business ethics Case Study Assignment

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Case Study Assignment Each student will do a case study for all of the methods that we covered this semester: utilitarianism, Kant, libertarianism, Rawls and Catholic social teaching. The purpose of the case study assignment is to demonstrate that you understand the methods and are able to apply them to ethical issues that we have not gone over in class. After the assignment description below I have pasted in news stories that you can use for your case studies. The assignment is as follows: 1. Choose a news story that you will focus on for that method. (Note: you can use one story for no more than two methods. Different stories will work better for different methods. 2. Develop and clearly state a very specific ethical dilemma that relates to the story you have chosen for each method. (Note: your ethical dilemma should NOT include editorial comments in its construction. You should not bias the dilemma or the resolution of the dilemma by the way in which you word the dilemma. Also, all dilemmas need to be business-related.) 3. Resolve your dilemma from the perspective of the method. (Do not resolve the method according to your own personal opinion or arguments--only from the perspective of the method. Go step by step, as we have done in class, to come to a resolution of the dilemma.) 4. Include a discussion of the strengths or weaknesses of the argument in its resolution of the dilemma, if there are strengths or weaknesses to the method . Story Option #1: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/26/141690739/south-africa-reconsiders-walmarts-bid-for-retailer Story Option #2: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/26/141687537/in-northwest-town-alocal-fight-against-global-coal and there are one or two follow-up stories on this Story Option #3: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/29/140344871/retirement-heist-howfirms-trimmed-pensions Story Option #4: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/26/140737591/bartering-for-healthcare-yardwork-for-treatment Story Option #5: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/27/141661114/back-from-chinafurniture-maker-returns-to-n-c Story Option #6: http://www.npr.org/2011/09/23/140631752/high-costs-make-itharder-to-grow-young-farmers Story Option #7: Global Reality Challenges IMF’s Free Market Gospel http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124792660 Story Option #8: http://www.npr.org/2012/10/30/163923899/swiss-bank-ubs-to-lay-off-10-000employees Story Option #9: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2016/10/21/advocacygroups-urge-crackdown-on-influencer-marketing-aimed-at-children/ Story Option #10 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/10/26/why-employeesfeel-so-pinched-by-health-care-costs/?hpid=hp_hp-more-topstories_healthinsurance-1230am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory read about each method, know it well. For Utilitarian: Write an ethical dilemma (starts with "should" and clearly has a conflict between two values (such as, but not limited to: profit vs. labor costs; sourcing and child labor; cost of environmentally responsible practices). Write the dilemma from the perspective of someone in business-don't ask government-related questions or ask if someone "should be allowed to" do something. After you develop an ethical dilemma, then resolve the dilemma as though you are a utilitarian. Ballpark the numbers (if none are given), multiply by some factor of 110 for happiness or unhappiness, do the math, and explain what decision a utilitarian would choose AND why. Include the short term and long term consequences. For Libertarian: find an ethical dilemma and then resolve it according to a libertarian perspective. --Should business person X do Y? for Kant: answer these questions : How to use Kant’s theory to make a decision in business: 1. What is the ethical dilemma? 2. Who is the agent : The agent is the decision-maker. For this method you should only have one person in the decision-making position. A “company” cannot make a collective decision based on Kant’s methodology in the aggregate. Additionally, there are people within a company whose job descriptions and responsibilities may make their “duty” in a situation differ from another person’s job within the same company. 3. What is the agent’s role in the situation? : For Kant, the intrinsic nature of things relates to the required duty. In order to figure out the “nature” of what is going on, you need to be very specific about what the agent’s role is. 4. What is the nature of the role? : In Sandel, with the case of a murderer chasing someone hiding in your home, the issue relates to you being asked a question—in that situation you have to decide what to respond, which makes you a communicator— your role is a communicator. The “nature” of the act of communication is truth telling. 5. What is the duty associated with the role? This is related to the “nature” of the act and the role of the agent. 6. What is the categorical imperative? A categorical imperative is something that you believe could be a binding command on everyone contemplating this same act. For Kant, things are intrinsically right or wrong—they are always and everywhere right or wrong. There are no exceptions to a rule. For this step, you want to think about the two possible (but opposite) “rules” that you are proposing for the ethical dilemma. One of them will end up being the morally worthy thing to do according to Kant and one will not be morally worthy. 7. Is this categorical imperative universalizable? The purpose of this particular question is to consider the opinion of vastly different people across generations, historical circumstances, genders, religions, etc. Kant believes that objective universal truths exist. However, our own personal emotions, goals, selfinterest, social-economic-historical circumstances could lead us in the wrong direction. So we need to try to figure out if other people, who are reasonable people thinking rationally, would agree with our proposal. You don’t want to ask your mom or your best friend because they probably think very similarly to you. This is a difficult one to settle on your own—you have to ask others if you were really using this process in a situation. 8. Would I be willing to switch places with everyone in the scenario? You want to place yourself in the situation that everyone else involved in the scenario would be in. A typical example of this relates to bias in hiring. If a hiring manager has a bias against people nearing retirement, no matter how qualified that person may be for the position, even maybe being the best possible candidate, deciding not hire them would go against the “nature” of the decision to hire the “best possible” candidate and the hiring manager would not want to switch places with someone who is older but perfectly qualified. 9. Am I using someone MERELY as a means to an end? Kant believes that people need to be treated with a deep respect and as an “end” in and of themselves, not JUST a means to an end. An example of this—when I was an adjunct professor at another university, I taught a 15 week course, was paid $1500 for the entire course, had no office, received no benefits, received no review so I could later get a letter of recommendation for a full time job, and no one ever even checked up on me or my class. I was simply a means to that course being taught and nothing more. As a tenure-track professor, I receive a fair salary, benefits, have an office, am constantly reviewed so I know how I’m doing, have access to all sorts of faculty development opportunities, have access to resources that I need to do well in the classroom and in my other responsibilities, etc. I am certainly a means to getting CSR and ethics courses taught...but I’m not MERELY that. I am treated with respect and Dominican cares about my personal and professional situation. Prostitution is another example—one person is seeking sex and the other is seeking money and there is no relationship—each is using the other MERELY as a means to the end of money or sex. When using Kant’s theory, you want to go through ALL of the steps to thoroughly think through the questions. For Rawls For Catholic social teaching: please watch the entirety of the 3 videos for an introduction to the concepts of Catholic social teaching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELyLdMlFdzA (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. CST Pt 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mhqLPii4CM (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. CST Pt 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ5Jj5Ukhgk (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. CST Pt 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N4l8T0m2bE (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. After you understand the CST, analyze the story and a dilemma using the concepts that we learned in CST: human dignity, common good, stewardship, preferential option for the poor, 3 types of justice and subsidiarity. You should explain and apply each of the concepts.
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Running Head: ETHICAL DILEMMAS

