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The Ethical Theories Of Duty Ethics And Virtue Ethics Essay

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“I would rather be a good man than a great king” said the character Thor in Thor: The Dark World. In these words we find a frightening tension. Almost everyone agrees that it is good to be ethical; this is an easy affirmation. It is much more difficult, though, when ethics is in direct opposition to success. This dichotomy- between ethics and success- will no doubt confront an engineer during a professional career of any substantial length. Can you say that you would rather be a good man than rich? Or popular? Or a successful engineer? What should happen when an engineer faces this question? One real world example that can shed some light on this problem is what is known as bid shopping. This essay will provide a thorough definition of the problem of bid shopping and the ethical dilemma surrounding it. It will then apply the ethical theories of Duty Ethics and Virtue Ethics to the question. And seek to show that bid shopping is unethical according to both ethical theories. First, the ethical dilemma itself will be outlined. In the construction industry, it is often necessary for an owner or a construction company to enlist the help of other smaller or more specialized companies in the completion of a project. This practice is known as contracting. When an owner or company, referred to as the contractor, wants to contract out for a job, they will list the job and interested companies will bid for the contract. When arriving at a bid amount, interested companies will estimate

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