STUDY QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION ON 4/26/02 12:00 noon - 1:50 p.m.

1. Be able to apply the various ethical systems: natural law ethics (human nature ethics), deontology, utilitarianism (consequentialism), and virtue ethics to cases on the exam..
2. Be able to apply the various ethical principles, namely, autonomy, beneficence, and justice in case analyses.
3. Be able to define what a right is, the difference between moral and legal rights and how these two kinds of rights surface in cases on the exam.
4. Be able to identify the values that underlie particular rights claims, e.g., the value underlying a right to be respected.
5. Identify and analyze three (3) issues related to business practices about which you have begun to think differently ("thinking differently" means that you have changed your mind or you have a better understanding of opinions you already held) as a result of the discussions we have had in this course.
6. Identify and explain the importance of three features of a company (besides an incredibly high salary)  that you will be looking for when you begin to apply for a job after graduation. These features should relate to to issues we have discussed in this course.
7. What does it mean to talk about an individual's "dignity?" Identify and explain three features of dignity that are important to protect in business practices.
8. Explain Bok's suggested procedure for whistleblowing. Do you think you could be a whistleblower.
9. Identify three special problems that the information age presents for employees. What principles and policies do you think would help to protect employees within the context of these problems?
10. In what areas do you think the privacy of employees should be protected. In what areas should privacy not be protected?  If you were a manager in a corporation, how would protect the privacy of your employees.
11. What does John Locke see as the foundation for the right to property? Do you think his reasoning is valid in contemporary society?
12. In what way is Andrew Carnegie a Social Darwinist? How is his theory of distributing wealth dependent upon feelings of benevolence? How does benevolence create vulnerability among the poor?
13. What does Adam Smith see as the advantage of the division of labor? What advantage does he see this having for the "free market" and its "invisible hand?"
14. Identify and explain the basic assumptions that Marx makes about the nature of human beings. Do you think these are reasonable assumptions?
15. What does Marx see as the basic problems with the following features of capitalism: competition, profit, ownership, class, self-interest, power, acquisition of wealth, private property?
16. What does Marx mean by "alienation?" What forms can alienation take and how does he think capitalism produces the illusion of not being alienated while, at the same time, promoting alienation?
17. What are the two principles that Rawls identifies to promote justice in society?
18. Why should corporations be concerned about protecting the environment? Is there something intrinsic to the nature of the environment that should prompt corporations to protect it or is protection simply a matter of self-interest, i.e., keeping the earth safe for us to live here?
19. Looking ahead and keeping in mind the global nature of business in the 21st century, identify three areas in which carefully formulated policies will be necessary to guide business practices. Formulate one policy for each area.

Be sure that you can apply the ethical systems to the various cases that may appear on the examination.
Be able to identify and explain human values that are a stake in cases that may appear on the examination.
 

EIB = Ethical Issues in Business (Donaldson & Werhane) ER = ERESERVE RW = Readings Webpage WUC = Wake Up Calls (Newton & Schmidt)

ARTICLES FOR REVIEW
Ulrich, "Ethical Systems in Business Ethics." RW.
Newton and Schmidt, "The Discipline of Ethics." WUC, 3-19.
Facione, "Rights and Duties." ER.
Ulrich, "Ethical Principles in Business Ethics." RW.
Bok, "Whistleblowing and Professional Responsibility." (EIB, 297-304)
Rifkin, " Will There be a Job for Me in the New Information Age?" (ER)
Spinello, "Privacy in the Information Age." (ER)
Locke, "The Justification of Private Property." (EIB, 128-133)
Marx, "Alienated Labor." (EIB, 133-137) and ERESERVE.
Smith, "Benefits of the Profit Motive." (EIB, 138-142)
Carnegie, "Wealth."(EIB, 142-147)
Rawls, "Distributive Justice." (EIB, 190-199)
Hellman, "Integrating the Environment into Business Planning." (EIB, 592-595)
Heath, "Integrity, Loyalty, and Whistleblowing." ERESERVE.
Heath, "Selfishness." ERESERVE.
Heath, "Business, Technology, and Environmental Ethics." ERESERVE.

CASES FOR ANALYSIS

The Aircraft Brake Scandal. (EIB, 285-296)
Dorrence Corporation Trade-Offs. (EIB, 120-128)
E-Mail Policy at Johnson & Dresser. (ER)
Reserve Mining at Silver Bay. (WUC)

REQUIRED CASE (This case will be reprinted on the examination.)

    With the completion of the Human Genome Project , Corporal Motors, a world-wide manufacturer of motorcycles, has begun to lay plans for genetically screening both its current employees and its job applicants to determine their risk for diseases that will result in time off work or unusually high medical costs. Thus far the personel committee has identified the following conditions that will be under scrutiny: alcoholism, cancers (colon, breast, ovarian, prostate, and lung particularly), multiple sclerosis, coronary-artery disease, arthritis, and pre-mature dementia. The committee has stated that these diseases have been selected since they are leading forms of worker disability and high healthcare costs.
    The committee claims that this approach will allow the company to provide the best healthcare plans for its employees to suit their needs and arrange job assignments to suit a worker's ability to perform. Adversaries of this plan (probably meeting in the boiler room of Corporal Motors) claim that its sole purpose is to discirminate against a whole group of job applicants and thereby cut the cost of medical insurance to the company. The adversaries also contend that the screening of current workers will result in early negative job performance ratings which will allow the dismissal of employees who are at risk before any of these diseases or syndromes manifest themselves.