only consider deontological and utilitarian approaches. What is missing is a discussion of traditional teleology, often referred to as “virtue ethics.” While deontology and teleology are useful, they both suffer insufficiencies. Traditional teleology, while deontological in many respects, does not object to utilitarian style calculations as long as they are contained within a moral framework that is not utilitarian in its origin. It contains the best of both approaches and can be used to focus on the individual's role within an organization. More work is needed in exposing students and faculty to traditional teleology and its place in business ethic's discussions.
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Dr. James E. Macdonald received a Master of Business Administration, a Ph.D in Philosophy, and a J.D. He is a founding member of the Business Ethics section of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business and past-president of the Rocky Mountain Academy of Legal Studies in Business.
Professor Caryn L. Beck-Dudley received a Juris Doctorate. She is a member of the Business Ethics sections of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business and the Society of Business Ethics. She has published several articles and in 1993 she received the Holmes-Cardozo award from the Academy of Legal Studies in Business for outstanding paper submitted and presented at the national meeting. She is currently secretary-treasure of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business.
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Macdonald, J.E., Beck-Dudley, C.L. Are deontology and teleology mutually exclusive?. J Bus Ethics 13, 615–623 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00871809
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00871809