business ethics
EXAM 1
Below are the essay questions for your first take-home exam. The exam is intended for you to work independently. Each question is worth a total of 25 points. Please answer each question as thoroughly as possible, providing rich detail from our lectures, readings, and discussions. The organization of your answers, the complexity of your analysis, and the clarity of your critical thinking are the key elements of your evaluation.1
1 Recommendations on excellence – ten pages is your minimum target; dig deep into the readings and lectures; provide unique insight; reach for high-level analysis, presentation and formatting; use 12-point, Times New Roman font; double-space; use endnotes to cite your sources using full APA bibliographic formatting in
1. On Moral Development
a. Identify Kohlberg’s six stages of moral development supporting each stage with an actual or hypothetical scenario/example.
b. How do you translate theory into practice – that is, how can Kohlberg’s model help managers maintain an ethical corporate culture? Provide an example to support your reasoning.
c. Lastly, behavioral evidence indicates that relativism permeates our society whereby we use our ‘business ethics’ in business, our ‘family ethics’ at home or our ‘global ethics’ with other cultures, etc. Explain the flaws in this approach to being good. In other words, are there really ‘business ethics’ or just ‘ethics’? Explain in detail.’
i. Ultimately, when presented with an opportunity to carry out an action you know is wrong, what helps you do the right thing?
2. On Justice – We have built the course on the premise that ethics are the ‘ideas and right actions by which we live’. Using Sandel’s book as your source, reflect on the following questions as they pertain to Aristotle, Kant, and one other of your choice from our class lecture on Justice.
a. How might the philosophers’ approach to ethics help with doing the right thing?
b. What philosopher best supports your idea of ethics and why? If none fits with your philosophy, which philosopher do you most disagree and why?
c. Lastly, in lecture we debated whether it was better to do good than to feel good. What is your response to this idea of morality?
3. On Corporate Responsibility –
a. Compare and contrast Milton Friedman’s and Archie Carroll’s philosophies of the corporation’s responsibility.
i. Which do you think is more accurate and why? Explain in detail.
b. In lecture, we introduced five specific characteristics of what corporations should exhibit to be good corporate citizens. Identify and discuss the rationale of these characteristics and explain the value we place on citizenship in general.
4. On Corporate Governance –
a. Identify and discuss the major role of the board of directors.
i. Among the list of traditional duties, what is the single most important measure of an effective board and why?
b. From the first two parts of the Primer identify and discuss one major lesson for the future executive. Demonstrate a command of the reading and be specific in your response.
c. Lastly, we stated in lecture that management is not governance – what does this mean and do you agree with this assertion? In your discussion, clearly define each term.