Ethics_260_Week_4_Assignment

Week 4 Assignment 1. The Mayor has a difficult decision on his hands. He must decide if land that houses a nursing home and senior citizen recreation center should be developed to house a large mall and resort. This new development would bring in $150 million a year from tourism and would create several hundred new jobs. By moving forward with the development would cause 30 people to be out of work and affect the lives of 100 senior citizens. If I decide not to develop the land, leaving things as they are would deprive the community of the economic development it needs. Using the consequentialism theory, I have to weigh the consequences of developing or not developing the land along with who benefits. I would go with developing the land and look into finding a new home for the nursing home. I would also try to relocate the recreation center also but because the recreation center only benefits the senior citizens in the community, it would not be a major concern. The extra income brought in by tourism will help the existing businesses to grow and create even more jobs. As Mayor, I have to take into consideration what is best for the majority even if it may cause a hardship for the minority. Using the theory of deontology the interest of the whole community is the only concern, and it is my duty as Mayor to base my decision on this obligation. As Mayor, I would decide to go with the new development. My duty is to make my community prosper and grow. My decision may impose on the rights of the senior citizens and displaced workers but deciding to go against the development would impose on the rights of many more citizens of the town by denying them the opportunity at a better income and the rights of the businesses in the town to grow and prosper. Therefore, at the expense of angering a few I think my decision to go with the development is the best decision because it is for the greater good of the community. Using virtue, ethics I would have to consider are my actions moral. Deciding to go with the development does not hurt anyone including the senior citizens. In fact, the decision would only give the whole community the opportunity to prosper. My decision may be viewed as hurting the senior citizens, but the whole community would benefit from the new development so my actions are not morally wrong. 2. Catalina is faced with the decision to falsify her sales record for the year by adding three additional sales in order to meet the sales goal for her and her branch coworkers to receive bonuses. They would also get new equipment for the branch itself. By not reporting, the additional sales there would be no bonus for herself, her coworkers, and the branch. Using the consequentialism theory, Catalina should not report the three additional sales because she would have to consider the consequences of her action on the company as a whole not just what will benefit herself, the co-workers, and the branch. Under deontology, Catalina’s duty is to the company and everyone that works within the company not just to those within the branch she works at. Because her duty is to the company as a whole, falsifying documents would be both ethically and morally wrong. Using virtue ethics Catalina has a moral responsibility to be truthful. Therefore, she should not report the additional sales so she and her coworkers would receive bonuses. This is the right thing to do because lying is morally wrong. I would not suggest using all three theories to obtain an ethical decision. Everyone knows that lying is wrong but when using consequentialism or deontology to make a decision some may think the consequences that benefit only the branch would be an ethical decision. They may also think that they have a duty to the branch alone and decide to falsify the paperwork. I would use virtue ethics because lying is morally wrong and will only hurt all involved in the end. 3. Malcolm catches one of his roommates and another person with what he believes is drugs and is threatened by that roommate to keep his mouth shut. This decision is easy. Based on the three theories you have to notify the proper authorities. The consequences of not calling the police places Malcolm and his other roommate in a dangerous position. The possibility of being arrested with the roommate that is dealing with the drugs is a consequence of keeping quiet. Malcolm also has a duty to his roommates and society as a whole to report the illegal activity of his roommate. Dealing drugs is breaking the law and breaking the law is immoral, so Malcolm has a moral obligation to report his roommate. Making ethical decisions is not easy so we need to see the overall picture, weigh the consequences, ask who benefits, ask do I have a duty to these people, ask if I am violating anyone’s rights, and ask if my decision is based on morals. Most of us would make decisions based on morals, which in most cases may be the right decision but looking at the whole picture and deciding who benefits from the decision and that the decision is not for self-gain then that decision should be ethical.