Analyze one (1) of the following case studies via an essay. Your answer should demonstrate sound moral reasoning and give evidence that you understand some of the various approaches to ethical decision making:
1. The Bribe
George simply isn't paying attention. It has been a long drive back home from the family's winter vacation, and he is on the Interstate coming through the downtown area of the city. His wife is with him up front. In the backseat are his young daughter and her younger brother, who is feeling sick and needs to get home. On the radio are the riveting final minutes of the playoff game with his favorite basketball team.
So when the familiar blue lights begin flashing in his rearview mirror, George's heart sinks. As he pulls over to the side of the highway, he knows he's been speeding-partly to get his son home and partly with the excitement of the game. Because it is cold, the officer suggests he bring his papers and come sit in the front seat of the police cruiser, while the other officer in the car takes the backseat.
They exchange papers and the arresting officer writes up the speeding ticket. And then begins a conversation George finds increasingly troubling. The officers tell him he will need to come down to the police station to settle this ticket. Unfortunately, the station is quite a ways away. What's more, as it is Sunday evening, there are few people on duty, and processing the ticket could take several hours.
If, however, George simply wants to pay the officers right then in cash, they would be happy to do the necessary paperwork when they get to the station, letting George go on his way with no delay.
The more George listens, the more his blood begins to seethe. This is the United States, he reminds himself, not some backwater nation with a corrupt police force. Yet here he is, being asked (he felt sure) for a bribe. Yet there is his young son, feeling sick and increasingly desperate to get home to his own bed.
What should George do?
Source: Institute for Global Ethics, copyright 2012
2. Quality time better spent?
After graduating from college with a degree in science, Andy finds a solid job in his profession, married, and had two sons. Twelve years later, he moves to another company promising him steady advancement within its managerial ranks. A devoted family man, Andy admires his wife's dedication to raising their boys. But he also observes that his sons, approaching their teen years, benefit greatly from his fatherly friendship and counsel-especially as they approach what he and his wife realize could prove to be a difficult transitional period in their upbringing. So he has made a commitment to spend plenty of time with them, playing baseball and helping with their school work.
But he also loves his work, and does well at it. And it has become apparent that to advance rapidly up the managerial ranks, he needs an MBA. A nearby university offers the degree in an evening-and-weekend program that would allow him to continue full-time employment, but it would soak up his free time for the next several years and throw most of the family activities into his wife's hands.
Where should Andy focus his attention?
Source: Institute for Global Ethics, copyright 2012