module 1 case study
Natural Disaster and the Retail Business Owner
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the news has been full of examples like this one from Hurricane Katrina:
During Hurricane Katrina, there were several cases of retail businesses increasing their prices. Gasoline prices went up, food prices increased as food became scarcer, and the prices of generators also became virtually unaffordable for many. As it became more evident that Hurricane Katrina was going to impact the New Orleans area, many people decided to evacuate the area and move north to Arkansas, Northern Mississippi, and Tennessee to wait out the storm. As vacant motel rooms became fewer and fewer, Brian Johnson, who owned a motel on Interstate 55 near McComb, Mississippi called up his day manager, Lilly and said “We know there are going to be a lot of people coming up to stay out of the direct path of the Hurricane. I want you to change our rate from $55 to $200 a night.” Lilly was aghast. She responded “We can’t do that Mr. Johnson, these people need help.” “Lilly, this is our opportunity to make some money from a bad situation. I really need you to do this.” Lilly was silent for a few moments then responded “Mr. Johnson, if you insist on increasing these rates, I will quit.” Taken by surprise, Brian stated “Well Lilly, I guess you have to do what you have to do but I’m going to raise these rates.” Lilly angrily told Brian she quit and hung up the phone. Brian did increase his prices for the motel over the next week, but only to $125 vice the $200 he initially wanted to. Approximately 3 months after Hurricane Katrina decimated the New Orleans area, Lilly reapplied for her job at the motel Brian owned. Brian was still resentful about what Lilly had done, but he had also tried to see it from her point-of-view. He was not sure what to do. Brian asks you what you think.
Should Brian give Lilly her job back?
Case Expectations:
Read the background material for this module. Apply that material to the decision making that Lilly made and the decision making that Brian made. Which approach are you applying in deciding what to recommend to Brian?
Write a 2-3 page paper, not including cover page and reference page, explaining your analysis and advice to Brian. Be sure to demonstrate that you understand the normative ethics issues and the utilitarian and deontological approaches.
General Expectations:
Your paper should be double-spaced with 12-point font.
Your paper should have a separate cover page and a separate reference page containing the full citations corresponding to the in-text citations you choose to use in the body of your paper. So in addition to the 2-3 page body of your paper you will have a title page and a reference page. So overall, you will be submitting a 4 to 5 page document.
Be sure to cite references and proofread your paper.
Upload your paper to Coursenet by the end of the module.
Rev. January 7, 2014
module 1 SLP
The session long project for this class is not a term paper. It is not a long project due at the end of the course.
Rather, the session long project for this class is your chance to take something from the real world and develop a cumulative approach to the analysis of an ethical issue.
There are two parts to this module 1 session long project which is a little bit of a practice run for the remaining cumulative SLP project:
I
It is best to select the company you work for as your real world situation to study. If you do not wish to do that, then please select a company you know something about.
You will be thinking about how your company handles different moral problems.
Please write a little bit about the company you will be working on
II
After you have selected a company to look at, identify a moral problem, something the company is working to correct. Every company has some kind of moral problem. Whether they face up to it or not is another matter. But they have problems. Find a simple one. It could be something as small as refusing to listen to minor safety claims, listening in on personal phone calls, strict dress codes, and the like. That might not seem like much, but it can be very important to the people concerned.
SLP Expectations:
Find a small problem and tell me what the utilitarian considerations are, and what rights (deontological considerations) are involved. This is more of practice to get set up. I want to know about the company you select and some small moral problem.
Please write one or two pages and upload it to Coursenet by the end of this module.
General Expectations
Your paper should be double-spaced with 12-point font.
Your paper should have a separate cover page and if you are using any in-text citations then a separate reference page.
Be sure to proofread your paper.
Upload your paper to Coursenet by the end of the module.
Rev. January 7, 2014module 3 case study
Begin, by reading the materials on the .trident.edu/CourseHomeModule.aspx?course=17&term=117&module=3&page=bkg”>background page. Do as much additional research as you feel is necessary. Then address the case assignment.
In separate incidents, All-Star game Most Valuable Player Melky Cabrera of the San Francisco Giants and Former AL Cy Young Award winner Oakland Athletics starter Bartolo Colon were both suspended for 50 games for testing positive for testosterone. Baseball is a business. It is big business. Players are employees. The safety of the employees is an issue. Marketing is a problem and public relations. How does this affect the game?
Unlike other drug problems, this is not a public safety issue. Or is it? Are players role models? You know kids; they see they do.
Let’s take this now to the specific level.
Should Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon have received these lengthy suspensions?
Case Expectations:
As always, make sure to show how your position is for the greatest good (utility) and respects basic rights (deontology)
Please write a three page paper, not including title page and reference page, answering this question.
General Expectations
Your paper should be double-spaced with 12-point font.
Your paper should have a separate cover page and a separate reference page.
Be sure to proofread your paper.
Upload your paper to Coursenet by the end of the module.
Rev. January 7, 2014
module 2 case study
If the law does not keep pace with technological developments, and it always seems to be at least one step behind, the consequences can be devastating, even in the seemingly simplest of things. What could be more technologically routine these days than email? And yet……
Justin Ellsworth was a Marine who gave his life for his country. By all accounts he was a brave and fine Marine and we all owe him the highest debt of gratitude. But we were also left with a serious question, what to do with his email? His parents wanted access. They wanted to see what their son had to say. However, email is a private sort of thing. Yahoo, his email provider, had a terms of service agreement with him. And while we sympathize greatly with his parents, there is also a precedent to be concerned about. One can’t simply waive away the privacy issue as a decision to release the information could have serious consequences for email privacy for us all. So the issue needs to be discussed, thought through, and resolved. That is why we have cases like this in a class like this, so we can think these things through and try to respect the family, the deceased, and the needs of society. So I ask you:
Should Justin Ellsworth’s Parents have been given access to his email?
Case Expectations:
Please answer this question in three to five pages. Be sure to assess, separately with thorough explanations, the utilitarian and deontological considerations.
Please go to the web and to our cyberlibraries and find as much as you can on this case.
You can read about it by going to Proquest:
Who gets to see the e-mail of the deceased?
Susan Llewelyn Leach Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor. Christian Science Monitor. Boston, Mass.: May 2, 2005. pg. 12; Retrieved on August 28, 2012 from PProquest.
Abstract
Yet many legal experts say Yahoo! acted correctly. It denied the family’s informal request and only yielded under court order. “I would hope that the Yahoo! position here would become a trade practice – that e-mail would only be released if a judge approved it,” says Gerald Ferrera, executive director of the Cyberlaw Center at Bentley College in Waltham, Mass.
For Yahoo!’s part, the company says it still stands behind its commitment to treat each user’s e-mail as private and confidential. “We are pleased that the court has issued an order resolving this matter … and allowing Yahoo! to continue upholding our privacy commitment to our users,” says Yahoo! spokeswoman Mary Osako.
Most people leave their privacy in the hands of e-mail providers, rarely reading through the terms of service and privacy policy before clicking the “I agree” box. Yahoo! states that its accounts are nontransferable and that “rights to the Yahoo! I.D. and contents within the account terminate upon death.” Destroying the data once the contract ends simplifies life for Internet service providers (ISPs), says Mr. [Alan Chappell].
General Expectations:
Your paper should be double-spaced with 12-point font.
Your paper should have a separate cover page and a separate reference page for your in-text citations in addition to the body of your paper.
Be sure to proofread your paper.
Upload your paper to Coursenet by the end of the module.
Rev. January 7, 2014
module 2 SLP
For the module 2 SLP assignment, you will again focus on the company you have chosen to study. For this module 2 SLP assignment we are going to find an issue at your company that you find interesting. You will be working on analyzing this issue for the next four (4) SLP assignments.
Since you will be working on this issue for the next four (4) SLP assignments, you do not want the issue to be too small or simple. Of course, you also do not want the issue to be so large or complicated that you need more than a single course in business ethics to describe, analyze, and resolve the issue. Try to make the size and importance of the issue just right for our purposes.
Once you have identified and explained the issue, identify one (1) business decision your company will make in regard to this issue.
Once youve settled on an issue and business decision, you can ask your professor for some feedback before you get started on writing your paper.
SLP Expectations
For this module 2 SLP assignment, identify and explain the issue at your company that interests you and identify and explain one (1) business decision your company will make in regard to this issue. Describe the business decision. For this assignment, emphasize the business aspects of the decision. We will do our ethical analyses in the upcoming SLP assignments.
Please address the SLP expectations in two to three pages, not including title page or reference page.
General Expectations
Your paper should be double-spaced with 12-point font.
Your paper should have a separate cover page and a separate reference page in addition to the body of your paper.
Be sure to proofread your paper.
Upload your paper to Coursenet by the end of the module.
Rev. January 7, 2014
module 3 SLP
In this module 3 SLP assignment, the focus is on the business decision you identified in module 2.
First review the business decision that you described in your module 2 SLP assignment, and identify one (1) ethical issue embedded in that business decision. Then, identify the information that you will need in order to make an informed analysis of this ethical issue, so that you can make a proper recommendation regarding the business decision.
SLP Expectations
Identify, describe, and discuss one (1) ethical issue that appears in the business decision that you described in your module 2 SLP assignment. Identify the information and facts you will need in order to make an informed analysis of this ethical issue.
Please answer this question in two to three pages, not including title page and reference page.
General Expectations
Your paper should be double-spaced with 12-point font.
Your paper should have a separate cover page and a separate reference page.
Be sure to proofread your paper.
Upload your paper to Coursenet by the end of the module.
Rev. January 7, 2014
module 4 case study
A Spin on the issue
After listening to my background lectures and reading what I wrote, you were probably thinking that I am going to ask you a question on affirmative action and race or gender. I won’t disappoint you. But affirmative action goes beyond that. AA for the disabled is a very interesting issue. Make them veterans and you really have something worth thinking about.
Take a moment and .fedshirevets.gov/hire/hrp/dvaap/index.aspx”>Click Here to check out the Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program (DVAAP)
“Most departments and agencies in the Federal government are required to have an affirmative action program for the recruitment, employment, and advancement of disabled veterans. The law requires agencies to develop annual Disabled Veterans Affirmative Action Program (DVAAP) Plans.” (site excerpt)
Go to the Proquest and read:
Affirmative action requirements
Charles J Muhl. Monthly Labor Review. Washington: Jan 1999. Vol. 122, Iss. 1; p. 48 (2 pages)
Please answer the following question:
Should disabled veterans get preferential treatment over better qualified candidates who are not disabled veterans?
Case Expectations:
Make sure to contrast DVAAP to programs that involve affirmative action for women or minorities?
Be sure to refer to the logic of the Affirmative Action arguments laid out in the background information. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT; show me that you understand the logic of those arguments that are relevant to your answer.
Be sure to set out the utilitarian and deontological considerations.
Please write a three to five page paper, not including title page or references page, answering this question, and upload it to coursenet by the end of this module.
General Expectations
Your paper should be double-spaced with 12-point font.
Your paper should have a separate cover page and a separate reference page.
Be sure to proofread your paper.
Upload your paper to Coursenet by the end of the module.
Rev. January 7, 2014
module 4 SLP
In this module 4 SLP assignment, you will develop a better understanding of the ethical issue that you have identified in module 3. One way of better understanding a business decision or ethical issue is to identify the values of the stakeholders who are involved in the decision.
You learned something about stakeholders and stakeholder theory in the module 4.trident.edu/CourseHomeModule.aspx?course=17&term=117&module=4&page=bkg”>backgroundpage.
Once you have identified the stakeholders you may want to interview them (a few representatives is fine if you have identified stakeholder groups), if you can, to see what they think about the issue and decision. Your own views might change once youve heard from the stakeholders. If you are not able to interview them, put yourself in their position and consider what their views might be based on their values.
SLP Expectations:
Please write a two to three page paper, not including cover page and reference page, explaining who the stakeholders for this business decision and ethical issue are and explaining their views on the issue and decision.
General Expectations
Your paper should be double-spaced with 12-point font.
Your paper should have a separate cover page and a separate reference page.
Be sure to proofread your paper.
Upload your paper to Coursenet by the end of the module.
Rev. January 7, 2014
For a written explanation of the utilitarian and deontological perspectives on Affirmative Action, review this:
.aspx”>https://cdad.trident.edu/CourseHomeModule.aspx?course=17&term=110&module=4&page=custom1
Required Readings:
Charles J Muhl. Monthly Labor Review. Washington: Jan 1999. Vol. 122, Iss. 1; p. 48 (2 pages) Retrieved November 27, 2012 from Proquest.
