Case Studies: Lehman Brothers, British Petroleum, Monsanto, Merck

Currrent Business Problems: Case Studies: Lehman Brothers, British Petroleum, Monsanto, Merck, …

This discussion assignment requires you to submit at least four posts: an initial post, two reply posts to fellow students in threads other than your own, and a revised post.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Requirements for Your Initial Post:

• Your initial post should be at least 400 words
  in 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).

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.

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.

Carefully review the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Discussion Thread.