The four primary lenses through which human beings tend to view reality may be briefly summarized as follows:

Idealist	Idealists believe in an absolute, fixed relation between means and ends.  The actual situation and circumstances surrounding the decision make little difference to them because idealists recognize no distinction between is and ought in the consideration of the outcomes of their decisions.  Decision-making of this sort is little more than an ethical calculus in which the agent can plug in the various alternatives and compute the right answer.  Alignment is sought in the ideal.
Pragmatic/ Utilitarian	Pragmatists believe that the relation between means and ends is determined entirely by the situation.  In today's business literature, the Pragmatic approach is embodied by Situational Ethics, in which the agent makes decisions based entirely on achieving immediate results.  If it works, it's right.  If it doesn't work, it's wrong.  Alignment is sought in utility.
Realist	Realists believe in a principled relation between means and ends that manifests itself differently in different circumstances.  The cornerstone for the realist is not an ideal, it is not utility, it is order.  Realists recognize that ends don't necessarily dictate means, they dictate order - both of importance and sequence.  Alignment is sought in the maintenance of order.
Skeptic	Skeptics don't believe there is any necessary relation between means and ends at all, because the true skeptic doesn't believe in such thing as ends.  Strictly speaking, skepticism is the belief that human beings can never really know anything for certain, and thus that all human action is essentially meaningless, equivalent to caged mice spinning their wheels.  Consequently, skeptics don't seek alignment at all, they seek immediate gratification.