ITECH 5500 Assignment: Utilitarianism and Ethical Decision Making

This assignment analyzes "Nirmal's Ethical Dilemma" case study, focusing on the application of utilitarianism in business ethics within the context of an ITECH 5500 tutorial. The scenario involves an IT manager facing a decision between two ERP system offers, one from his best friend's company and the other a more user-friendly option. The analysis explores act and rule utilitarianism, weighing the potential benefits and risks of each choice. The student considers the ethical implications of prioritizing friendship versus the greater good for the department and the nation. The assignment also addresses the practical aspects of ethical decision-making, including the evaluation of cost, usability, and the impact on a large number of employees. The student applies utilitarian calculus to determine the best course of action, emphasizing the importance of maximizing overall happiness and minimizing potential harm. The solution provides a comprehensive overview of the ethical considerations involved in the case.

Running head: APPLYING UTILITARIANISM IN BUSINESS
Applying Utilitarianism in Business
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author Note

1APPLYING UTILITARIANISM IN BUSINESS
Case Study: “Nirmal’s Ethical Dilemma”
Answer to question number 1:
a. Here, the ethical dilemma is that ERP system for Nirmal and his departments has been
highly expensive and facing issues related to personal proficiency, configuration and system
usability.
b. Here, Nirmal and his departments need ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning. This is
intended for controlling all functions and information from various types of shared data stores.
Company A has offered with ERP, which is easy to configure and use. Company B offered the
system having more initial cost with necessities of consulting to rise the expense. Devraj is a best
friend and general manager of B and desperate to complete the deal.
Answer to question number 2:
a. As Nirmal accepts Devraj’s offer, he is in favor of his desperate beloved friend. However,
he would be taking a risk as the ERP system is difficult to configure and use. On the other hand,
money used in that offer would bring more jobs for his nation along with high profit. Besides,
Nirmal has also needed to keep in mind, that as that ERP acquisition fails, it can cost more to his
department.
b. As Nirmal go for Company B, at an application level, there are more risks in that, since it
would be more challenging to configure and use. Moreover, with the failure of ERP acquisition, the
whole department would suffer (Sullivan, 2015).

2APPLYING UTILITARIANISM IN BUSINESS
c. Here, business is always the main priority irrespective of who the participants have been.
Thus, going for A’s ERP system is cheaper and reliable to bring good for more number of people.
The reason is that act utilitarianism has stated that best possible results are to be produced in specific
situations. This is justified by a utilitarian calculus that determines nest course of policy and actions
through measuring the overall amount of pain and pleasure (Lämsä et al., 2018).
d. However, to consider rule utilitarianism, Nirmal must go for Devraj’s offer to value his
friendship and career. The reason is that moral correctness has been depending on the rule allowing
that to retrieve highest good in case of rule utilitarianism. In this case, the failure risk should be
carefully evaluated.

3APPLYING UTILITARIANISM IN BUSINESS
References:
Lämsä, A. M., Auvinen, T. P., Heikkinen, S. S., & Sintonen, T. (2018). Narrativity and its
application in business ethics research. Baltic Journal of Management, 13(2), 279-296.
Sullivan, D. (2015). Is There Such a Thing as Business Ethics? Applying and Reinterpreting
MacIntyre's Virtue Ethics in the Modern Workplace.