Business Ethics and Moral Perspectives: Kevin's Dilemma Analysis

This assignment analyzes Kevin's moral dilemma as a high school baseball player who missed tryouts due to basketball playoffs. The task involves evaluating Kevin's situation using three moral perspectives: virtue ethics, self-actualization theory, and existentialism. Virtue ethics focuses on Kevin's moral character and guilt about the situation. Self-actualization theory considers Kevin's desire to fulfill his goals, and existentialism emphasizes his free will and responsibility. The assignment requires empathizing with Kevin, analyzing the situation through each perspective, and recommending a course of action. The student explores the implications of each theory, examining how they influence Kevin's decision-making process regarding whether to accept the baseball coach's offer to join the team despite his lack of prior league experience.

Running head: MORAL PERSPECTIVE 1
Business ethics and social responsibilities
Institution
Name

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Introduction
Moral values guide human beings in their daily life. People develop their characters based on
the morally accepted standards by the community. The moral values can either be strong or weak.
The ability of one to resist immoral behaviours renders the individual either morally upright or not.
Virtue theory
Virtue ethics theory emphasizes on the moral character of a person. It contrasts the
responsibilities a person is entitled to perform. In this case, Kevin is assigned the role of playing in
the third base, which is a high position, and the other players have got high expectations from him.
Based on this theory, Kevin does not deserve the opportunity, and he is also guilty about the
situation and feeling that he does not deserve the position. As a result of his guilt, he is ready to give
up on the assigned role until he is good enough for it.
The theory also emphasizes the consequences of the actions. If Kevin chooses to retain the
position and assume the guilt in him, he is at stake of losing self-respect from the other players as he
definitely cannot meet the expectations of the other players (Song & Kim, 2018). Based on this
theory and Kevin’s conscious, it would be best for him to step down and leave the position to a
person who deserves it.
Self-actualization theory
According to Maslow’s theory on the needs model, humans are driven by the goals that
satisfy their fundamental requirements and leave them feeling good (Cherry, 2017). Sir Erikson
argues that the ultimate stage is to build up the individual’s ego. It is between integrity and despair,
which either results in rendering life meaningful or meaningless. In this scenario, Kevin is put in a
position that is fulfilling the thirst of a person who would have been longing for the position for a

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long time. If self-actualization is his goal, then this becomes a perfect opportunity for him to fulfil
the desires of his heart and take the position.
Existentialism theory
Existentialism theory explains that individuals have power and free will to choose what is
right for them. A person can decide whether to do something or not, as long as they are satisfied.
The theory explains that an individual must learn to appreciate existence and find the meaning of
life even when the individual’s life is at stake (Thompson, 2017). The person should learn to take
responsibilities of their actions in life. In this case, Kevin has a choice to turn down the coaches’
offer even though his brother is encouraging him to utilize the chance.

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Reference
Cherry, K. (2017). Maslow’sHierarchy of Needs. Dursun, A.(2011). Dede Korkut Hikâyelerinde
Halk Hukuku. Electronic TurkishStudies, 6(4).
Song, S. Y., & Kim, Y. K. (2018). Theory of virtue ethics: do consumers’ good traits predict their
socially responsible consumption?. Journal of Business Ethics, 152(4), 1159-1175.
Thompson, N. (2017). Existentialism and social work. Routledge.