Case Studies and Application of Utilitarianism Theory

Case Studies and Theoretical Applications
Name
Institution
Case Studies and Application of Utilitarianism Theory
The utilitarianism theory is a theory of morality that focuses on advocating for actions that promote pleasure and happiness while opposing those actions that result in sadness or those that cause harm to people and society. The philosopher Jeremy Bentham was the first to develop this theory. Generally, the theory aims to create a better society socially, economically and politically by encouraging actions and decisions that bring the greatest happiness to the people in society. Ideally, in utilitarianism, the most significant number of people should be able to enjoy this great amount of happiness from an action. In other words, decisions and actions need to increase people's happiness while also aiming to reduce their suffering. The other premise of the theory is that a decision or action can be considered to be correct if only the individual in question is affected by the decision or action and not anyone else. Another critical aspect of the theory is that it uses an approach based on reason to decide whether actions are right or wrong. Since the utilitarianism theory uses the mentioned approach, it will be applied in the case studies below to determine whether or not the actions and decisions made by various people in these cases were morally justified.
Case 1: The Housing Allowance
This case is about a hardworking man Wilson Mutambara who overcame many challenges in his rural home in Rambia and obtained a scholarship to study in the United States. After attaining an MBA, Mutambara was employed by NewComm, a US-based cellular telephone service company that had branches in different parts, including Mutambara's native home. Before long, he was offered the chance to work in Rambia and Mutambara was happy about the chance to be close to his family. However, the area in which Mutambara grew was a slum with poor quality housing and unsafe neighborhoods. Therefore NewComm set aside money for employees to use for rent and utilities. This was purposely to help them have a standard of living that positively represented the company. To ensure that the allowance of $2,000 was well-utilized, employees were expected to produce monthly receipts of their expenditures. Mutambara duly complied with this. After working for several months, Dale Garman, Mutambara's co-worker, discovered that Mutambara lived in the slum area and reported the issue to Barbara Weston, Mutambara’s supervisor. Due to the concern that the slum housing reflected negatively on the company’s image, Weston confronted Mutambara on the issue since he had falsified receipts. However, Mutambara justified his actions by indicating that since each employee was given the monthly allowance, he too had a right to it. Therefore, he should not be punished for using it economically. He also argued that he had a responsibility to feed and educate his relatives back at home, and it would make no sense for him to live in a mansion while they suffered. His third argument was that he had grown up in the slum and therefore found the company insensitive to people's feelings by calling it inappropriate.
Theoretical Application
The Housing Allowance case has several outstanding moral issues. To begin with, it was Weston's opinion that the slum was unseemly even though it was Mutambara's native home. The other issue is Mutambara falsifying receipts for a justifiable reason for taking care of his family. Another moral issue is that Mutambara is being paid just like the other employees and has a right to decide how he wants to use the money. According to the concept of the utilitarian theory, the opinions made about people on an issue largely depend on the societies from which they come. Applying this to the case, Weston was brought up in the U.S. environment where she was used to suitable housing and security. Therefore it is easy to understand why she was disgusted by the slums in Rambia. Mutambara, on his part, was brought up in Rambia, which explains why he was proud of the place. From this utilitarian concept, both their actions can be justified. Another theory's premise is that an action should bring the greatest good or happiness to the greatest number of people. Since the company was located in Rambia, the decisions and actions taken should first consider the happiness of the people of Rambia. The same premise justifies Mutambara’s argument that he had an equal right to receive payment just like the other employees. According to the theory also, Mutambara’s act of falsifying the receipts was wrong since it negatively affected the whole company and its reputation instead of only affecting Mutambara.
Case 2: Blood for Sale
This case revolves around a successful stockbroker in Florida known as Sol Kevin. From observing the U.S. blood transfusion system, he found that the system depended on blood donated by well-wishers. However, the country was experiencing a blood deficit because most individuals were unwilling to donate. Being an opportunist, Kevin partnered with his colleagues to form a company called Plasma International, which mainly dealt with buying and selling blood. Since most people in the U.S. did not want to sell their blood to the company, Plasma International reverted to buying blood from alcohol and drug addicts, which was contaminated in most cases. However, with time, the company found an African village where they negotiated with local chiefs to sell blood at meager prices, usually at fifteen cents a pint. The blood was then resold in the U.S at prices ten times the price used in purchasing it. As a result, close to forty percent of U.S. people participate in blood donation to build up credit for when they will need it. In contrast, the National Health Service relies mainly on blood donations in the British system. This is justified by the fact that in this system, the life or death of a person is seen to be dependent on this blood. Therefore, it is considered immoral and wrong if blood is denied to a person just because they are not in a position to afford it. For this reason, Richard Tittmus supports the British system that is unlike the U.S. one where blood for transfusion is commercialized.
Theoretical Application
The case above presents the critical issue of the morality of commercializing blood by buying and selling it for profit. Using the theory of utilitarianism, the action of selling blood can be considered morally acceptable if it is in line with the values hel...