Business Ethics Final
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Illinois College *
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315
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Philosophy
Date
Jan 9, 2024
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PH 315
Business Ethics
Reading Assignment
Maynard M. and Carolyn C. Dolecheck, “Ethics: Take It from the Top,”
Case Studies in Business Ethics
, pp. 398-405
40 points
Name
: _Taylor Bentley_
Directions
:
In completing this assignment, you may consult only the
instructor (me) but no one else, and you may use only this assignment
sheet and Maynard M. and Carolyn C. Dolecheck, “Ethics: Take It
from the Top,” in
Case Studies in Business Ethics
, pp. 398-405 but no
other source.
In this essay, the Dolechecks describe a good business—good
financially and good morally. This is, presumably, the kind of business
for which we should be customers, employees, owners, suppliers, or
investors—assuming it is important for us all to be morally good. In
describing such a business, the authors discuss some of the key
themes of our course this semester, including (1) the triad of
consumers, businesses, and the government, (2) the distinction
between law (what is legal or illegal) and ethics (what is moral or
immoral), (3) conscience, and (4) whistleblowing. This essay,
therefore, provides a good conclusion to our course.
Please type your answers in the spaces provided under the
questions, using the sizes of the provided spaces as a guide for how
long your answers should be.
1.
The Dolechecks’ focus is “unethical business practices” (p. 399).
But who are their intended readers: (1) government officials, (2)
business executives, or (3) consumers? (1 pt.)
The Dolecheck’s
intended readers are business executives.
2.
True or False: According to the Dolechecks, illegal and unethical
acts are identical, that is, all illegal acts are unethical, and all
unethical acts are illegal. (1 pt.)
False
3.
The case of Best Western Hotel in 1988 – how it charged (but
did not inform) its guests for using the telephone in their rooms
according to daytime or nighttime rates (nighttime rates were,
as charged by telephone companies, cheaper than daytime
rates, so hotel guests would think they were saving money by
using the phones in their rooms at night instead of during the
day) – is an example the Dolechecks use to show which of the
following: (1) all legal acts are ethical, (2) some illegal acts are
ethical, (3) some illegal acts are unethical, or (4) some legal acts
are unethical. (2 pts.)
The Dolecheck’s used this example to show that some
legal acts are unethical.
4.
According to the Dolechecks, who “publicly exposed business
wrongdoing” (p. 399) across the 1970s and 1980s: (1)
whistleblowers, (2) reporters and commentators, that is, the
media, or (3) government officials? (1 pt.)
(2) reporters and commentators, that is, the media
5.
According to the Dolechecks, there are two reasons it is easier
to measure “illegal behavior compared to unethical, but legal,
behavior” (p. 400). State those two reasons. (4 pts.)
“Illegal behavior compared to unethical, but legal
behavior, is easier to measure because it stems from
litigation and is typically more sensational.” Pg. 400
Therefore legal behavior is easier because it stems from
litigation and because it is typically more sensational.
6.
The Dolechecks state and discuss four “environmental
conditions” (p. 400) that cause unethical business practices.
State those four environmental conditions. (4 pts.)
The four environmental conditions are changing
regulations, widespread mergers and acquisitions, rapid
computerization, and increased international trade.
7.
The Dolechecks endorse which of the following to alleviate or
control the problem of unethical business practices: (1) creating
more laws and regulations, (2) slowing the environmental
conditions in which business operates, or (3) encouraging
appropriate business management attitudes and actions, such
as businesses striving to employ only individuals with integrity,
which requires, for example, that companies check prospective
employees’ statements about themselves and, when possible,
perform thorough background checks on potential employees?
(2 pts.)
The Dolechecks endorse encouraging appropriate
business management attitudes and actions.
8.
State the three acts business executives must do, according to
the Dolechecks, to create and maintain “a corporate
conscience” (p. 401). (3 pts.)
The three acts business executives must do are (1)
commit to the goal of ethical conduct and serve as a role
model, (2) strive toward openness, and (3) establish and
implement rules, policies, and procedures to achieve the
goal.
9.
True or False: The Dolechecks maintain that a company’s
mission statement should not only refer to the goods or services
it provides but also incorporate the importance of values in the
organization and, thus, embrace ethical behavior. (1 pt.)
