Directions:

You are to write three (3) essays selected from the five (5) essays below.. The essays should be about one to one and one-half (1-1&1/2) pages in length (about 300-500 words), typed double-spaced in MS Word. [SUBMISSION SHOULD BE BY E-MAIL ATTACHMENT  AND NOT BY INCORPORATING YOUR ANSWER INTO AN E-MAIL MESSAGE: <Lawrence.Ulrich@notes.udayton.edu>] You are to (1) recount what the authors you have read on the topic have said, (2) try to relate ideas with each other, and (3) state your own reactions/reflections about the issues under exploration. Please be clear about where your opinion begins. You should not merely state an opinion but give carefully considered reasons for your opinions. Remember that this is a philosophy course and the reasons which you develop and organize to support your opinions will be more important than the opinions themselves. Ultimately you should demonstrate that you (1) have read the text(s), (2) are familiar with the ideas, (3) have thought about them carefully, and (4) have been able to formulate soundly based opinions as a result of the reading you have done.

1. Explain the basic concepts in the three (3) major ethical systems utilized in Business Ethics, namely Virtue Ethics, Deontology (or Kantian Ethics), and Utilitarianism (or Consequentialism). Which system do you think would best serve the issues that arise in business practices?

2. Is it possible to talk about ethics and doing business in the same breath? Or is the term "business ethics" an oxymoron as some cynics would have us believe? Examples would be helpful in developing your reflections on this problem.

3. As you begin this course identify three (3) issues in business practices that you think need close ethical scrutiny. Explain why you think they need this careful examination. Give some tentative ideas about what you think would be revealed about the practices you have identified in this ethical assessment.