Business Ethics Final

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Illinois College *

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315

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Philosophy

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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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