True
10.
True or False: According to the Dolechecks, what a
company’s management says is more important than
management’s actions. (1 pt.)
False
11.
In discussing how a company’s managers can serve as
ethical role models, the Dolechecks describe a case in which one
of them was directly involved as a management trainee at a
large (unidentified) alcoholic beverage distillery. The case
concerned whiskey—specifically, the transition of one batch of
the company’s whiskey from its barrels to its bottles and what
was stated on the whiskey’s bottles. First, state what happened
with this batch of whiskey. Then say what the management
trainees thought the company should do with this batch of
whiskey. Third, state what the company’s production foreman
ordered to be done with this batch of whiskey. Finally, first (a)
state whether you think the production foreman’s order was
morally right or wrong or morally permissible or impermissible
and then (b) justify your position with an argument that uses a
moral principle (i.e., the Golden Rule or the Silver Rule) or a
moral theory (i.e., natural law theory, virtue theory, deontology,
utilitarianism, or moral rights theory) we have studied this
semester.
What happened with this batch of whiskey
(2 pts.):
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What happened with this whiskey was that 4% of the batch
of whiskey was 1-4 months short of the advertised six-year
aging period. The problem here was that this batch was
already bottled and not yet shipped to the wholesaler, but
unbottling the whiskey would be time consuming and
costly.
What the management trainees thought should be done
(1 pt.):
The author along with three other management trainees
all decided that nothing should be done to the batch since
only 4% of the whole batch was the issue, the average age
of the whiskey was in excess of six years, research had
shown that consumers cannot tell the difference of
whiskey after only five years of aging, and only a few
people in the department knew about this problem.
What the production foreman ordered to be done
(2 pts.):
The production foreman ordered the entire batch to be
dumped to uphold the company’s advertising of aged six-
years whiskey.
Your position on the production foreman’s order
(morally right
or wrong or morally permissible or impermissible):
State your position
(1 pt.):
Morally right
Argument for your position using a moral principle or
moral theory we have studied this semester
(8 pts.):
The foreman reflects on the question, “how would I not
like to be treated in this situation?” and therefore acting
morally right under the Silver Rule. I believe the Silver
Rule applies to this situation of the aged whiskey because
the foreman would not want to be misled by a different
company and therefore is not going to mislead his own
consumers. The Silver Rule is negative and presents the
moral obligation to not do something. In the case of the
whiskey batch, the foreman has the moral obligation to
not ship the batch to the wholesaler. The foreman dumped
the batch and did not ship it to the wholesaler, he acted
morally right under the Silver Rule.
12.
According to the Dolechecks, which should managers
(supervisors) make clear is more important for a company’s
employees: (1) to achieve profit goals or (2) to maintain ethical
practices? First, state your answer, and then explicitly quote a
text from the Dolechecks’ essay as evidence to support your
answer. (4 pts.)
According to the Dolechecks, supervisors should make
clear that it is important for company employees to
maintain ethical practices. The Dolechecks claim,
“Supervisors must demand that ethical practices be
maintained even at the expense of not achieving profit
goals.” Pg. 403
13.
True or False: The Dolechecks argue that, for the sake of
openness and the mutual confidence and trust it establishes in
an organization, nothing in a company, even employees’
performance evaluations, should be confidential, because
confidentiality breeds secrecy, which fosters unethical conduct.
(1 pt.)
False
14.
The Dolechecks discuss four points concerned with
establishing and implementing rules, policies, and procedures to
support ethical conduct in a company: (1) creating and
continually updating a code of ethics; (2) establishing an upward
communication channel (from employees to management),
which should, in part, encourage whistleblowing; (3)
establishing a downward communication channel (from
management to employees), which should, in part, emphasize
that an employee’s performance will be measured first in terms
of ethics and second in terms of profitability; and (4) creating a
formal enforcement system to handle cases of unethical conduct
in a company. All these should help a business act ethically. But,
according to the Dolechecks, only under
what condition
can an
organization have a conscience? (1 pt.)
The only time an organization can have a conscience is
when they pledge to never let up on its determination to
achieve ethical practices.