The first thing is a big motivation. If you do not have a strong and huge motivation, you may not find any spirit or passion to continue your education. Sometimes, a motivation can lead you to some great chances. Nowadays, you can obtain rn to bsn online programs which give a wide access for your learning independently. Either way, it does not cost too much. Therefore, there is no need to worry about money. As long as you have a big motivation to continue your study, there is always a way for you getting a master degree

The second thing is time. If you are busy with your work load whereas you want to obtain masters in business administration, you need to have a good time management. Make sure that you are capable enough arranging your time to do things rightfully. Moreover, you can be an online student and take a distant learning. There are many online programs offered through internet. In addition, there is no need to come to a classroom since you can study everywhere at any time. If you are interested in business information, you only need to look for institutions or universities which offer online programs about that major.

In short, those two things above are the first preparation you can do in obtaining a master degree. There are, after all, already many ways you can do to get the best education or a master degree for you.

Emerson states, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm”. A majority of the issues related to worker productivity stem from enthusiasm. Individuals simply go to work because they abhor their employer, the monotony, and the products. There is no passion or pride.

Much of this issue stems from issues embedded within organizational culture. We find that organizational Issues affecting morale and productivity include:

- Leadership not serving as an exemplars – some leaders today are narcissists, demeaning and ruthful. More importantly, salaries exceed employee pay by 425 times the average work. Leaders need to harmonize with employees and treat all equally. Avatars include McDonalds, Fed Ex and UPS where employees and management are one.

- Little or no accountability – The United States economic system is currently in financial turmoil and no one is accountable.

Employees need to know that mistakes count for learning but criminals punished for repeat offenses.

- Career planning and succession planning is null – Simply put there is no succession planning. Most CEO’s and managers arrive from competitive industries and companies. Whatever happened to the mailroom climb?

- Infighting amongst departments – When the fighting ends and all understand the reason for being employed perhaps harmony arrives.

- Too many silos – Companies are in business for one reason- to create clients. End the infighting and focus on the most vital asset!

Causes of morale also correlate back to the organization, its culture, and its management. After 25 years of research in this area, we find five factors contributing to organizational morale.

A study by the Corporate Leadership Council reveals managers have a tremendous impact on an employee’s level of commitment. It is imperative to note that individuals do not leave companies they leave poor managers. Organizational management contributes to the negative morale. As recent as 2006 the Gallup Organization estimates there are 32 million actively disengaged employees costing the American economy up to 0 billion per year in lost productivity. Such loss includes absenteeism, tardiness, and poor work.

Helping to dilute the productivity issue, research depicts that taking time to build relationships with employees through personal interactions is a key step managers can take to keep morale high. Employees need to feel trust and respect from managers. Employees desire feedback to build management relationships to understand their work matters.

Ending the morale issue is not easy but there are cures.

1. Begin with talent acquisition – Start with the right people. No firm we work with ever hires on a proactive basis. Most firms conduct employment searches reactively. Seek employees that fit with the organizational culture and with the obligatory skills. Never wait!

2. Hire for skill – Talent is innate. Organizations hire for personality and behavior first and skill second. Skill is not interchangeable, behavior is. A great hire might have a wonderful temperament and lack the skill to plug a socket into an outlet. I recall a fire star hotel that sought advice to correct housekeeping flaws. After five minutes, it was easy enough to terminate staff and find those without flaws.

3. Look at best practices from best people – Management focuses on repairing those that cannot rather than improve those that can. Avatars exist in your organization. Discover what they do right and emulate it.

4. Passion – In the 1980′s Sylvester Stallone appeared again as Rocky this time with a theme, “Eye of the Tiger”. What a great metaphor for valuable talent. Seek to acquire talent that truly loves work. Passion too is innate. Employees must love what they do and how they do it. In addition, managers, the organization, and the employees must vehemently focus on the customer. When passion is high so too is morale. Remember Winnie the Pooh, try finding Eyeor amongst staff at Disney; Southwest Airlines and FedEx, all intensely focus on servicing the client.

