THE EFFECT OF ETHICAL SIGNALS ON RECRUITMENT ...

consequence will occur to each stakeholder group,” 3). “the desirability or undesirability
of each consequence,” and 4). “the importance of each stakeholder group” (Hunt &
Vitell, 1986, p. 9). Of course, the identification and importance of the stakeholders will
change across situations and individuals (Hunt & Hansen, 2007).
Utilitarianism is one school of thought derived from the teleological perspective.
Under utilitarianism, “the act is ethical only if the sum total of utilities produced by the
act is greater than the sum total of utilities produced by any other act” (Ferrell &
Gresham, 1985, p. 89). An act is therefore unethical if it “leads to an inefficient use of
resources” or to “personal gain at the expense of society in general” (Ferrell & Gresham,
1985, p. 89). Utilitarianism is often summed up by “the greatest good for the greatest
number” (Hunt & Vitell, 1986, p. 7). There are several problems with utilitarianism and
teleological evaluations in general including determining whose good should be
maximized and measuring the potential positive or negative outcomes of decisions (Hunt
& Vitell, 1986). Thus, as noted earlier, the integration of both teleological and
deontological theories of ethics is most beneficial in understanding how and why people
(and organizations) make ethical decisions.
A review of the deontological and teleological views reveals that there are both
social and individual aspects of ethics. Both organizational norms and personal
experiences influence the development of deontological norms and perceived
consequences of actions (teleological evaluations) (Hunt & Vitell, 1986). The next
section outlines the importance of both social and individual components in the study of
ethics.
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