Parable of the Sadhu

Solutions of Virtue Virtue Ethics and the Parable of the Sadhu Using a moral theory or a set of moral theories, could you argue that McCoy’s conclusion that the hikers’ actions were blameworthy is justified?

McCoy’s conclusion can be best justified only through agent-based theory rather than rule-based theory. Virtue ethics (an agent-based theory) emhasis that the ethics is about the character of the agent and it ans!ers the "uestion #!hat one ought to be$% &t says that as long as our actions ma'e us irtuous or  as long as !e ehibit irtue in our actions !e are a irtuous erson. *hus actions erformed by a irtuous  erson are morally right. &n our case+ the action of not ensuring safety of the life of Sadhu !as not irtuous. ,i'ers’ just let Sadhu on his o!n. *hey definitely did not choose the reasonable middle ground (enerosity or indness). *hey !ent on to choose one of the ices #Stinginess% by not donating enough of !hat they could hae. /urthermore+ 0ights and duties also justify the conclusion of M cCoy. Positie Positie right dictates that it is the duty of a society (generally) to hel the holder of the negatie right (to life etc.) !ith !hateer he or  she needs to ursue his1her interests. *herefore+ hi'ers’ !ere suosed to rotect the negatie right of  sadhu i.e. right to life. Moreoer+ Ethics of care tell us that !e lie in a !eb of relationshis and !e should rotect and  resere these relationshis. relationshis. Communitarian ethics ethics in this theory is releant to our our case. &t tells us that our  !eb of relationshis is not just limited to our family but to the society !e lie in+ its culture+ ractices and history. history. *herefore+ being in the culture of sadhu’s for so long+ hi'ers should hae cared for him more than that they had. Ethics of care thus suorts the conclusion of McCoy. Contrary to these theories is the theory of 2ohn 0a!ls. 2ohn 0a!ls’ difference rincile alies here. 3et’s assume that eeryone (hi'ers and sadhu) !ere in the state of oerty and hi'ers found sadhu in this condition. *hen+ in this case+ the death of sadhu !as more certain in fact more miserable. 4n the other hand difference rincile says that ine"uality is good for the oor that is !hy !e hae seen that due to ine"uality hi'ers !ere able to gie food and clothes to Sadhu. *hus hi'ers cannot be held resonsible in this. 4ther theories such as antian and utilitarian also do not justify McCoy’s conclusion. antian rights  ersectie !ould say that sadhu should not hae been heled. ant says that !e should treat humans as they hae freely and rationally consented to be treated. (Velas"ue5+ (Velas"ue5+ concets and cases). ant says that !e should contribute to each other’s ability so that !e can urse !hat !e hae freely chosen. Sadhu freely and rationally chose to trael almost na'ed so hi'ers !ere not morally bounded to hel him. ant further 

says that if the maim of your action has a uniersality and reersibility then your action is morally right. *he maim !as to sae as much lies as ossible or to finish their once in a life time journey. *his maim of hi'ers’ action for not heling much has both of the characteristics. *herefore it !as best to hel sadhu as much as they could but not to the etent that their o!n lies or objectie is sacrificed. *his articular   oint is also bac'ed by utilitarian ersectie !hich says #the greatest good for the greatest number%. Saing more eole’s lies+ aoiding ain that !ould hae gotten by heling sadhu and assing the hill generated more utility than !hat !ould hae been generated by only saing sadhu’s life hence the conclusion of McCoy is not justified. So+ !e can see that the result roduced is not satisfactory (misery of Sadhu) !hich sho!s that these theories cannot resole the conflicts that may arise. &f the telos (reason) !as to fulfill the journey then obiously McCoy’s conclusion is false. 6o one seems to be at fault+ eeryone heled to the best of his caability and caacity.

Explain the relevance of the story to the corporate world? How much must we give of ourselves? And how do we prepare our organizations and institutions so they will respond appropriately in a crisis? How do we inuence them if we do not agree with their point of view? One of the most important aspects in which this story is relevant to the corporate world is the identication of an ethical issue especially under stress and turbulent conditions. All the hikers except for the Stephen were unable to identify the issue as the ethical one. It also points out to negative consequences of the dierences in cultures within a group or organi!ation. "he group was unable to support and understand each other due to cultural dierences. "he story further points out to the lack of leadership in the group that sometimes also happen in the corporate world. "his lack of leadership is due to weak value system. #alue system is very crucial to any organi!ation$s success. "his not only shapes your corporate culture but also provides some leadership as well by transcending the personal values of managers. All these result in a complete solid plan and strong social consensus during stressful and turbulent times.  "o nd solutions for these crises we have to start from the rst process% &ow to identify an issue 'ethical issue to be precise() It is to be noted that although* sometimes* people do identify an issue but they perceive it dierently from their co+

workers thus creating di,culty in having a social consensus during crises. Sensemaking+intuitive model 'SI-( helps us to identify the issue while eliminating individual dierences as well. SI- proposes that managers make decisions in automatic and aective ways without using much of their cognitive process 'moral reasoning(* therefore we should develop their automatic responses 'intuition( 'ones*

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3xperiences*

training

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intuition.

