Ethical Theory Paper
Pages 4 -6 (double spaced)
This paper will now ask you to apply theories to an ethical problem found in society today. First revisit the current events in your group and find an ethical dilemma that you would like to write about (You may choose your own and just develop it further.)
Take the ethical dilemma and do some research about it. It may be helpful to rewrite the dilemma so it is broad enough and then find 3 examples of where it applies today….
So say your ethical dilemma is about how much should be required on the labeling of produce in grocery stores? Should grocery stores be required to label where the produce comes from or is it ok to sell it without labeling? (This was based on an article about how customers from Whole Foods got upset when the store stopped labeling what was organic because it was altering what was being sold in the store)
Then find some articles about the situation that you will summarize in the situation. You may find an article about can food labeling or other stores that have been affected with the same thing. You should have three articles in total including the original one.
You will use the SAD formula once again but under analysis you will apply 2 theories.
So…
Situation – Identify ethical dilemma, who is involved etc and describe the situation based on brief summaries of the articles. Here is where you should the extent of the problem today and how far it extends.
Analysis – Discuss the outcomes when applying the theories (Aristotle, Kant, Mill). Show me you understand two of the theories here. You may select which two you want to apply. Use the terms of the theory.
Decision – The most likely decision and why.
Please add a works cited page of the three articles you used. Most likely these will all be media sources, which is ok. You don’t need scholarly research here.
Once again your writing is important so make sure this paper is edited, cited, and organized.
***Here is the article that I want you guys to use, doesn’t need to cite this.
LuLulemon is a popular fitness apparel store. Its clothes are higher in price with its pants costing on average $100 a pair. About a year ago Lululemon issued a recall on 17% of its pants because they were marked as see through even though these pants are designed especially for tasks such as yoga and running, activities in which bending is a main component. The pants that were recalled were thought to be taken off of the market and replaced with a less sheer material that would not be see through.
Recently, women have been complaining about pants bought at the warehouse sale being once again see through. These pants were sold at a discounted price, and were marked with tags saying “things don’t always go as planned, this garment has fit, function, or visual imperfections”. When the women purchased these pants, they did not know they would be see through, and the pants were all sold at final sale. A spokeswomen of Lululemon admitted that some of the defective, sheer pants were sold to customers without the proper notice of error in their design. The company claims this was an accident, and is refunding money to the women that did purchase these pants.
Although the company decided to refund the women their money for the recalled pants, this was not initially the case. Originally a customer contacted Luluemon about her pants and they denied her a refund claiming the pants were final sale, later they agreed to give her a refund after attention as drawn to the situation.
The ethical dilemma here is, should the company be responsible for letting people know of the errors in their products and be held accountable for quality even if the product is discounted, or should they be able to sell whatever they want because people do have the option to buy or not to buy? The situation boils down to the fact that in order for a company to be seen with high standards they must provide quality to their customers and have open communication with them. I think this could be an ongoing issue rather than a onetime thing. This issue happened with one product but there is always a chance of it happening with another product. If it does happen again it will once again raise the question of who is responsible for quality. Is it the company that is responsible for letting women know the product is defective? Or is it the women that should know they are getting possibly defective products on sale and should check for quality before purchasing them? The parties that are affected by this dilemma are customers, and the company. The customers are affected because they are ultimately being taken advantage of by being sold damaged goods not knowing what the reason of damage is. The company is affected because by having poor communication and sales techniques they are losing money and possibly customers. I think the way to solve this issue presented in the article leans in favor of the customer by offering their money back for these damaged pants. This is usually the case in big business versus the customer, because it is assumed that companies should have good communication with their clients. (writeen by Gina Firenzi)