The Utilitarian Ethical Model

In order to determine the morality of an action, practice, rule, or law pursuant to the stakeholder, pleasure v. pain, numerical model of the ethical theory of Utilitarianism:

1. Accurately and narrowly state the action to be evaluated (e.g., Is it moral for a particular company or organization to...?);

2. Identify all people and groups who are directly and indirectly affected by the action (including the company's or organization's constituent groups or "stakeholders" as well as society as a whole);

3. Specify for each stakeholder group directly and indirectly affected all the reasonably foreseeable good - pleasurable and bad - painful consequences of the action, as far as into the future as appears appropriate, and consider the various predictable outcomes, good and bad, and the likelihood of their occurring;

4. For each stakeholder group, including society as a whole, measure and weigh the total good consequences against the bad consequences, and determine which predominates for each stakeholder group;

5. Quantify the good and bad consequences for each stakeholder group on a numerical scale (-5, -4, -3, -2, -1, 0 +1, +2, +3, +4, +5) representing units and extremes of pleasure and pain;

6. Sum up all the good and bad consequences assigned to the stakeholder groups;

7. If the action results in an overall positive number, it produces more good than bad, and is a morally right action; and if the action results in an overall negative number, it produces more bad than good, and is morally wrong; based on this model of the Utilitarian ethical theory.