Homework Ill: Issue Identification and Significance
• Identify your issue: What is the ethical issue you have chosen? An ethical issue involves trade-offs, usually between the good of self (or profit) and of others. Ethical issues might include questions like: "Is it ethical to crowd animals in factory farms because it is more cost effective to do it that way?" "Are companies justified in cutting working hours so that employees don't qualify for company subsidized health insurance?' °Is it acceptable to tolerate a certain number of product defects even though they cause death, because it is cheaper to pay claims than to change the product?" All of these answers may seem obvious, but once you dig into the trade-offs you will see why they require an understanding of both business and ethics.
• Identify an incident that provokes the question: A recent event that draws public attention and forces a reevaluation of business practices. Some examples of triggers are injury or death of a stakeholder, a lawsuit, a scandal or FTC violation, or a news report. If your triggering event is not recent, we can assume that the company has already decided how they plan to proceed. Relevance and importance of the issue to the company most be clearly established.
• State whose perspective vou are taking Consider who is in a position to make decisions for the company in response to the ethical issue. Name the company and title of the person(s) whose perspective you will take as you write the paper. This is usually the CEO, another responsible executive, or member of the board of directors.