Most theories pertaining to Business Ethics, Corporate Governance or Corporate Responsibility are either Consequentialist or Non-consequentialist by nature.
According to this branch of corporate governance, consequences alone determine whether an option is morally correct: "The end justifies the means". Hence, according to consequentialist theories the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct. It might be okay to lie or act unethically in order to generate a greater happiness. Hence, the consequences decide how a decision should be made.
Utilitarianism and Egoism are two most prominent consequentialist theories. Here is some more information on the main Theories of Consequentialism:
UTILITARIANISM: An action is justified if it is generating greater good for all even at any harm. An example of this might be if the cruise ship is sinking and the captain has the chance of saving a 1000 lives at the cost of
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