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Prepare:In your first post in this
discussion, you will identify and apply one ethical theory of your choosing
to a current problem in business, also of your choosing. Start by reviewing your
notes on the Week One course material and your completed work for Week One.
Then, choose one of the three ethical theories—i.e., utilitarianism,
deontology, or virtue ethics—on the basis of your thoughtfully considered
preference in general and independent of the business problem that you will
select here. Keep in mind that you will employ this ethical theory for
supporting your position not only for this discussion, but also for this
week’s assignment and the Final Project.
To prepare for your selection
of the current problem in business, look at the list of required articles and
multimedia which are divided in the six case-categories as follows:
·
Banking (Lehman
Brothers)
·
Environment (BP)
·
GMOs (Monsanto)
·
Pharmaceuticals
(Merck)
·
Gender Discrimination (Goodyear)
·
Factory Farms (Perdue)
Choose the case-category
that you find the most interesting and note that each category also
corresponds to one particular case. Please choose carefully because your
choice for this discussion will establish the case that will be central to
your argumentative essay this week as well as your Final Project in Week
Five. It is recommended that you leaf through all the required resources
indicated for the possible case-categories that you identify as possible
contenders before making your final choice.
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Reflect:Once you have selected your ethical theory and
your case category, articulate the characteristics of the economic system (or
combination of both systems) that serves as the setting for the case
presented in the case category sources. Given this context, examine how the
nation’s laws affect the operations of the business.
Next, identify the
characteristics of your chosen ethical theory and its notion of the moral
good. For the latter, you will need to review again the PowerPoint that was
introduced in Week One, which is also listed in this week’s Required
Resources and it is titled The Moral Good in Three Traditional Ethical
Theories. Then, think how you would apply the ethical theory to the specific
problem presented in the case category sources.
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Write:Start your post by (a) identifying the issue or
problem that you want to address in the case that you have selected and
providing an impartial presentation of the controversy, (b) articulating
briefly the characteristics of the economic system that serves as the
setting, and (c) examining the laws that affect the operations of the
business.
The following illustration
should help. Consider, for example, the case of Uber that we examined in Week
Two. If the California decision establishes a precedent for similar claims,
then Uber would have to do business as an employer and not merely as a
service that pairs consumers with ride sharing services by means of a unique
phone app. Accordingly, the law would require Uber to reimburse its drivers
for certain costs and perhaps offer benefits. Take in consideration, then,
the legal setting for the case that you have chosen. Does the case take place
in the United States or another country? What are the laws that are relevant
to the problem under examination? Keep in mind that all laws are constraints
on our actions, whether those by individuals or corporations. The relevant
laws, then, will be (a) any laws that present not only a constraint on the
company’s operations, (b) any laws that are being violated by the
corporation, or (c) any laws that unfairly limit the goods and services that
can be offered to and are demanded by consumers.
In a second paragraph,
formulate a sentence that presents the moral position that you want to defend
in regard to the issue or problem introduced in the previous paragraph.
In the same paragraph,
present the ethical theory that you choose to employ. Your choices are
utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics, and the necessary material is included
in the required readings and media. Make sure to identify the characteristics
of the ethical theory, and include in-text citations and full references in
APA form at the end of the post. Once you have done this, apply the ethical
theory to your selected case by explaining how it lends itself to the moral
position that you are defending.
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Revise: Read the feedback provided by your professor to
your initial post, either directly to you or to your fellow students. Use
this as an opportunity to learn from your professor, especially with regard
to the best ways to apply the course material and your research to your
analysis. On the basis of what you have learned in this process, post a
revision of your initial post that applies the additional knowledge that you
have gained.
Remember that your grade
depends on the quality of your initial and revised responses, not just on the
submission of an attempt at improvement. It is thus to your advantage to post
the best initial post you can and then to also improve that best effort as
much as you can through revision. Taking this process seriously will help you
develop the skills you need to do well on the final project.
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Requirements
for Your Initial Post:
·
Your initial post
should be at least 400 wordsin length and have citations and references in APA notation. It should
address the prompt in its entirety. This means that you should not split your
response to the prompt in multiple posts. Your examination should be both
thorough and succinct. This is a combination that demands time and thought,
so give yourself sufficient time to draft and revise.
·
Please be advised that
until you post, you will not see what your fellow students are posting. Once
you submit your post, you will be able to view the posts from your other
classmates. You can then proceed to reply to at least two different threads
based on the required material for this discussion.
·
Your list of
references for your initial post should include the videos and the other
required reading material pertaining to your chosen subject heading, as well
as the ethics, economic, and law components of Weeks One and Two, the
Instructor Guidance, and any other announcements presented to you by your
professor. In addition, your references should include any other sources that
you consult to inform yourself about your chosen case category (but not
Wikipedia or similar sources).
·
Your initial post for
this discussion should be submitted no later than the end of Thursday (11:59
pm, U.S. Mountain time).
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Requirements
for Replies to Other Threads:
·
At least two of the
four posts required should be in the form of replies to fellow classmates in
threads other than your own.
·
Each of your replies
should be at least 200 words and informed by the required course material. As such, the replies must have citations and
references in APA notation. Your list of references for each reply should
include all of the course material that has informed your reply, in addition
to any research that you have obtained on your own.
·
Your replies should
focus on the specific examination presented by your fellow student and these
should include an examination of whether or not the characteristics of the
ethical theory and/or economic system were identified well, and whether or
not their application and analysis were also carried out successfully.
Providing such an examination is not an attack on your fellow student but an
attempt to work together with your fellow student toward the better
understanding of the ethical theories employed, as well as their application.
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Requirements
for Revising your Initial Post:
·
Submit a revision of
your initial post by either replying to your own post, or to the feedback
provided to you by your professor.
·
There is no minimum
word requirement for your revised initial post. But you should always explain
the reasons for revising your post so that it is clear what you are doing. If
you are revising only a few words, or an ethical theory, you should
avoidsubmitting a post with vague language such as: “another ethical theory
works better here” or “I now understand how to do the analysis.” It is
important to recognize that no one can read your mind so you need to provide
the setting for your revision (Why? What prompted it? What course material
informed you?).
·
Your revised initial
post is your chance to correct any oversights or errors in your initial post,
or show your improved understanding of the material and its applications to
the case at hand. You may, for example, come to the realization that another
ethical theory is better than the one that you initially chose. Accordingly,
your revision should indicate that you chose another ethical theory and an
explanation why you find the replacement more suitable. You may also find the
need to revise any relevant portions of your analysis. Or, you might have
realized that your conclusion did not take into account important factors
necessary for your evaluation of the situation.
·
You should maximize the improvement of your initial post by employing
your professor’s feedback as a guide. Keep in mind that you may not always receive direct feedback from your
professor. But your professor will have submitted feedback in the discussion
to other posts. So read your professor’s feedback whether it is addressed to
you directly or to other fellow students. This will give you much to think
about and apply to your own post.
·
If your professor or a
fellow classmate responds to your revised initial post, and on this basis,
you find good reason to submit yet another revision, then by all means do so.
The more you improve your initial post, the more you will benefit both in
terms of your learning and most likely your grade.
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