Lastly, management must focus on vital areas for improving the success of morale and productivity. Managers must constantly strive to provide feedback to employees. Feedback is not an annual event- Performance Review. It is imperative that daily communication exists for good information and improvement. Coaching, counseling, and mentoring are components of organizational morale. In addition, many attend church and hear the words, “It is right to give thanks and praise”. Many watch professional sports and view coaches coddling athletes. We can learn something here; simple words of thanks and praise constantly improve morale and employee relationships. Finally, the first item terminated during economic volatility is training. Research finds that employees are assets and require that treatment. Never stop training; this improves productivity and morale at all times.

Issues of morale and productivity are onerous, volatile, and difficult to control. There is a need for management, the organization, and the individual to assist with success factors. Much is dependent on the desire to change; methods chosen and consistent follow through. However, if you do nothing you still have a morale issue. Take the time, seek remedies, and keep morale high. Doing so, lowers attrition, improves productivity, increases profitability and most importantly- reduces stress.

Copyright (c) 2008 Drew Stevens PhD

Every social structure has a code of practices that constitutes its behavioral norms, that is, a set of rules governing what are acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. These rules are the moral philosophy of that social structure. When people find themselves in a situation in which there is a conflict or dilemma, the decision-making processes that they use to make the behavioral choices that follow are called ethical decision-making skills. Ethics, then, is the process whereby an individual, faced with a moral dilemma, arrives at a morally defensible decision. Chemistry, like any discipline, has a social structure. It relies on the interactions, behaviors, and expectations of individuals in order to function.

One may ask ‘what do these ideas have to do with science? The answer is that science as an undertaking is a quite human process that relies on many decisions.

For example, progress in science relies on the complete honesty of those who report their experimental results, because (among other reasons) those results are keys to the understanding of the natural phenomena under investigation. In addition, because scientific results are generally made public and accessible to all, it is extremely important that scientific results are trustworthy. If results are not reported honestly, then anyone who uses these results in his or her work has had his or her trust violated, and the injured party has wasted time and other resources. When the results impact a field such as medicine, or bear on product safety, an immense number of people could be put in harm’s way because of decisions made on the basis of false information.

A scientist’s past experience of ethical decision making is embedded in every value judgment he or she makes, large and small. Aspects of scientific enterprise that require ethical decision making encompass a broad range of responsibilities, including experiment design, the interpretation and reporting of data, interactions between collaborators, and the evaluation of colleagues. When a scientist “cheats” for any reason, for instance by making up results or excluding selected data, the entire process of science is shaken. Other scientists and laypeople will make decisions based on the false reports that are generated, and these decisions could have devastating consequences. Imagine someone overseeing a clinical trial designed to test a medical treatment not disclosing a harmful side effect. Also imagine that people might actually be harmed because of such a nondisclosure. There are many reasons why a scientist might choose not to disclose potentially hurtful information. Perhaps he or she stands to make a financial profit from the sale of this medical treatment. Perhaps he or she is being pressured by a supervisor to report false results and is under threat of being fired. Personal gain at the expense of others is often the crux of willful misrepresentation of scientific experiments.

The use of human and animal subjects in drug testing is an area in which scientists must practice ethical reasoning in order to explore complex and contradictory ideas. There are all sorts of views held by all sorts of people on whether drug testing should be conducted on living beings. It is important for scientists to consider the moral philosophies that underlie these different perspectives, as they will have to make the decisions to proceed (or not) with such testing. Apart from the responsibilities of scientists, a non-scientist must sometimes decide, for example, whether she or he wants to be part of an organization that participates in such testing.

