Question 1 : Use your ethical philosophy to solve the following ethical situation. Explain how your philosophy helped you make your decision.
Should citizens have an ethical obligation to serve their country when it is at war? Under what circumstances, if any, is it ethical for a person to refuse to serve?
A) A significant number of people believe war is always wrong, and that no circumstances justify one nation's taking up arms against another. Is this view ethically sound? How about realistically? Please state which side you agree with, and why. Explain and defend your position using your ethical position statement.
B) In answering, be sure to look at both sides of war: that is, a country defending itself against aggression and of a strong country coming to the aid of a weaker country that has been attacked unjustly. Then, explain how your ethical philosophy affected how you answered this problem.
Question 2 : Analyze the following ethical situation using YOUR ethical philosophy. Read the situation and then in your answer, explain why this is an ethical situation, what the "issues" are, and how an "ethical" person would resolve them. Explain how YOUR ethical philosophy has helped you read a conclusion about how to resolve or analyze this situation.
Employees' worth to their employers may diminish before they are eligible for retirement. In such cases, the employer is faced with the dilemma of choosing between retaining an old and trusted yet unproductive worker for 5 or 10 more years, or firing that worker and jeopardizing his or her retirement benefits.
1. Should an employer have an ethical obligation to keep such unproductive, but loyal employees? What if the employee had been a problem his or her entire career? Are there certain circumstances where your answer to these questions would be different?
2. What is the duty of an unproductive employee to his or her employer? Is there an ethical obligation to retire when productivity begins to wane? If a person is simply "coasting" for his or her last few years, is that person "unethical?" Be sure to explain your answer.
Question 3 : How do you feel St. Thomas Aquinas would have solved the above ethical situation differently or the same as you did using your philosophy? Please explain the reasons for the similarities or differences.
Question 4 : Regina is chairperson of her city's United Fund campaign. In her annual preparations meeting with her staff of canvassers, she gives this advice: "Hit the business places first. Don't approach anyone who is walking alone in a hall or working alone in a closed office. Look for two or more people standing together or working side by side. Try to make them compete with each other in generous giving. Capitalize on their desire to show off and outdo the next person." She then states that the canvasser who raises the most money of all will be awarded with a 5% cut of the total amount that canvasser raises. Her approach pays off and the United Fund raises the most money ever.
1) Tell what ethical philosophy Regina is using, if any.
2) Now, use your ethical philosophy to analyze the situation. Explain how, using your philosophy, you would have solved this situation either the same way as the character in the situation did, or differently. Why?
Question 5. You are a new employee in an advertising company. Your client is a well known soup manufacturer who wants to feature in advertisements a picture showing the solid ingredients in its soup. Unfortunately, your advertising group found that the solid ingredients sank to the bottom of the bowl and were barely visible. All that could be seen was the broth. Your boss hits upon a solution--put marbles in the bottom of the bowl before pouring in the soup! You try it and the vegetables sit nicely on the top, giving the appearance of thick soup. Your boss wants you to run with the project with this solution.
1) What will you do? Explain why you will do this and what ethical analysis you used to come to this conclusion.
Question 6. Analyze your answer above using at least 3 questions from the Laura Nash ethical dilemma resolution model. Show your steps.