College of
Business
Administration
College of
Business
Administration
1) What is one personal ethical dilemma you have faced in your work environments (please be prepared to share some experiences during the discussion)?
2) Out of the five principles of ethical reasoning (ethical relativism, utilitarianism, universalism/deontology, rights, and justice), is there one approach that is generally superior? Is there a superior combination of approaches?
3) Are you more inclined to use deontology or utilitarinism as the basis for your decision-making? In order to answer this question, please make certain you have taken the Survey of Ethical Theoretic Attitudes.
4) Perhaps drawing from questions one and two, do the ends justify the means OR do the means justify the ends? What does your answer to this question reveal about your 'biases' when it comes to making business decisions?
5) What specific experiences can you provide which exhibit the conflict between the ethic of care and justice? The conflict between utilitarianism and deontology?
6) Regarding the four social responsibility roles, Weiss writes, “ethical idealists believe that social responsibility is justified when corporate behavior directly supports stakeholder interests from moral duty motives” (p. 91). Using Weiss’ explanations of productivism, philanthropy, and progressivism, what is his definition of ethical idealist really saying?
Consider the following discussion case vignettes for this class session (all are from Trevino & Nelson's Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk About How to do it Right (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1995, pp. 62-64):
Human Resources Issue
Your division has formed a committee of employees to examine suggestions and create a strategy for how to reward good employee ideas. You are the only minority member of the committee, which has five other members. You're pleased to be part of this effort since appointments to committees such as this one are viewed generally as a positive reflection on job performance. At the first meeting, tasks are assigned and all the other committee members think you should survey minority members for their input. During the weeks that follow, you discover that several committee meetings have been held without your knowledge. When you ask why you weren't notified, two committee members tell you that survey information wasn't needed at the meetings and you'd be notified when a general meeting was scheduled. When you visit one committee member in his office, you spot a report on the suggestion program that you've never seen before. When you ask about it, he says it's just a draft he and two others have produced.
How would you handle this?Conflicts of Interest Issue
You've just cemented a deal between a $100 million pension fund and Green Company, a large regional money manager. You and your staff put in long hours and a lot of effort to close the deal and are feeling very good about it. You and three of your direct reports are having lunch in a fancy restaurant to celebrate a promotion, when the waiter brings you a phone. A senior account executive from Green is on the phone and wants to buy you lunch in gratitude for all your efforts. "I'll leave my credit card number with the restaurant owner," he says. "You and your team have a great time on me."
Describe three courses of action you might take and the pros and cons of each.Customer Confidence Issue
You're the vice president of finance for a small computer company, which has shown a small profit during the last three years. Your company is planning a stock offering, and positive earnings forecasts are essential to its success. While you're preparing the forecasts, a friend tells you in confidence that his company--the major chip supplier to your company--is experiencing serious manufacturing difficulties. He says that, although it won't be announced for several weeks, chips will be in short supply for at least a year. He estimates that your company's supplies may be cut by as much as 25%. Your earnings forecast is scheduled to be issued two weeks before the announcement from the chip supplier.
Should you consider this information in preparing for the stock offering?Use of Corporate Resources Issue
You work for Red Co. You and a colleague, Pat Brown, are asked by your manager to attend a week-long conference in Los Angeles. At least 25 other employees from Red Co. are attending, as well as many customers and competitors from other institutions. At the conference, you attend every session and see many of the Red Co. people, but you never run into Pat. Although you've left several phone messages for her, her schedule doesn't appear to allow room for a meeting. However, when you get back to the office, the department secretary, who's coordinating expense reports, mentions to you that your dinner in L.A. must have been quite the affair. When you ask, "What dinner?", she describes a dinner with 20 customers and Red Co. employees that Pat paid for at a posh L.A. restaurant. When you explain that you didn't attend, she shows you the expense report with your name prominently listed as one of the attendees.
Describe at least two ways in which you could handle this situation.
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