Corporate Governance And Ethics Assesment

Running head: CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND ETHICS
Corporate Governance and Ethics
Student’s name:
University:

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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND ETHICS
Author’s Note:
Executive summary:
Ethics encompasses all sorts of human conduct. It is the normative science that provides the
necessary principles to define what is right or what is good. In the following paper, three
ethical theories have been described and utilized in practice. The aim of the paper is to
analyse real life human conducts in the light of standard ethical theories. For this purpose, a
hypothetical situation was given where the key personnel found out about certain
mismanagement of funds and reported that to their superior authority. The COO in question
decides to cover up the entire fraudulent activity and forces his subordinates to comply with
his decisions. He even threatens them to ensure their silence. The subordinates, however,
comply apparently. Now, their actions have been analysed under the scrutiny of three ethical
theories, namely egoism, utilitarianism and deontology. The analysis tries to evaluate whether
the actions were right and provides necessary rationale for the respective claims.

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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND ETHICS
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Egoism........................................................................................................................................3
Definition of egoism..............................................................................................................3
Explaining Mr. Goodrich’s behaviour following egoism......................................................4
Utilitarianism..............................................................................................................................4
Definition of Utilitarianism....................................................................................................4
Analysing Mr. Goodrich’s behaviour....................................................................................5
Analysing Arnold’s actions....................................................................................................5
Deontology.................................................................................................................................6
Definition of deontology........................................................................................................6
Analysing Arnold’s action in the light of deontology............................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
References..............................................................................................................................8