Consequentialism is a class of normative, teleological ethical theories that holds that the consequences of one’s conduct are the ultimate basis for judgement about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct.
Thus, from a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right act (including omission from acting) is one that will produce a good outcome.
Consequentialists hold in general that an act is right if and only if the act (or in some views, the rule under which it falls) will produce, will probably produce, or is intended to produce, a greater balance of good over evil than any available alternative.
Usually contrasted with Deontological Ethics.