Unlike utility ethics, “duty” ethics hold that the duty to act (or not to act) is rooted in the goodness or evil of the act itself – and not in the outcome of the act. Said differently, certain acts are good or bad in and of themselves. Immanuel Kant was a duty-based philosopher, who argued that people must act out of duty.

Read the following resource introducing duty-based ethics:

Duty-based ethics. (2014). BBC. Retrieved fromhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/duty_1.shtml

Required Reading

Sethi, S., Veral, E., Shapiro, H., & Emelianova, O. (2011). Mattel, Inc.: Global manufacturing principles (GMP) – A life-cycle analysis of a company-based code of conduct in the toy industry.Journal of Business Ethics, 99(4), 483-517. Retrieved from ProQuest.

In a well-written, 4- to 5-page paper (not including cover and reference pages), apply Duty Ethics to the Mattel case study.

1. Briefly (1-2 paragraphs) describe what is meant by duty ethics.
2. Choose two ethical issues raised by the Mattel case (e.g., Mattel’s treatment of company employees would be a good choice of ethical issues).
3. Apply duty ethics to your two Step 2 choices. How does use of duty ethics as a lens inform the ethical nature of your two choices? Remember that duty ethics concerns duty and rights, so be sure to aIDress both in your written analysis.
4. Be sure to include at least two sources from the library to support your discussion and analysis.
5. Be sure that you properly cite your sources using proper APA style, and use proper in-text citations.

Velasquez, M., Andre, C., Shanks, T., & Meyer, M. J. (2008). Ethics and virtue. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/ethicsandvirtue.html

Virtue ethics. (2011). Seven Oaks Philosophy. Retrieved fromhttp://www.sevenoaksphilosophy.org/ethics/virtue.html