Movie - essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Movie - - Essay Example It also provides difficult lessons that Robert McNamara learned about modern war when he was the United States’ Secretary of Defense. In addition, it involves a study of moral complexities in conflicts. The documentary can explain common contemporary issues happening in the modern world, especially the Israeli-Palestine war. For example, it focuses on one of the most significant and controversial figures in the government of the United States in the 20th Century (Grothaus 1). The documentary focuses on the war involving Cuba, United States and United Soviet Socialists Union (Grothaus 1). Cuba almost engaged in war with the United Soviets Socialists Union. In addition, the documentary provides methodologies that can be adopted in times when one has to make a quick decision (Grothaus 1). Moreover, Robert McNamara claims that some war situations might be hard and dilemmatic. However, learning is not possible when dealing with nuclear weapons because any mistake made in the process would be highly consequential.As directed by Errol Morris, the film focuses on eleven lessons that can be learned from Robert McNamara’s life. Some of the lessons learned are decisions concerning critical situations in events of war. The first lesson is to empathize with your enemy. Consequently, it is necessary for the Israelis to sympathize with Palestinians and vice versa. Empathy will allow leaders from both divide to acknowledge that civilians are the most affected (Merip 1). The lesson analyses the need to view the world according to enemies’ perspective. The situation help understand their opinions concerning certain conflict situations. The approach also helps in comprehending their thinking and decision making process. For instance, McNamara illustrates one of the major events that took place when he was the Secretary of defense. The Cuban Missile Crisis illustrates the increased likelihood of Cuba exchanging nuclear weapons

Utilitarianism, business ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Utilitarianism, business ethics - Essay Example So every aspect must be examined to evaluate potential good and bad outcomes; if the goods outweigh the bads, then morally, the action can be deemed right. If there are more bad consequences predicted, then the opposite applies. As with all ethical and philosophical theories, there are more issues to be considered, nothing is quite so simple. Different forms of utilitarianism have been described over the centuries, like Bentham's pain - pleasure as bad and good consequences. (Ethics, 8), but all seemed to attempt to measure and define what 'utility' actually means. If utilitarians consider morality to be all about consequences, then how are consequences measured, which calls into question how utility can be measured and how much of it is the ideal level to aim for Hinman states: "utilitarians must answer the question of whom these are consequences for" (137). This question is highly relevant when applied to using utilitarian ethics in business, and in particular, within the context o f the Ford Pinto case, to be discussed later. There are many different versions of the theory, all trying to define what consequences are applied to and how they may be applied. One version, rule-utilitarianism, considers that a rule or code of behaviour is morally right if, by its application, the consequences are more favourable that unfavourable to everyone. The actions driven by the rule would result in benefits, or goods for all of society. One example might be a Council's Urban Regeneration Programme, funded by Council Tax. The rule is that everyone must pay, and in doing so, produce an outcome that creates a better environment for the majority living in the urban area. The flaw is that those in the suburbs, who contribute the greatest amount, will not receive as much favourable consequences, on the premise that they already have plenty of utilities. So simply following a rule would not always be equally favourable. On the other hand, act-utilitarianism, the most common form used in many circumstances, looks at the consequences of every case individually and works out the benefits before taking a morally right action. Leggett (13) in commenting on Ford's use of utilitarian ethics, says: "The utilitarian approach evaluates each action separately and the consequences that arise from it. This analysis would include any 'harms' or 'benefits' incurred by any people involved in the case." Business Ethics: In applying utilitarian principles to business ethics, the cost-benefit analysis is most often used - it is a good decision making tool. Companies will attempt to work out how much something is going to cost them before taking action that should, ideally, result in consequences favourable to everyone. That would mean the company could make a profit, while the consumer benefited from their product. Hopefully, products are fit for purpose, safe, and give value for money. No business would attempt a project without evaluation of all relevant factors first, as well as taking other issues or risks into account that might jeopardise success. Ethical business practice, using