Ethical dilemmas
Name of student
Professor’s name
Course title
Date

Running Head: ETHICAL DILEMMAS

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Utilitarian
The case
https://www.npr.org/2011/10/26/141687537/in-northwest-town-a-local-fight-against-global-coal
The town of Belington, Wash in the west coast is dealing with the impeding transportation of
coal through the town as there are plans underway which intend to build new coal terminals
within the region. The coal will then be transported to China. The deal will definitely be lucrative
but activists intend to stop this deal from going through this is because coal releases huge
amounts of carbon dioxide into the environment. What’s more is that the coal dust is running the
environment making it very unattractive as these companies do not deal with it. There would be
trains going in and out of the town and the level of pollution would increase substantially. The
town also fears that the railway will also impact the reputation of the town and impact the level
of investment in the town
The ethical dilemma
Should profit come at the expense of environmentally responsible practices and economic
viability of the town?
When it comes to utilitarianism we consider the outcome that gives the most pleasure as being
moral as being the best moral choice
In this scenario there are a few possible outcomes considering a happiness scale of (1-10)
The deal goes through and the town benefits greatly from huge investments in the industrial
sector at the cost of the environment and health of the residents, this causes happiness of 7 for

Running Head: ETHICAL DILEMMAS

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profits and due to the suffering of -9. Utilitarianism of what two aspects. What is right and the
value of happiness. In this case 7+ -9 brings about a net happiness factor of -2
The deal does not go through and the economic viability of the town is maintained without any
effect on the ...


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