Directions:

You are to write a case study of about five (5) to seven (7) pages in  double-spaced typewritten form. Your paper must show that you have been able to integrate the information you have learned from the course.  This paper should (1) demonstrate your ability to identify issues in business practices which have significant ethical importance, (2) demonstrate your ability to define and conceptually analyze the ethical issues which are present in a specific business practice, (3) critically address the shortcomings of particular business practices in matters related to ethics, (4) offer an ethical framework in terms of context (e.g., utilitarianism) and principles which would help to structure an ethically satisfactory solution to the problem which the business faces in a particular case, and (5) identify and argue for the importance of the human values (significant ideals and matters of importance) which need to be promoted in a specific situation as representative of what business practices should be promoting in general.

You are asked to select a case from the textbook by Donaldson and Werhane or the case book by Newton and Schmidt, which  is related to the course material and do an analysis of the issues according to the outline presented below. You may choose any case you wish except that you may not choose a case which has been the subject of a question on one of the exams or for discussion in a Threaded Discussion. Even if you were not assigned the case in a Threaded Discussion or you chose not to address the case on an exam, you may still not do a case that was a subject of an exam question or a Threaded Discussion. You may draw a case from another source but you might want to consult with the professor before you begin working on the case. There are several case books on the reserve shelf in the library that you may wish to draw upon for your case analysis. You should be able to write the paper by utilizing only the textbook and the case book.  However, if you wish to utilize library resources in your local community, you are welcome to do so.

Submitting the Work by E-Mail:

In submitting your work by e-mail attachment in WORD (2003) <Lawrence.Ulrich@notes.udayton.edu>, please consult the Q&A Page for directions on submitting your work. Following the directions posted there as question number 1 will minimize any  problems you may have in submitting your work and my returning it to you.

Case Analysis Outline:

1. Recount the facts of the case which bear upon the ethical issues which the case raises. No more than two pages for this part.

2. List the basic ethical issues which arise in the case. A simple enumerated list will satisfy this expectation by merely naming the issues.

3. Do a conceptual analysis (see Q&A Page, question #2) of the issues which you have listed in # 2 above by giving appropriate definitions, clarifications, and distinctions and by explaining how the issues arise in the business practices being conducted in the case.

4. Identify the human --- see Q&A Page, question #3 --- (and other) values, i.e., what is held to be important or of central importance, which are at stake in the case and explain why they are significant for the case and why they are necessary if human beings are to flourish i.e., achieve their full potential.

5. Utilizing the readings which you have done during the course, critically analyze what actually happened in the case by addressing the ethical shortcomings and/or positive ethical aspects in the case you have selected. In doing this identify the ethical context (system) [cf. the General Introduction and the essay on ethical systems found on the Readings Page] which seems relevant to the case as it actually occurred.

6. Identify and explain any conflicts of values, rights, duties and principles (see the essay on ethical principles on the Readings Page) which are present in the case.

7. Identify what ethical direction you would have taken in the case had you been the principal decision-maker.

8. Justify your ethical direction by identifying the ethical context (system) which you think would most appropriately deal with the situation and the ethical principles (formulating them as "One should . . .") which are needed to produce the desired direction. Explain why the context and the principles make significant contributions in this analysis.

9. State three (3) policies (formulating them as "Company X will . . .") which could have been employed in the case and which, if followed, would have created a more positive ethical climate for the case. Give a brief explanation of why these policies are significant in this particular case. The formulation of the policies is important; the word "will" connotes a genuine commitment, while a word like "should" only indicates what one ought to do but it does not convey a dedicated intent to perform the action. Policies should be stated as a simple declarative sentence, i.e., with a subject and a predicate; one qualifying clause might be acceptable - no hypotheticals.. Also policies should be general policies that would guide a cluster of similar cases. The policies should not be directed at the peculiar circumstances of any one particular case.

10. References can be made in the text by simply referring to author and page in parentheses, e.g., (Rawls, 190).