TaShana Garvin
5/29/14
Week 4 Activity Ethics
Discussion in groups of 1-4 people. Download this document from Doc Share. Answer each question providing examples. Submit to Dropbox. You may work together, make sure you include all names in the comment section of the dropbox when you submit.
critical thinking exercise 4-2
Ethical Dilemmas
Below are several situations that present ethical questions in a business. Discuss each situation: (a) from the strictly legal viewpoint, (b) from a moral and ethical viewpoint, and (c) from the point of view of what is best in the long run for the company. Be sure to consider both short and longrange consequences. Also look at each situation from the perspective of all groups concerned: customers, stockholders, employees, government, and community.
1. A disgruntled employee of your major competitor mails topsecret information or new product samples to you. Do you begin to do a dance on your desktop or do you immediately mail the information back to your competitor? What would you do?
a. Throw the plans or secrets away.
b. Send them to your research department for analysis.
c. Notify your competitor about what is going on.
d. Call the FBI.
I will throw the plans or secrets away, knowing their secrets doesn’t make the competition fair. Even though nobody will know, I will know, I would always make the competitor aware so if they feel I looked at the plans even though I didn’t they will have a fair chance to create a new product.
2. You are the general manager of a regional chemical company. In the course of producing your bulk chemicals, large amounts of particles and smoke are emitted through your plant’s smokestack. The level of pollutants is below current EPA regulations, and you are violating no laws, but neighborhood groups are complaining about minor health problems caused by the smoke. After investigating numerous alternatives, you find the most effective...