Some ethical reasoning topics have been well debated over time, although every new technological advance spawns a new set of debates (for example, debates related to the uses of genetic information or research involving stem cells). A violation of the standards of ethical scientific practice is called scientific misconduct. Some major categories of scientific misconduct are:

Falsification of data. Data fabrication (creating data that never existed). Selective reporting of findings. Omission of data that conflicts with other data (leaving out information in order to make one’s story seem better). Willful suppression of data (not revealing relevant information) and/or distortion of data (exaggeration, for example).
Plagiarism. Stealing the language, ideas, or thoughts of another and representing them as one’s original work.
Improprieties of authorship. Giving credit improperly or not giving credit at all in published materials. Publishing the same results in more than one place and claiming that each is an exclusively published report. Listing as authors individuals who have not made a definite contribution to the work published. Submission of multiauthored manuscripts to publishers without the agreement of all authors on the content of the text.
Misappropriation of the ideas of others. An important aspect of scholarly activity is the exchange of ideas among colleagues. New ideas gleaned from such exchanges can lead to important discoveries. Scholars also acquire new ideas during the review of grant applications and scientific manuscripts. Improper use of information acquired in these ways could constitute fraud. Wholesale stealing of such material constitutes scientific misconduct.
Violation of generally accepted research practices. Serious deviation from accepted practices in proposing or carrying out research. Any manipulation of experiments to bring about desired results. Deceptive statistical or analytical manipulation of results or improper reporting of results.
Material failure to comply with federal requirements affecting research. Includes but is not limited to serious or substantial, repeated and/or willful violations involving the use of funds, care of animals, human subjects, investigational drugs, genetic products, new devices, or radioactive, biologic, or chemical materials.
Inappropriate behavior in relation to misconduct. An inappropriate accusation of misconduct. Failure to report known or suspected misconduct. Withholding or destroying information relevant to a claim of misconduct. Retaliation against any person taking part in the allegation or investigation.
Deliberate misrepresentation of qualifications, experience, or research accomplishments (one’s own or another’s) to advance a research program, to obtain external funding, or to further other professional advancement.
Misappropriation of funds or other resources. For example, use of funds for personal gain.

The reproducibility of results is a hallmark of establishing reliable knowledge in scientific practice. In 2000 Professor Gérard Buono reported the results of a series of experiments carried out by him and his coworkers in France (Buono et al. 2000, p. 2554). In late 2001, Buono published a retraction of these results (Buono 2001, p. 4536). The retraction and accompanying story recounted in the text are an example of the self-correcting nature of ethical scientific practices. Buono describes how he was contacted by the editor of the journal that published the results and by Professor Scott E. Denmark, a scientific leader in the relevant area of chemistry who had not been able to reproduce the experimental results. In his retraction Buono writes, “At this stage, I asked my co-workers to check the experimental procedures and analytical conditions and to try to reproduce the described results. I was provided with experimental data and material that fully confirmed our original claims.” After repetition of the experiments and upon close examination of his students’ work, however, Buono saw evidence of error. He writes that he “noticed several inconsistencies with the analytical material the students had previously provided. Therefore, I decided to reproduce personally and independently the whole experimental procedures from the very beginning.” Buono could not reproduce the results originally reported by him and his coworkers, but obtained the results reported by Denmark and his coworkers. Buono concluded this episode by writing that he wished “to withdraw [the original] communication. Other pieces of work based on related experimental results that were published elsewhere will also be withdrawn.”

Here a pertinent question arises ‘where and how do students learn about these ethics-related scientific practices? Historically, for scientists in training the process has been rather learn-as-you-go. It is generally assumed that senior scientists and teachers follow a code of defensible moral behavior and that, by their example; valuable lessons are transmitted to their students. Unfortunately, these assumptions are not necessarily valid, and cases of scientific misconduct surface in the news fairly regularly. By making ethical reasoning and the expectation of moral scientific behavior a more explicit part of education, it is hoped that the number of such cases can be reduced. The strategies for making rules of conduct explicit vary, and it is also hoped that many messages from many sources will impact the way scientists and future scientists make decisions.

