Problem 1: It is legal for businesses to sell low nutrition food products. Address the following questions:
• What ethical obligations do businesses have to their customers to "rescue" their poorer customers from health problems stemming from poor food nutrition?
• Should these businesses sell quality products at lower prices?
• What ethical obligations do businesses have in working with suppliers to create food products for sale to poorer communities, with the goal of reducing sodium, fat, and preservatives?
While responding to your peers, address the following questions:
• What legal obligations should the government enforce on businesses in manufacturing and selling low cost food?
• Can government regulate these issues to impact high nutrition and also maintain low cost food products?
• If governmental regulations can mandate businesses provide high nutrition products with low pricing, what governmental entity should provide this regulation: federal, state or local?
Problem 2:
Many persons, who work with children, such as child care workers, have a duty to report child abuse to authorities. However, the law does not require most businesses or people to attempt to 'rescue' abuse victims. In the Penn State child abuse scandal in 2012, although the business was a governmental education organization, civil liability lawsuits have been filed against the university because of failure to report incidents of child abuse to authorities.
Respond to the following questions:
• What ethical obligations do businesses have to report child abuse to authorities? For example, should a manager of a grocery store be obligated to report to authorities when she has repeated contact with a mother/child, and notices marks on the child that is abuse?
• What ethical obligations would a business have if it had knowledge regarding three women in a home in Cleveland, with a child (see above article).
Please apply ethical philosophies, and create an ethical action plan.
Instructions:
While responding to your peers, address the following questions:
• Should the law be changed to mandate that businesses engage in reporting incidents of horrible social wrongs?
• What consequences do you foresee if businesses are mandated by law to rescue individuals?
• If businesses should not be mandated to rescue, should the business have civil liability to the individuals harmed?