Ethics Systems of Deontology and Utilitarianism

Deontology and Utilitarianism Ethical Systems

The accounting profession is unique. This profession creates a conflict between one’s ethical responsibility to the company and one’s morals. Ethics, an original word in both Greek and Latin, refers to how a person prefers to interact with others in business and personal aspects. In accordance with the Accounting Ethics, Accounting Ethics is primarily concerned with anything that is admirable or condemned, i.e., considered acceptable (right) or unacceptable (wrong). The main objective of this research is to take a good look at the way different ethical systems relate to the accounting profession in question, the Cristian worldview of ethics and organizational culture. The systems of deontology and utilitarianism systems will be the main focus.

Deontological

The very first ethic system proposed applies to the accounting profession, which is a system that I deeply believe is the most appropriate to the career in question, accounting, is the theory of deontology. The meanings of this statement “deontology” is derived from many texts and one of these is the philosophy encyclopedia, Stanford Encyclopedia, which explains the phrase deontology as a connotation coming ”from the Greek statements which were used to refer to duty (done) and also one referring to science (logos),” proceeding to give an explanation that ”deontology is a statement emanating from one of those sorts of normative concepts concerning the choices are ethically mandatory, allowed, or prohibited.” In another perspective, deontological ethics can be defined as ”an action that can be considered impeccable because of a number of features of the exact thing being done and the reason not being that the action’s item is good.” In this scheme, there is some significance placed on a person’s obligation or duty to act in an upright manner.

Deontology has many forms, one of the forms is: ”some of the choices we make, their effects cannot be a measure of justifying them—that despite how attractive the outcomes can be, some of the choices are not advised as those that can be emulated. Thus, regarding such fields where deontological is regarded in terms of morality, individuals may not be in a position to make such decisions that are regarded wrong, even if by deciding to do that the count of such kinds of wrong decisions made will be reduced (since other people will be prohibited from involving themselves in such choices regarded as wrong)“ (Deontological Ethics, 2014).

The statements included in the deontological principles were first coined by Immanuel Kant, who was swayed by the Rationalism of the Enlightenment as well as Christianity. He believed that nothing is good bar a good will. In a deontological system, there is an ability to back accounting fairness features, and that being in the accounting field one has to be impartial. An accountant must deal with the financial facts regarding the firm without altering the numbers because of their interpretations or personal feelings. The deontology ethical system allows this by putting guidelines that there should be an adherence to a set of moral standards, regardless of the result. The structure also maintains the prominence of integrity and truthfulness in the accounting field. This is done by setting an emphasis on the obligation and duty of the individual to do the morally right action (Deontological Ethics, 2014).

Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism has a belief that the need for justifying a reason for an action is that the action has an eventuality of bringing out more good for more people than it does harm. This ethical system can be well described by the saying that ”the end justifies the means“. That the best way to judge an action is to consider the outcome and also to weigh it with previous actions to determine the best that can be put into practice.

Utilitarianism has a definition that is: the very first state of utilitarianism developed in 1748–1832, but the main ground supporting the theory in question had been seen at a time prior to this period. The reason in question is that behavior which is regarded as upright and acceptable will eventually not have a negative impact on others, but have an eventuality on them that is regarded as positive. What stands out about utilitarianism is the action that takes a reason and working on it a manner that brings out its direction and evaluation in the moral perspective deeply. The individual John Stuart Mill provides a good description of the principle of utilitarianism which states that actions are wrong when they don’t promote happiness in the way that they are supposed to. Another perspective of looking at utilitarianism is that a person needs to be involved in doing an activity which will act in a way that will produce the best for a multitude (people) (Driver, 2009). The ethic system in question here, (utilitarianism) on its own is not in a position to give aid to the objective and characteristics of the accounting profession. The implementation of this theory eliminates the core functionality from the occupation of accounting if an action’s purpose is basically as an outcome from decisions resulting from activities having negative or positive effects and is not agreeing with the outcomes of objectivity.

Organizational Culture and AICPA

The accounting profession boasts a good record when it comes to upholding the ethical dimensions of an organization. Generally, organizational culture can be thought of as an aggregate of values, beliefs, assumptions, symbols, and language patterns that cut across all entities of an organization. There are some factors that are considered weighty when it comes to matters of proper decision-making. In the accounting realm, professional judgment acts as the strong base upon which solid financial decisions are made. Proper decision-making goes a long way in resolving issues and ethical dilemmas that may revolve around the accounting profession, as the document in the AICPA (West, 2016).

Ethics and Christian Worldview

The definitions of ethics and moral standings may differ from individual to individual. An accountant is often tasked with maintaining a high profile on ethical issues. The simplest criteria for understanding ethics is by understanding the difference between what is morally right and wrong since the society has expectations from individuals and also professional groups. An accountant has to have proper and ethical behaviors, as the accounting profession calls for interactions which are largely influenced by trust (Crooks, 2015).

An individual’s perception of ethics is also a function of the values and norms he or she upholds. For instance, it is a high probable thought that a truly devout Christian or Muslim will often stand strong with condemning dishonest practices. Christianity in itself teaches that doing well is by the will of God. It also upholds that God will never change as His nature of the character is. The Bible acts as a moral compass that steers a Christian to uphold the values it advocates for and to shun those that it deems morally inappropriate (Crooks, 2015).

Diverse ethical aspects are presently existent in all spheres that define human existence. Philosophy notes that there are six ethical dimensions, three of which are in tandem with Biblical teachings while the rest are contrary. Researchers, for instance, broadly categorize ethics into absolutism and non-absolutism. Accounting takes a similar view and adopts deontological and utilitarianism as the dimensions of addressing ethical issues. An in-depth analysis of the two approaches shed more light into the strength and weaknesses of each and how they impact the accounting profession, giving directions on what to do in what perspectives, angles, and situations.

Conclusion

After doing research on two ethics systems, i.e., deontological and utilitarianism and also considering the AICPA Professional Code of Conduct, there’s a lot of sense in supporting the deontological system as more preferable for the field of accounting. The structure is more advantageous due to its good normative nature and also its duty-centered methodology (Deontological Ethics, 2014). The two advantageous aspects of the utilitarianism system are also found in the accounting theory hence more applicable to the Accounting Professionals. The two systems in question have been closely analyzed and evaluated regarding the organizational culture as well as the expected accomplished conduct and as a result, the deontological system has been found to be more advantageous over the utilitarianism system.

References

Crooks, R. (2015). Introduction to Christian Ethics.

Deontological Ethics. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/158162/deontological-ethics

Driver, J. (2009). The History of Utalitarianism. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/

McGee, R. (2014). Applying Utilitarian Ethics and Rights Theory to the Regulation of Insider Trading in Transition Economies.

West, A. (2016). After Virtue and Accounting Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics.