1. Two of the best-known approaches to developing normative ethical theories are consequential (teleological) and non-consequential (deontological) approaches.
- Outline how each of these approaches views ethics and identify the standards used by each to evaluate right from wrong
- Identify 2 similarities between the two ethical approaches (e.g. similar uses or functions, similar benefits, similar aims)
- Identify 2 differences between the two ethical approaches
2. Shared acceptance and conformity to organizational norms is often seen as necessary to ensure the aims and goals of the business are achieved, however this can lead to 'groupthink'. Define and describe what groupthink is, and provide examples of how this may lead to ethical issues for individuals in the workplace.
3. Morality is concerned with moral standards of behavior while etiquette is concerned with social standards of behavior. Describe how/why an action may be considered proper or correct in terms of social etiquette, but still be viewed as unethical, or immoral.
4. Two key features of capitalism identified in Shaw et al (2009) are profit motivation and competition. Outline these two components of capitalism, and discuss how they could be considered as promoting inequality.
5. Many would consider alcohol consumption as having an even more harmful social impact than smoking. Aside from the addiction and health problems alcohol consumption can lead to, alcohol is also linked to increased rates of domestic violence and other criminal actions, including drink driving, which is an issue that may result in injury, death, and grief for families and communities alike. However, despite this, alcohol companies are free to promote and sell their products as they wish as long as they do so within the restrictions placed on them by governments and the law. Evaluate this issue using utilitarianism. The stakeholders you need to consider are consumers, the government, alcohol companies, local communities and community health services.
6. The issue of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is often a much debated issue in business.
- Describe the broad view of CSR, and identify benefits and limitations of this view.
- Describe the narrow view of CSR, and identify benefits and limitations of this view.
7. In what ways might gift giving create an ethical dilemma in business? Using either the police force or a law firm as an example, identify the potential ethical issues or implications of gift giving that may arise for this profession.
8. Consider the following hypothetical scenario.
A popular and successful company with many diverse business interests decides to expand into a new growth industry: infant formula sales. They develop, produce, market and sell this baby formula to different countries around the world, including many third world communities, where they hold 90% of the market for this product. The company made a public statement that their decision to supply formula to third world countries was to help improve infant survival rates- mothers in poor countries often experience difficulty in producing and maintaining milk for their babies due to malnutrition and poverty. To 'encourage' new mothers to use their formula, doctors in local hospitals were given free samples of the formula to provide to the new mums while they were in hospital, and told that the formula would be better for their children. By the time many of these mothers leave the hospital, they can no longer produce milk themselves to feed their child and are dependent on formula to do so, but now they need to pay for formula, and will continue to need to do so until their children are old enough to eat solid foods. While in many countries this would not be an issue, in third world countries where money is scarce, this poses an ethical issue in terms of whether the company is behaving ethically. Infant formula offers many benefits in terms of nutrition and reducing infant mortality rates in these countries however, in 'encouraging' very poor mothers to use infant formula despite knowing that many would struggle, or even be unable to afford to keep buying it.
Analyse the above situation using Kant's ethical principles of goodwill, universal law and means to an end.
- Goodwill- what motives may be behind the company's decision to sell infant formula in third world countries? Do these motives meet Kant's criteria for goodwill?
- Universal law- how would you phrase this action as a maxim or universal law for evaluation? Would the maxim pass the reasonable person test (outline why/why not)?
- Means to an end- Would it pass the reversibility test (outline why/why not)?
9. Discrimination in the workplace can be overt (obvious) or covert (subtle and hidden). As a cultural group, do Indigenous Australians still face issues of equity and discrimination in terms of employment? Why? Why not? In you answer, legislation, stereotypes, education and/or institutional discrimination should be considered.
10. Product marketing strategies are often directed towards appealing to children as a means of selling to parents. What are the arguments for and against this being an ethically acceptable practice?