In the case considered, there are two possibilities for the award of the contract: The first is that there may have been no companies on the applicant list that met the minority standards. The second is that non-minority companies far outweighed their minority counterparts in the level of service that would be provided.

In the first case, the deontological viewpoint would not have been applicable, as there were no companies available to meet the minority standards. The ethical argument might then be that, all persons should have an equal right to receive the contract, and be chosen on merit. The second case could then have been decided on the grounds of a utilitarian approach. Quality of service takes precedence over human rights considerations.

The utilitarian viewpoint also considers the importance of quality of the specific service involved, as well as the setting and safety levels promoted by the service. In...
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