In 1994 the editors of the Publications Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS) began publishing a series of articles titled “Ethical Guidelines to Publication of Chemical Research” in ACS journals. These guidelines, revised in January 2000, define the ethical obligations of each participant in the science community who is responsible for bringing a scientific publication to that community, namely, the editors, authors, reviewers, and scientists publishing in the more popular science venues. As stated in the introduction to these guidelines, one characteristic of a profession is for its members to have an accepted code of behaviors, responsibilities and obligations, to one another and to the public. The advancement of science requires sharing information in an utterly honest and open fashion. Editors need to give unbiased consideration to all scientific reports submitted for publication in a timely and fair manner. Those who have the privilege of reviewing unpublished scientific results cannot use or disclose that information prior to its publication. Reviewers must also be sensitive to conflicts of interest; for example, a reviewer should not review a manuscript if it is authored by a person with whom the reviewer has a close personal relationship, or a relationship which would otherwise bias the reviewer’s ability to judge the manuscript fairly. Authors are obliged to provide an accurate and honest account of their work, with enough information so that reviewers and readers can properly evaluate the validity of the information and reproduce the results.

In scientific research, as in business and medicine, the writing of and analysis of case studies are effective formal vehicles for ethics instruction. Students, having been given an authentic narrative scenario to consider and debate, can practice ethical reasoning as they think through the moral issues that have been raised by a particular case. A case study debated in a classroom is a safe proceeding, because it is not an actual circumstance in which a student might face serious personal consequences. Educators hope that students, having to think through ethics-related dilemmas in classroom settings, can acquire the reasoning skills they are going to need when they are confronted with actual situations.  

It is important to understand that the educative development of ethical reasoning skills neither represents nor advocates a prescribed moral position, and does not commit a student in advance to dogmatic solutions to all moral problems. Ethics, or ethical reasoning, is the process by which the most defensible resolution to a moral dilemma is sought. 

To say that we as mortals have moral values implies something quite profound. It literally suggests that that we tend to are, in a vernacular “hardwired” with such values. If we weren’t we would not have the flexibility to ever gauge when one thing was “right” or “wrong”.

You see, before you’ll be able to build such an assessment you would like to possess an “internal measuring stick” by which to create such measurements.

Therefore where will this internal reference or “measuring stick” live within people? Well many would say that it is something we learn through our lives say from our families, faith, courses on ethics, involvement with or awareness of the legal system and therefore on. In different words that the “moral measuring stick” is just a collection of rules we have a tendency to have acquired and is represented by the many beliefs we have a tendency to have about what’s thought of “sensible behavior”.

If this were the case then that moral measuring stick would be quite prone to being altered the following time some new rule was espoused by some “authority”.

In different words the whole foundation of what is or is not ethical would be once more on terribly shaky ground. This after all might additionally bring into question  the explanation we tend to have ethical values in the least as they might don’t have any place from that to originally germinate.

Now if you think about for an instant a state of affairs that you’d take into account transcends your ethical values notice where within you you make such an assessment. If you notice it closely I assume you’ll ultimately agree that apart from any beliefs you may have about the matter deeper down inside you furthermore mght have some feelings concerning it.

For a moment notice these feelings.

Notice where you are feeling them most intensely as you consider matters that I asked you to focus on. Currently do you “suppose” that these feelings were generated by you or did they merely happen to emerge spontaneously while not you having to try and do something different than hold things in mind?

The following time you come back to “thinking” regarding true at hand do you think that that these feelings will “feel” any different? Seemingly not as a result of the situation is what it’s and you being human will “forever” feel the manner you do about it and nothing will modification that.

So here we have a tendency to’ve come to an awareness of something within you that appears immutable i.e. your feelings about things at hand.

Not like one’s beliefs these are unchanging and hence hardwired in each human being. Isn’t this what we are calling the “internal moral measuring stick”, that that we tend to depend upon to guide us to the ethical high ground.

Thus if we tend to all have this moral hardwiring then why is it that we tend to have any moral issues to deal with in the least on this planet? Shouldn’t we all automatically be in alignment with them and living the good ethical life? Well if you shop around it’s clear that this is often not the case therefore one thing must be seriously wrong.

What do you recognize is that this drawback here? Well after you take a look at what we rely on to guide us in life it has terribly little to do with this internal wisdom. Feelings in fact have been maligned for too long and also the “mind” and what we have chosen to “store” there through learning has attained predominant mastery over our lives. How does that feel to you?

