Introduction
Utilitarianism is one of the most influential ethical theories at the moment. It can be considered so important because it showcases the need to focus on the good things and ensure that happiness and satisfaction go hand in hand with a person’s everyday life (Scarre, 2020). Business proceedings are often affected by utilitarian principles because individual interests and needs are revisited during negotiations and policymaking. In the field of Asian business, utilitarianism is often perceived as ineffective and unnecessary, but many modern companies are changing their outlook on this set of ethical principles. Within the framework of the current research paper, three primary utilitarian values will be analyzed in order to gain a better understanding of how Asian businesses benefit from the notions of happiness and pleasure.
Pleasure and Happiness are Essential
The fundamental value included in the utilitarian framework is the idea of pleasure and happiness being the source of intrinsic value. The usefulness of positive emotions and actions cannot be underestimated, especially in the context of business and interactions with clients and partners. This is why Asian companies often appeal to utilitarianism when it is necessary to showcase the good deeds carried out by the business and point to the sources of happiness and pleasure affected by certain actions (Jamil et al., 2019). Thus, it should not only be useful, but it would also mean a possibility to establish a connection between customer needs and organizational capacity. Knowledge and experience help generate pleasure and happiness while helping Asian businesses reduce the impact of instrumental value on everyday proceedings. This is why people are so valued in Asian companies, especially if they bring something unique to the table and remain loyal to the organization for a prolonged period (Chen, 2022). This logic is also useful because it makes employers closer to pleasure and happiness while having customers and workers satisfied as well.
The intrinsic value of utilitarianism becomes even stronger when the end-users recognize the key sources of their happiness and strive to cope with various injustices affecting the world around them. For instance, Toyota might provide consumers with discounts based on the number of years those customers remained loyal to the given brand (Roets et al., 2020). Utilitarianism and cosmopolitanism principles make it possible to value purchasers because the sense of happiness and pleasure is universal and stems from a positive relationship between the two. When coping with the need to partner with Western companies, Asian businesses tend to focus on intrinsic values, such as spirituality and mental well-being, because happiness drives performance and maintains interpersonal relationships (Jamil et al., 2019). According to Ho et al. (2020), the complex nature of human emotions is continually investigated by business scholars across Asia in order to find the perfect formula for combining varied pleasures and establishing the grounds for finding happiness. Many Asian businesses and consumers are linked to each other due to the fact that the inherent sense of duty helps them find happiness and fulfill the potential included in the notion of utilitarianism.
Actions are Vital
Another important question that has to be answered when discussing utilitarianism and its applications in Asian business is how happiness is promoted and what actions might produce positive emotion. Despite the controversy surrounding utilitarianism, the primary responsibility of a business is to ensure that the consequences of actions are going to be perceived as positive (Redding, 2020). For instance, if an Asian manager intends to achieve more happiness, they will be responsible for evaluating the morality of an action on the fly. The challenges met by Asian communities require respective businesses to engage in empowering activities that would affect as many people as possible. This is why there are equality campaigns affecting different cohorts of people through the prism of providing all of them with unique advantages, which is one of the core ideas behind cosmopolitanism as well. The core motive behind the actions of Alibaba, for example, is the need to save face and develop an immaculate reputation (Redding, 2020). This is another reason why Asian companies often engage in charitable activities that would increase their chances of appealing to consumers while also making it possible to give away to the community.
Equality Is Happiness
The final principle to look at when addressing the application of utilitarianism within the context of Asian business proceedings is that every customer’s and manager’s happiness should be perceived equally. It means that Asian organizations surpass the need to establish a ruling elite because policies should be developed, and decisions should be made with attention being paid to consumer feedback (Chen, 2022). Thus, the possibility of overcoming an egotistic view of business might be one of the few ways for the organization to promote in-house happiness among employees as well, which is similar to cosmopolitanism. The latter also supports equal treatment as it represents a significant trend across the Asian IT sector. Local businesses cater to utilitarianism, as it makes the workplace much more realistic and significantly less demanding (Hung et al., 2021). From the point of utilitarianism, such commitment drives the Asian need for increased performance and long working hours because every employee holds radical views regarding their role in the company. Thus, a customer might be expected to be treated as a member of the company in order to gain better insight into the fundamentals of the Asian business world. This is why equality is described as one of the core ideas supported by Japanese employees, for example.
Conclusion
Even though utilitarianism can be criticized for a thorough focus on happiness and individual pleasures, its benefits for business cannot be dismissed. Many Asian businesses tend to resort to utilitarian principles when it is necessary to preserve fairness and justice without affecting too many people in a negative way. This is the main reason why personal obligations and duties are essential for Asian businesspersons and employees. Despite a generally negative image, utilitarian principles can be seen as supporting individuality regardless of the part of the world where those are applied. Minorities can be empowered, and individuals often represent more than a mere means to an end. Asian businesses respond to the need to use utilitarianism with much willingness because they want to explore ethical issues and gain practical knowledge. Eventually, it shows how Asian companies could be successful in terms of achieving ultimate flexibility, allowing them to adjust to any given business partner.
Overall, it can be claimed that utilitarian principles significantly benefit Asian businesses because of a thorough focus on everyone’s happiness. It also shows how many Asian companies could experience issues when working with Western partners due to a completely different outlook on essential pleasures and needs. Further research is necessary, but it is safe to say that Asian organizations are much more goal-driven and also tend to capitalize on performance.
References
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