Organi!ations should encourage group discussions so that they not only acquire information about others$ interpretations 'through social anchoring( but also to widen their own interpretations.  ones also emphasis on the importance of recogni!ing an ethical issue from an issue+contingent perspective. &is model states that moral intensity can in4uence dierent processes of moral reasoning especially the recognition of moral issue. 5actors such as social consensus* proximity or consequences of an action can be used to identify an ethical issue. 5or example* -c6oy could have used the temporal immediacy to recogni!e the intensity of an issue. -oreover as we saw that the hikers lacked moral reasoning skill due to weak cognitive and connation processes that is why they could not gure out an ethical issue. &annah* Avolio* -ay$s article 7-oral maturation and -oral connation8 shed lights on how one can develop hi9her moral reasoning. It states that by developing capacities to moral maturation and connation one can easily become better at moral reasoning. -oral maturation includes moral complexity* metacognition and moral identity that can be developed through social learning* solving exercises in group that enhance ethical moral reasoning* motivational speeches 'for moral identity( and exposure to role models. -etacognitive ability can be enhanced through teaching techniques to process moral dilemmas. All these developments will be helpful in stressful situations and once the high level mangers start taking ethical decisions their value system and culture will automatically be improved. It the end question remains how much must we give of ourselves) #irtue ethics answers this question by saying that we should act as long our acts make us morally good human beings. So long our integrity and dignity is not sacriced we should help others or obey the authority gures. If we think that obeying your

manager is unethical and will sacrice your virtuous personality* then this is the point where you should stop acting and giving any more. -oreover* we can in4uence others into doing ethical action by enhancing our moral e,cacy '&annah* Avolio* and -ay(. -oral e,cacy means overcoming barriers imposed by external 'means( and internal 'self(."he higher the moral e,cacy* the higher will be the moral motivation to do moral action. 5or example* Stephen could have convinced -c6oy and others and started helping sadhu alone 'by overcoming internal threats or fears(. "his might have reali!ed others to help as well. Obviously when the lives of two persons were at stake -c6oy would have easily assessed the issue as an ethical one 'moral intensity increases as the consequences of an action increases(. One person can shape the values or culture of an organi!ation indirectly 'if not directly( by getting into the leadership role because at the end of the day it$s we* managers or employers* who shape up the corporate culture.

Is it possible to oer sound alternatives to the moral failures that the story cites? e cannot !uit our "obs over every ethical dilemma# but if we continually ignore our sense of values# who do we become?  "heories such as :antian* utilitarian or rights and duties cannot provide a sound alternative to -c6oy$ story. #irtue ethics oer sound alternatives to the moral failure that the story cites. It sees moral issue from the agent$s point of view* his character and his shared set of value that he holds with others for the stake in the success of the company. -c6oy regrets that he missed the once in a life time opportunity of becoming a hero and thus of becoming the virtuous person. &e regrets that they could not help Sadhu more had they formed the group. "his is to note that although everyone did their best but they could have done better which means there is a distinction between what they have done 'merely good( and what they could have done 'excellence(. "his can be applied to any business situation. Only the idea of virtue can explain the dierence between what is merely good and what is excellent. Only the idea of virtue can explain the regrets Stephen and -c6oy were going through after that incident. "he problem basically lies in the institution because this is where we acquire and learn these virtues. #irtue+ethic model states that society share a vision of good life. "herefore only a virtue+ethic model

illustrates the importance of virtues to live a god life. "hese virtues can be learned through institutions and by practicing good habits into various communal roles that we play. "hese virtues can then become a part of our habits and virtuous character. Aquinas further added to virtue theories the aspects of hope* faith and charity* thus -c6oy and others could have helped sadhu out of charity. ;e cannot quit from every ethical dilemma that we face* it would be equivalent to one of the vices of not doing anything 'less( and it will make us a vicious person. So* what is the limit of involvement then) #elasque! in his book 76oncepts and cases8 presents obou should establish the moral standards and norms and shape the culture of an organi!ation in a way that regards individual values. "his means that we should strive for the development of our interpersonal skills. ;e should develop our moral reasoning processes and try to convince others about the intensity of an issue. "hat is what good leaders do. If you cannot take decisions instantly* your enterprise can lose. As -c6oy said 7if a manager is indecisive and spends time trying to gure out the good thing to do* the enterprise may be lost8. Scott Sonenshein said 7-anagers take actions rst and then try to explain and