An Introduction to Ethical Theory Free-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Cybertechnology related Ethical Issues. Answer: Supreme Court sides with Samsung in Apple patent damages dispute Morality refers to the principles which create distinction between the right and the wrong actions. It is the standard of principles which are based on the philosophies, religion and actions of people which defines the code of conduct. In the business environment, several situations arise in which the managers struggle from ethical dilemma in which a certain course of action will breach the different ethical principles. The ethical dilemma is defined as a complex situation in which obeying one moral philosophy results in the transgression of other philosophies. In the recent years, several moral theories have emerged which have conflicting views. The most popular moral theories are utilitarianism, deontology, virtue and contract (Birsch, 2013). These moral theories or frameworks are based on different viewpoints and justifies different course of actions. However, the essence of all these theories is to distinguish right actions from the wrong actions and makes the world a better plac e. In this regard, the following essay examines the ethical issue of intellectual property rights infringement by Samsung of the Apple iPhones. Apple is a pioneer mobile manufacturing organization. The company is famous for manufacturing iPhones with exceptional features which has developed drastic fan following. Many companies are trying to copy the designs of the company; but, remained unsuccessful. Recently, Samsung was able to copy several designs and product features of iPhone and integrated them in the product design. It was a serious case of intellectual property theft and the stealing of the efforts of several product design engineers of Apple. When the company files a case against Samsung, it obtained large compensation amount in lower court, but the Supreme Court of Australia ruled that Samsung was not liable for all the compensation imposed. It was stated that the company was not liable for all the profits from the sales of the phone but from the profits of the components that infringe the copyright laws (Balakrishnan, 2016). According to the utilitarian theory, an action can be judged as right or wrong based on its possible outcomes. The theory states that a person should move beyond ones interest and takes into account the interest of other people. Utilitarianism states that any course of action is morally correct, which has better outcomes for the society (Shafer-Landau, 2012). During the evaluation of the ruling of the Supreme Court from this theory, it can be stated that the action is morally correct. Although, the action of intellectual property infringement is unjustified; however, imposing heavy penalty on the company will discourage other companies for incremental innovation. They will get skeptical if changes introduced by them will come under the category of copyright infringement (Garber, 2008). If the government will impose heavy penalty for the actions of management of the organization, it will be wrong for the shareholders of the company. They will suffer from decreased share value. Moreover, imposing penalty for the designs developed by the Samsung will be wrong to the company. The action is justified by the utilitarianism as it assisted in bringing the unique features and designs of iPhones to common people. It can be posited that the Apples iPhone are costly and can only be bought by affluent class. Samsung made the phones approachable to the middle class people and thus contributed to the welfare of the society (Timmons, 2012). The deontological philosophy of ethics state that the morality of action is based on a set of rules. The deontological ethics is based on certain obligations and not on their consequences. It states that if an action is right, then it is right regardless of it consequences. There are three basic principles of the deontological. Firstly, all the people must adhere to a certain morality standard or framework. If a person is following a different moral standard, then he cannot be held responsible for their actions. Morality should be distinguished to from the basic inclination or feelings. Thirdly, morality is derived from reasons or logic not from experience (Farrell, 2010). It can be reviewed that according to this deontological ethics, Samsung was a wrong doer in the situation and must be punished. Samsung copied the features of the designs of Apple iPhones. It has theft of the hard work of the Apples design engineers. According to deontological theory, a person or organization must not engage in ethically wrong actions regardless of the consequences. When the case is evaluated with this theory, it can be evaluated that although Samsung has done a good work of making technology more accessible, it cannot be considered as a morally justified action, as theft is considered as morally wrong in any morality framework (Waluchow, 2003). Virtue ethics refers to the normative ethical theory which states that an individuals character is important for ethical thinking. The virtue ethics emphasizes that an individuals character is essential in ethical thinking. It states that rather than rules or consequences, the virtues of people are important for ethical thinking. Samsung is a large multinational organization, which abides by the ethical principles and values. The business organizations follow certain ethical principles or code of conduct for ethical business (Melden 2013). They also need to abide by the government laws and legislations. However, Samsung did not follow ethical business practices. Copying the features of the Apples iPhones, the company stole the investment and the hard work of the company. Therefore, according to virtue ethics, the theft of intellectual property can be categorized as an immoral action. Social contract theory states that the morals of a person are dependent upon the contract or agreement which they form in the society they live. The contractual ethical theory is different from other normative theories as it states that an individual seek the public justification of moral principles through social contracts. It states that an individual shows or perform as particular action, principle or practice because other people are in favor of that action, principle and practice (Oxley, 2011). According to this theory, the action of Samsung is immoral as the company is operating in international markets. Therefore, it should be concerned regarding the welfare of the society. The primary stakeholders of the company are its customers which mean that the company should focus on developing positive relations with them. In this regard, it can be critiqued that the action of the company is moral when evaluated from the perspective of this theory. The company is making state-of-art te chnology more accessible to the customers. The people are able to use latest technology and derive benefits from it. However, it also encourages stealing and larceny. The people can get inspired by this action and disregard the intellectual property and labor of other people (Rawls, 2009). It can be concluded that the action of the company is immoral. Stealing the intellectual property of other people and organization is an immoral action as it disregards the financial and time investment in the development of technology. Although, some moral theories categorizes it as moral action because it makes technology more accessible to the general public, it is an immoral action as ethical framework cannot categorize stealing of others hard work as a legitimate action. Utilitarianism states that the morality of actions can be judged according to its consequences. However, the present action is spreading the value of disregard of the intellectual property rights. It can be critiqued from the essay that the action is immoral and government should impose penalty on the organization to control future intellectual property breaches in the company. References Farrell, M.E. (2010). Ethics: A University Guide. Progressive Frontiers Pubs. Oxley, J. (2011). The Moral Dimensions of Empathy: Limits and Applications in Ethical Theory and Practice. Springer. Birsch, D. (2013). Introduction to Ethical Theories: A Procedural Approach. Waveland Press. Shafer-Landau, R. (2012). Ethical Theory: An Anthology. John Wiley Sons. Melden A. (2013). Ethical Theories. Read Books Ltd. Waluchow, W.J. (2003). The Dimensions of Ethics: An Introduction to Ethical Theory. Broadview Press. Rawls, J. (2009). A Theory of Justice. Harvard University Press. Timmons, M. (2012). Moral Theory: An Introduction. Plymouth: Rowman Littlefield. Garber, P.R. (2008). The Ethical Dilemma. Human Resource Development. Balakrishnan, A. (2016). Supreme Court sides with Samsung in Apple patent damages dispute. Retrieved on 3 may 2017 from https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/06/supreme-court-rules-for-samsung-in-apple-patent-case.html