The entire plan of ethics is supposed to be about what is right and what’s wrong, but for whom? Well for you! In alternative words this inner knowledge is that the repository of knowledge and guidance concerning what’s right for you. That’s what will make you a cheerful, successful, fulfilling life. What are the consequences to you of discarding or even denying this inner knowledge?

Well it suggests that that you will feel lost, alone, confused, liable to being manipulated and exploited, and thus sad and unfulfilled. In other words your life and your success will be stolen from you.

If all that education of yours has left you feeling this method and you would like to search out your means back to some clarity then kindly visit the internet link below where you can download a free audio from me with a special message that can permanently alter your life.

Always reward good work
One of the most important things you can do to boost staff morale is to always reward good work. This can be anything from movie tickets to a bottle of wine, but acknowledging someone when they have done a great job makes people feel valued and they are guaranteed to work better and feel good about themselves too.

Similarly, when someone has worked at your company for a number of years, it is always a good idea to acknowledge their hard work and dedication to the business.

Keep the kitchen well stocked with coffee and tea
A well stocked kitchen full of hot drinks and biscuits is important so staff can keep fueled for the day ahead. It also means that there is no need to go outside of the office to get their fix of caffeine every few hours which will also mean less time away from the office and work.

Celebrate birthdays and personal milestones
Acknowledging when it is someones birthday, if someone is pregnant or any other important milestone in a persons life. This can be done by a small afternoon tea for staff, and it doesn’t need to cost the earth either. A few packets of crackers, some dip and some soft drinks can be all that’s needed.

Have occasional work dinners or lunches
Treating employees to a lunch or dinner out is a great way to boost staff morale, make the staff feel valued, and can also be a great team building exercise. You could even do a fun activity they all enjoy like bowling or rock climbing.

Offer training when at all possible
All staff need to feel like they can access the training and development they need when necessary. If there is a training service available to them that will help them do the tasks required of them, send them on the course. By investing in them, they will feel like a valued asset to the company.

Alternatively, have a system put in place so that if they see a course they would like to do, they can submit it to the relevant people for review.

Make the office a pleasant environment to be in
An office space should always be kept clean and be a pleasant place to work. If you don’t already have an office cleaning service that regularly cleans your office you may want to consider hiring one. Not only is a clean office important for staff to be able to work efficiently and effectively, it is also important if you have clients visiting your workplace.

Having happy staff is important for any business. I hope our tips for boosting staff morale have given you some ideas that you can implement in your own office.

I have heard it over and over again that diagnosis is the first essential step in a journey towards recovery. In patients as well as nations, ailments, physical or moral, have chances of cure if they are well understood and their root causes identified. It is very important for us, Nigerians to know the moral state of Nigeria as a big step to curing her, to giving her a moral face-lift.

Let me start by sounding like the loyal citizen that I am. Loyalty is a very important virtue which God desires every one of His children to exhibit. To be “loyal” is to be “unswerving in allegiance; to be devoted to and faithful in allegiance to someone or to a cause, ideal, custom, institution, or product.” As a Christian, I owe my absolute loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the Lord desires that I exhibit this virtue in other areas of life. He wants me to be a loyal citizen of my country – Nigeria.

Disloyalty to one’s nation is the reason certain government officials can divert public funds for their personal use.

It’s the reason someone can climb a pole and steal streetlights meant to serve all of us, and go sell them. Disloyalty is what makes people vandalize government infrastructure and amenities without remorse. What on earth can make me be a disloyal person?

My desire at all times is to see this nation, Nigeria move forward and make progress. Despite the problems of corruption, violence, fraud and infrastructural decay that we see in our society today, which unfortunately are outgrowths of greed and disloyalty, I still believe that something good is about to take place in Nigeria. Therefore, I challenge you, dear fellow citizens of Nigeria, to be the best you can.

In your place of work, dare to be different! Be known as a loyal employee.

It may sound true that Nigeria is an open society where evil people operate openly without a serious restriction, yet when you do the best you can, progress will be achieved. Nigeria may be a nation whose criminal record can easily be said to be as complex as its population, with an average citizen’s moral judgment on it, mostly negative and disappointing, yet we are never the worst at it. There may be basic problems, socio-physical in nature such as lack of good roads, traffic hold-up in many areas, poor and inefficient power supply, water supply, inflation, high cost of living, etc, yet there is a promise of light at the end of the tunnel.