The following is a listing of sites with detailed information on Affirmative Action. Some sites provide information on the moral issues involved. Others present the legal and historical perspective. Some will link you to corporate and institutional policies.
.affirmativeaction.org/”>The American Association for Affirmative Actionis the association of professionals managing affirmative action, equal opportunity, diversity and other human resource programs. The American Association for Affirmative Action (2007). Retrieved November 27, 2012 from.affirmativeaction.org/”>http://www.affirmativeaction.org/Be sure to look on AAAA’s resources page.affirmativeaction.org/resources.html”>here.
.hr-guide.com/”>www.hr-guide.comhad a lot of information on the latest issues.
BE CAREFUL; THERE IS A LOT HERE, USE WHAT YOU NEED FOR THE CASE BUT DON’T GET SWAMPED WITH THE TONS OF MATERIALS ON THE WEB; YOU ONLY NEED TO FIND WHAT YOU NEED TO DO YOUR ASSIGNMENT, YOU CAN’T READ EVERYTHING!!Please write a two to three page paper, not including cover page and reference page, explaining who the stakeholders for this business decision and ethical issue are and explaining their views on the issue and decision.
For the SLP, you will need to familiarize yourself with the concept of the stakeholder. A stakeholder is someone who has an interest in what a company does. A stakeholder can be the (shareholders) investors, employees, trade unions, the government. Anyone who has some stake in the outcome of what the company does. Dont confuse shareholder and stakeholder. All shareholders are stakeholders, but not all stakeholders are shareholders.
module 5 case study
Read the required readings on the .trident.edu/CourseHomeModule.aspx?course=17&term=117&module=5&page=bkg”>background page and answer the case assignment question. Some of the optional material may also be of help as you develop your arguments.
Obesity in the Workplace
Obesity is identified as a risk factor in many illnesses. Some claim that Work, Obesity and Health are intertwined. About 25% of Americans are classified as obese and indeed the category of overweight adds another 35% to that number. Add those two numbers up, and you find that about 60% of Americans are overweight As more and more employers provide wellness programs in the workplace, the issues of personal choices outside the workplace, employer insurance costs, personal insurance costs, and voluntary vs. mandatory participation in wellness programs arise. Of course, an underlying assumption is that it is not okay to be overweight, and everyone needs to do something about it- especially with the unrelenting rise in health care costs. In recent trends, some companies, particularly in health care, wont hire someone who smokes tobacco, a legal product. Should companies be allowed to take the same approach to the overweight? Should companies make participation in a wellness program for the overweight (obese) mandatory?
Do you think an overweight employee who chooses not to participate in a wellness program should be penalized?
Case Expectations:
I know that issues surrounding being overweight go beyond the workplace, but please focus on the case assignment question and write a three to five page paper, not including title page and reference page, to answer the question. Dig on the web and in proquest to find out the workplace, obesity, health, wellness programs and other related topics that could inform your answer. Of course, apply the principles of normative ethics in your answer (utility and deontology).
General Expectations
Your paper should be double-spaced with 12-point font.
Your paper should have a separate cover page and a separate reference page.
Be sure to proofread your paper.
Upload your paper to Coursenet by the end of the module.
Rev. January 7, 2014
module 5 SLP
In this module 5 SLP assignment, you will analyze the ethical issue you have identified through the lens of normative ethics the utilitarian and deontological (right/duties) approaches to ethical decision making. Based on your analysis, you will recommend what decision the company should make.
You have been practicing analyzing issues through the lens of normative ethics in the case assignments, but you may want to review the background material including the videos before doing your analysis for this module 5 SLP assignment.
SLP EXPECTATIONS
Please write a two to three page paper, not including cover page and reference page, analyzing the ethical issue you have identified. Be sure to frame your analysis in terms of the utilitarian and deontological (rights/duties) approaches. Once you have done your analysis, recommend what business decision your company should make.
General Expectations
Your paper should be double-spaced with 12-point font.
Your paper should have a separate cover page and a separate reference page.
Be sure to proofread your paper.
Upload your paper to Coursenet by the end of the module.
Rev. January 7, 2014