Topics in Ethics for Truck Companies and Hotels - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theTopics in Ethics for Truck Companies and Hotels. Answer: Introduction: One of the most significant sectors of the Australian Economy is the transport and the logistics sector. It is estimated as a value of an amount of $95.4 billion. In the year 2015-16, it was responsible for adding an amount of $39.26 Billion to the Australian Economy. A majority of the citizens of Australia are dependent on the transport industry and even a small change is bound to affect the industry, the citizens as well as the overall economy of Australia and it is also bound to lead to significant effects. Almost half a million people are employed in the sectors of logistics, road transport, warehousing as well as stevedoring. The category of individuals getting most affected by the transition are the truck drivers and the connected businesses. Businesses like the truck companies, hotels and similar enterprises would be benefited from these transitions. This is because they would gain the maximum amount of profits because of the cost reduction. The problems would be faced by the normal people however, and they would lose their regular jobs because of such technological developments (Sanchez, 2015). Utilitarianism Theory: An act of utilitarianism is that which helps provide the maximum amount of utility to a greater number of people. It is then considered to be morally correct or permissible as the consequences of the action are also bound to be good. It is natural for every individual to have an own choice or the modus operandi of performing anything in their lives. There is bound to be a reaction to every action as well. Therefore it is necessary to have a determinant of quality to ascertain the consequences. The utility theory can be defined as something that a person feels in case of something he accomplishes. It can thus be said that the best actions prove to be beneficial for a majority of the people whereas negative actions impact the people negatively and also make them suffer (Scanlon, 1982). A larger segment of the population would be affected by the Driverless Trucks which is basically a technical advancement. This is because a large amount of jobs would be lost for this reason. It can be said on the other hand that this situation would make a certain richer segment of the population happy. It was during the technological shift towards the concept of the driverless cars that the economy would be impacted. This would be due to the shift towards the driverless cars. Huge amount of suffering is due to the unemployment of the people. So the negativity should be prevented as much as possible to stop the suffering and avoid it as much as can be done (Smart Williams, 1973). Majority of the people need to be protected from such sorts of negativity. The forms of mistreatment and employee abuse should also be stopped. The rising demand of jobs should not be cited as an excuse for such mistreatment. Poor management accounts for the accidents (Donaldson Dunfee, 1994). Deontology Theory: Theories like Utilitarianism as well as consequentialism are opposed by the theory of Deontology. It is not concerned about the outcome of the job and only is bothered about the moral obligations, which is its major difference with the other theories as they are worried about the outcomes. Certain rules are determinant of the judgements of the morality. One of the moral obligations of very individual is the deontology theory. This theory needs a person to abide by the rules and the regulations without bothering about any sort of results. It often happens that companies arrange for the policies assisting in the regulation of the costs for long term profit maximization. The results should not be worried about in these contexts and principles should be strictly adhered to in this connection. Depending on the principles and their dictation, the driverless trucks can be considered regardless of the loss of jobs and even the possibilities of accidents. This does not consider the job loss caused because of the operational change. The duties and the moral obligations are dutifully fulfilled in the deontology theory. Virtue Theory: This theory is concerned with the concept of thinking morally and ethically. The actions of the humans need to be properly analysed based on the ethical approach and hence the individual characteristics are the major components of thinking ethically. The probable moral virtues that are seen in individuals include those of thoughtfulness, compassion, generosity, kindness, liberality, helpfulness. The virtues and individual possesses are determinant of a persons character. In order to be morally correct, every individual needs to abide by these principles. It can clearly be said in this connection that the introduction of driverless trucks is completely unethical as in this scenario the rich are more concerned about their happiness than the situation of those individuals whose lives are dependent on the truck drivers as well as the drivers. The advancement of the driverless trucks is completely against the certain values such as caring, consideration, generosity as well as the consideration of the people who are affected by loss of jobs (Zagzebski, 2010). Contract Theory: Contract theory is concerned with things that work on contractual basis. It is basically the contract between the agent and the principal ensuring their trust with an agreement. It is basically a socio economic phenomenon which helps in the study of the contractual agreements of different parties in the society they live in. The contract theory also helps in maintaining a gap between the occurrences and the expectations. The theory also involves an algorithm which results in a better decision helping in the maximisation of an outcome. This theory is concerned with everything which is done without the discrimination of any sort of quality. Only in situations in which individuals are given the proper facilities, he will be aware of the morality as well as will maintain good behaviour and characteristics. The different types of employment would be concerned with definite principles as well as rules of working. The employed rules would help upholding human rights as well as the rights of employments. In case it is found that there are any kind of changes the truck owner or driver takes the responsibility according to the terms of the contract. In case the employees as well as the businesses maintain the pre defined rules and regulations, then the introduction of the driverless trucks might lead to the violation of the rights. It might also cause accidents and fatal occurrences. Conclusion: The theories discussed above state the positive as well as the negative theories of the driverless truck technology. The theories that advocate the rights of the greater population are Utilitarian theory, contractual theory, and virtue theory. These theories state that in case the number of jobs is very low or nil, there is no scope for the rights of the people. The only theory that does not consider the consequences of the introduction of driverless trucks is the deontological theory. It cannot be ignored that the introduction of the driverless trucks would cause loss of huge number of jobs of the drivers of the roadside, petrol stations, transport, cafes etc. The hardworking people obviously need jobs of a comparably better quality if they lose their present jobs. It can thus be concluded that the greater good of the population needs to be kept in mind while dealing with the technological advancement. References: Donaldson, T., Dunfee, T. W. (1994). Toward a unified conception of business ethics: Integrative social contracts theory. Academy of management review, 19(2), 252-284. Place, K. R. (2010). A qualitative examination of public relations practitioner ethical decision making and the deontological theory of ethical issues management. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 25(3), 226-245. Sanchez, D. (2015). Collective technologies: Autonomous vehicles. Australian Council of Learned Academies, Melbourne, Australia. Scanlon, T. M. (1982). Contractualism and utilitarianism. Utilitarianism and beyond, 103, 110. Smart, J. J. C., Williams, B. (1973). Utilitarianism: For and against. Cambridge University Press. Zagzebski, L. (2010). Exemplarist virtue theory. Metaphilosophy, 41(1?2), 41-57.