The slogan, ‘Nigeria: good People Great Nation’ truly is a clear description of the nation, Nigeria. Despite all the problems and even more serious ones that threaten the very survival of the nation and its citizens on daily basis, there is still a high level of tolerance that keeps them adjusting to the situations on ground. Having been troubled and influenced in all fronts negatively, an average Nigerian has learned to live with half-baked truth, power play, marginalization, loss of honesty, moral integrity; lack of moral conscience by public officials, businessmen and even professionals; lack of restraint and discipline in private and public lives of the citizens; lack of genuine enthusiasm for spiritual goods and values; and in fact, lack of the moral sense of right and wrong in practical life such as business deals, contracts, etc, still Nigerians, I mean, true citizens are doing greater things to counter the negative.

Nevertheless, what is really very disturbing about Nigeria and Nigerians is the seeming conviction on the part of many that only crime and criminal ways pay, which suggests to the uninformed that those are the only ways by which someone, becomes important, rich, respected, easily powerful and crowd-puller. This is not the true state of the Nigeria of our dreams? I mean, a nation without moral scruples, plagued all about with various kinds of social ills? God forbid!

Though unfair competition, bribery, corruption, rising costs of living, brigandage, embezzlement, etc have made and are currently making recurrent themes in print and electronic media, yet I see Nigeria leaping out of the moral sickness and the eventual death. I see the veil of criminality lifted out of this country and catching fire – a sign of liberation. I see moral laxity, poverty, injustice, immoral cultural habits, crime, etc giving way to give rise to a New Nigeria.

However, in this task of societal moral reconstruction, it is very important that Nigerians should be Nigerians indeed, believe in Nigeria and act in order to give this country a moral face-lift. Let us play out loud, this indispensable role of being true to ourselves and what we stand for. NIGERIA shall truly be GREAT again!

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The question of what is a good and moral life and how best to attain it is a problem that has concerned philosophers since the beginning of time. As questions of morality are central to human existence, many philosophers like Plato, Aristotle and Spinoza have attempted to lay down a cogent theory of morality that can offer people rules and guidelines on what sort of life is a moral life, and how it is to be obtained. As with most philosophical ideas, however, there is much criticism of many of them and the extent to which any theory can constantly provide the right answer to moral problems and dilemmas is uncertain. In general moral theories are divided into 2 distinct categories, the consequentialist theory of morality which assesses the worth of an action in terms of their results, or the deontological theory of morality which assesses the worth of actions on the basis of conformity to a principle (or principles) of duty.

In order to assess whether any theory can provide the right moral answer it is necessary to compare the advantages and drawbacks of both types of moral theory to ascertain which is the more appropriate or indeed if either can satisfactorily provide answers to the many moral dilemmas people face. To assess the value of both approaches it is essential to address the theories that represent them, namely the Utilitarian philosophy of Jeremy Bentham and J.S. Mill and Kant’s moral philosophy.

The Utilitarians, as examples of consequentialists, conceived of their philosophical work as an attempt to lay down a wholly objective principle for determining when a given action was right or wrong, in other words to provide an objective foundation for morality.

The central element of utilitarian thought is the ‘Principle of Utility’ which, put simply, states that an action is right in so far as it tends to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number. Both Bentham and Mill interpreted this position as a form of hedonism in so much as they equated the notion of happiness with that of pleasure, the utility principle thus inferring that an action is right if it produces the greatest amount of pleasure for the greatest number. Indeed Bentham saw this as purely natural when he declared ‘Nature has placed mankind under the governance of two sovereign masters, pleasure and pain. It is for them to determine what we ought to do, as well as what we shall do.’ (Bentham, 1789, CH.1)

Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory because it essentially lays stress upon the effects which an action has as opposed to the motives from which it is done. Within the utility principle, if an action produces an excess of beneficial effects over more harmful ones, then it is right and therefore moral. If this is the case then the Utilitarians are quite right in their assertion that the consequences of a given action determine its rightness or wrongness, not the motives from which the action was taken, or indeed the action itself.

Utilitarians regarded these principles as being completely objective. They argued that anyone can measure whether an action is right or wrong simply by calculating the amount of pleasure caused as opposed to the amount of pain caused by any given action. Bentham went so far as to create a method of making such calculations, which he called ‘the hedonic calculus’. Taking each individual as an equal unit, Bentham proposed that seven ingredients are used to measure the amount of pain and pleasure experienced, for example, the intensity of pleasure and its duration. The logical conclusion of his ideas were that if an action causes great pleasure to 10 people and a little pain to just 2 then the act is a good one and a moral one. Still the main result of Utilitarianism is to separate the rightness and wrongness of an action from the goodness or the badness of the person who performs the act.

Although the principle of utility and the hedonic calculus are undoubtedly sound theories from the primation of pleasure over pain and essentially egalitarian, as a basis for morality and as a set of rules for determining moral behaviour they have several problems on both a theoretical and practical level. One principal critic, particularly of Bentham’s notion of each individual counting equally was Friedrich Nietzsche. In his often vociferous attacks he argued his belief that some people were intrinsically more important than others and that therefore their happiness counts for more than that of an average person. Mill went some way to answering this criticism in his development of Utilitarianism by accepting that there is a difference between the pleasures of Socrates and the pleasures of a drunkard, but the experience of each is subjective and their role in the utility principle would also be difficult to quantify as it would depend on the interests and standpoints of other individuals and this being the case it begs questions of Bentham’s claims of objectivity. A second criticism is a more practical one. If the total number of effects must be taken into account before an action is deemed right or wrong, then by taking the simplest option of addressing merely the immediate effects may lead to a mistaken judgement. As an example, the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan in 1945 may have had the immediate effect of ending what could have been a longer war, but when addressing the long range effects, the consequences may not still be desirable. Therefore, if it is necessary to wait for all the effects to be considered before deciding the rightness or wrongness of an action, the length of time that would have to pass could be infinite. So, if the principle of utility is to be presented as a practical test of morality, the above restriction makes it useless, particularly as the central requirement of any moral principle is that it should help us to decide what the correct course of action should be in advance. Mill again countered by stating ‘…there is not time… The answer to the objection is that there has been ample time, namely the whole past duration of the human species.’ (Mill, 1861, CH.2) In other words, Utilitarians argue that we can predict the rightness/wrongness of actions with a high degree of probability and that one should act in the way that seems most likely to have beneficial consequences in the long run, based on experience. This however creates two further problems in that it dictates the notion that morality I no longer absolute but simply a question of probabilities and secondly, fails to take account of the changing nature of human life. For example the A-Bomb dilemma mentioned earlier would have been particularly difficult to assess based on history and experience as the eventual consequences of developing such technology and its environmental effects are only recently being understood. Mills’ counter-argument is an acceptable response for decisions that have been made before by other individuals but is by no means a coverall. A final criticism is that it fails to take account of the motives of the person acting. If everyone acts with evil intent, yet somehow their actions lead to positive consequences, a utilitarian would have to argue that their actions were moral regardless of how repugnant it would be to people of common sense.

