Assignment task:
Judy managed to help William with his programming assignment without doing the work for him. Although technically a violation of the strict rule she felt it did not violate the spirit of the rule. They both passed the class and remained friends. Though William continued to be an unmotivated student both graduated with bachelor's degrees. William went to work right out of college and through a combination of charm and finally applying himself worked his way into a good job in IT management. Judy who had always been an excellent student continued in school and earned a graduate degree with honors. However, she never bothered with internships or working in the field to gain valuable business experience. Even with her excellent academic record she has been unable to find anything other than a low-level position which barely covers living expenses, and she is falling behind on her large student loan payment. She runs into an old friend who tells her of William's turnaround and success. Desperate to use any means she can to find a better job, she finds him on Facebook and sends him a very friendly message implying that she has been thinking about him a lot in the time they have not been connected, even though she has not really given him much thought before running into her old friend.
- As it happens William has contacts who he could use to get Judy a really good job. Even though he has not seen her in years William has continued to think fondly of their friendship and thinks to himself if he got her the job Judy would move closer to him and perhaps, they would rekindle their friendship. As he is about to reply to Judy, William gets a text message from a college friend that he has worked with in the past.
"Call me! I just heard some interesting stuff about your old friend Judy."
When William made the call, his friend repeated a rumor he had heard about Judy not doing well in her current job. He added that Judy had gotten a reputation as someone who was willing to do anything to succeed. William decides to call Judy's current boss for a recommendation before proceeding as he is concerned about the rumor. Though he doesn't get confirmation of most of what his friend told him, Judy's current boss clearly indicated to William that Judy's work is subpar. It is also clear that Judy does not have the IT skills needed for the job he has in mind for her. William has trouble getting past his friendship for Judy and all the help she gave him in school. He decides to sleep on the issue. Believing he can help her to get up to speed in the new job he strongly considers ignoring the rumor and Judy's boss's comments and going ahead with recommending her for the job.
Discussing the ethical implications of the situation for Judy, William, and any other involved parties. Be sure to include relevant material to back up your answer and explain how any ethical theories could help with this situation.