An employee who takes initiative to tell their boss that they have made a mistake because if everyone does this then the associated ‘trust’ creates the best outcome for other employees, shareholders, customers and society as a whole could BEST be described as applying which type of ethical framework:

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question describes an employee who takes initiative to confess a mistake because doing so would foster trust and lead to the best outcomes for coworkers, shareholders, customers, and society at large. This framing centers on the overall good that results from the action.
Option 1 – Virtues: This framework emphasizes character traits and moral virtues (such as honesty, courage, and integrity) guiding behavior. While honesty and integrity are relevant, the scenario is not primarily about character development itself but about the consequences of the action on overall welfare, so this choice doesn’t capture the emphasis on outcomes for the broader group.
Option 2 – Deontology: Deontological ethics focus on duties, rules, and rights, and whether an action is intrinsically right or wrong regardless of consequences. The prompt’s justification centers on outcomes (the best result for many stakeholders), which aligns more with consequence-oriented thinking rather than strict rule-following or duties alone, making this a less accurate fit.
Option 3 – Consequentialism: Consequentialism is the umbrella idea that moral rightness is determined by outcomes. While this aligns with the focus on results, it is a broad category. The question’s wording points toward a specific consequentialist tradition that evaluates actions by the maximization of overall good, which narrows down to...
Option 4 – Utilitarianism: Utilitarianism is a specific form of consequentialism that seeks the greatest good for the greatest number. The description of trust creating the best outcome for employees, shareholders, customers, and society as a whole directly matches the utilitarian aim of maximizing overall welfare across all affected parties.
In summary, the scenario centers on achieving the best overall outcomes through an action, which is the core idea of Utilitarianism, distinguishing it from virtue ethics (character-based), deontology (duties/rules), and general consequentialism (without specifying the greatest good framework).

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