By comparison, Kant’s moral philosophy comes from the opposing viewpoint. He believed that the answer to the question of the nature of morality could be answered by distinguishing between acts done from a sense of duty and those done from inclination. Firstly, isolating his theory to the actions only of free agent, Kant made a distinction between inclination and obligation. Put simply, an inclination (in Kant’s view) is when a certain action is chosen as a matter of taste, with no over riding necessity to pursue that course over another. An obligation is that which one ought to do, despite having an inclination to do otherwise. Kant argued a person is acting morally only when he suppresses his feelings and inclinations and does that which he is obliged to do, therefore doing ones duty. For a person to be acting morally they have to act not through fear or inclination but through the recognition that they ought to act a certain way because they are obliged to do so. Is there then a test for determining what one’s duty will be in a particular set of circumstances? In Kant’s opinion there is. He suggested that if human beings are rational and behave in a rational way, then one ought always to behave as if one’s conduct were to become universal law, that is to say every action is to be judged in the light of how it would appear if it were to be a universal code of behaviour. For example lying, if everyone was to universally behave this way then such ideas as keeping promises and all manner of verbal agreements would be pointless. If lying was a universal law to which everyone ought to conform it is clear to see that morality would be impossible. Further to this, Kant makes a distinction between ‘the categorical imperative’ and ‘hypothetical imperatives’. In short, hypothetical imperatives are concerned with prudential action, if you wish to achieve such and such end, you must act in such and such a way. In an effort to pin down a theory that will provide the right moral answer, Kant places greater emphasis on the categorical imperative which, unlike the other, disregards ‘ifs’ and the effects a particular action may have and states firmly that you do such and such without qualification.

The categorical imperative, if followed, lays down a rule that ensures a person is behaving in accordance with morality. Kant formulates the categorical imperative in several ways. Firstly he says ‘There is therefore but one categorical imperative, namely this: act only on that maxim whereby thou canst at the same will it should become a universal law.’ (Popkin, 1986, P46) That is to say that if any action passes the test of thus being universalised (for example helping a blind person across the street) it will be a moral act. Secondly he argues ‘So act as to teat humanity, whether in thine own person or in that of any other, in every case as an end withal, never as a means only’ (Popkin, 1986, P46) which essentially is a call to treat others with respect and as equally rational human beings. Despite avoiding many of the drawbacks of the Utilitarian philosophy, Kant too, however, has his critics who point to a number of problems and inconsistencies in his philosophy. One criticism is that despite his expression that he is solely concerned with motive, an analysis shows his implications also refer to consequences. He is tacitly showing that the effect of not behaving in accordance with the categorical imperative would make human life impossible. A second criticism is that this theory takes no account of situations where there arises a conflict of duties. For example, if someone promises to keep a secret and is then asked about it by another, it is impossible to both tell the truth and keep the promise, yet Kant’s theory appears to demand that both should be done. By failing to take account of such problems, Kant’s theory is also left in the position of being of little practical value as it offers no right answer to these moral problems. Closely related to this criticism is another that points to occasions when although we should tell the truth generally, there are occasions when we feel morally obliged to lie, for example if a psychotic, armed maniac was to ask for the whereabouts of a friend or relative with obvious malevolent intent Kant’s claim that we should never lie or break promises, in this case, appears to be far too strong.

It is clear then that both deontological and consequentialist theories have deep problems and are both guilty of being of limited practical value. In short, there probably can’t be a theory which provides the right answer to any moral problem for three reasons. Firstly, in order for a theory to be of any use universally it has to start from an objective standpoint, which in terms of morality is impossible as what is moral and what constitutes moral behaviour is purely subjective as two separate persons could have different opinions as to how they see morality and will never be reconciled to an objective morality that disagreed with them. Related to this point is the second problem which is that morality is not absolute. With ever growing cultural and ethnic differences, attempting to ascertain an absolute morality that included both the personal, spiritual and cultural beliefs of people from both the West, the East, the Far East and the middle East would be just about impossible so a theory that provides the right moral answer in one nation may not do in the next. Finally there is a problem that morality is not static. Societal views on morality can change each century and even decade by decade (for example consider the shift in moral opinion following the 1960′s). With this being the case, not theory can provide the right answer to any moral problem as morality is subjective, relative to the individual and their background and always subject to change.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ACTON , H.B., 1970, KANT’S MORAL PHILOSOPHY, ( LONDON )
BENTHAM, J., 1879, AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PRINCIPLES OF MORALS AND LEGISLATION, ( OXFORD )
COTTINGHAM, J., 1996, WESTERN PHILOSOPHY – AN ANTHOLOGY, ( OXFORD
PLAMENATZ, J., 1949, MILL’S UTILITARIANISM, ( OXFORD )
POPKIN, R.H., & STROHL, A., 1986, PHILOSOPHY, (OXFORD)

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