Module 4 - Case: Duty Ethics Assignment

Overview

The notion of duty or deontological ethics is many ways the opposite of the utilitarian ethics you learned about in Module 3. It is often the case that completely different decisions will be made if you use a deontological approach rather than a utilitarian approach. For this assignment, you will be applying the concepts of utilitarian and duty ethics from Brusseau (2012) and "Duty-based ethics" (2014) to some real-world ethical dilemmas faced by corporations.

Apple has gotten a lot of criticism for having iPhones and other products manufactured in China. However, iPhones would cost dramatically more (as much as $2,000 for a low-end model) if they were produced in the United States. See the following articles:

Mielach, D. (2012, February 12). Is it ethical to own an iPhone? Business News Daily.

Smith, S. (2014, May 20). How much would an all-American iPhone cost? Marketplace.

Another ethical dilemma many multinational corporations face is that they often have to deal with foreign government officials in order to obtain contracts. Even if managers are personally offended at the idea of paying bribes, keep in mind that American companies have to compete with companies from other countries that are more than happy to pay a bribe. A recent case involved Hewlett-Packard (HP) when their affiliate in Russia was busted for a paying a bribe to a government official in order to obtain a contract. For purposes of this assignment, forget that this is illegal. Instead, think about whether this is ethical. Remember that HP has had financial struggles and has had to lay off many American workers, and obtaining foreign contracts can save jobs back in the United States. See the following articles for more information:

Garside, J. (2014). Hewlett-Packard to pay $108m to settle scandal over bribery of public officials. The Guardian.
Heater, B. (2016, Oct 13). HP plans 3,000 to 4,000 job cuts over the next three years. TechCrunch.

Case Assignment

First, make sure you are clear on the distinction between duty/deontological ethics and utilitarian/consequentialist ethics from the readings in Modules 3 and 4. Then think carefully about the ethical dilemmas faced by Apple and HP using the articles above as well as your own research.

Then write a 4- to 5-page paper addressing the following issues:

1. Analyze Apple's decision to have their iPhones built in China based on a utilitarian/consequentialist approach. Use the Utility Test and discuss which stakeholders benefit and which ones are harmed by having their iPhones manufactured in China rather than the U.S. Should they keep their manufacturing in China based on the Utility Test?

2. Now analyze Apple's decision to have their iPhones built in China based on a deontological/duty-based approach. Are there any categorical imperatives violated by Apple choosing to manufacture their phones in China? Is your ethical assessment different for you when you use a deontological/duty-based approach rather than a utility approach?

3. