Application of ethical theory to a case study vignette Essay - 1

Application of ethical theory to a case study vignette - Essay Example The paper will throw light over major ethical issues and analyse this case in the light of Consequentialist (Utilitarian) and Deontological ethical approaches. In addition, the researcher will also discuss how he would act or would have acted assuming himself as a top executive of Great Brands marketing company. There are two main ethical issues in this case. The first issue is about Ahmed’s plundering of private information of Great Brands when he electronically copied the customer database and some of the customised software applications software in case he sets up his own company in the future. The questions that arise here are whether Ahmad’s act was violation of company’s intellectual property rights and whether Ahmed had any other option if he was really interested in setting up his own business. The second major issue is that if Ahmed would establish his own company by using plundered clandestine information then his firm would become a direct competitor of Great Brands. Again the question is whether this is a violation of formal contract with Great Brands that Ahmed would not assist or facilitate any other company that competes with Great Brands because of confidentiality he promised with the officials. It should be mentioned that Utilitarian theory of business ethics is a contribution of proponents of Consequentialists who judges the viability of an option by analysing its positive and negative consequences. Utilitarian approach supports the fact that a solution that brings greater good to greatest number of people is the best solution because the entire society benefits from implementation of this alternative. In other words, the supporters of Utilitarianism have proposed that the scope of each proposed solution should be evaluated on the basis of costs and benefits (in quantitative terms) (White & Taft, 2004). In addition, the proposed alternatives should be shared with