Assignment:
Please review the following questions and comment on their acceptability.
1. After learning that when women are exposed to high lead levels their fetuses may be harmed, Barnett, Inc. adopted a “fetal protection policy.” The policy prohibited women of childbearing age from working in the company’s Battery Division where lead is used in the production process. Female employees objected to this policy by arguing that it deprived them of employment in the higher paying jobs in the Battery Division. Is it ethical for Barnett to adopt the “fetal protection policy”? Is Barnett obligated to protect its employees from this risk?Remember to use the supplemental materials to answer the four aspects set forth in the instructions. (West, 20003, p. 822, 40-8)
2. Grant Gibson was employed byKeystone State Steel Corp. to sell tubular steel products to the oil and gas industry. Although Gibson was not a safety expert, he believed that one of the company’s new products, a tubular casing, had not been adequately tested and constituted a serious danger to the environment and to anyone who used it. Even though Gibson at all times performed his duties to the best of his abilities, he continued to express his reservations with respect to the company’s new product but bypassed the ordinary company procedures in making his complaints. Because of his complaints, Gibson was discharged from his job without notice. Did Gibson have an ethical duty to complain about the product? Did Keystone Steel act ethically in response to Gibson’s concerns? Remember to use the supplemental materials to address the four aspects set forth in the instructions. (West, 2003, p. 820, 40-1)
3. For decades, communities have offered tax abatements, low interest loans, and other financial incentives to induce companies to locate in their communities. From 1984 to 1988, Ypsilanti, Michigan gave General Motors (GM) $13 million in tax abatements to keep its Chevrolet plant in the city. In 1991, GM announced that it was closing the Chevrolet plant in Ypsilanti and moving the work to its plant in Texas. Did GM act ethically in deciding to close the plant in Ypsilanti? Remember to use the supplemental materials to address the four aspects set forth in the instructions. (Cheeseman, 5th, p. 151)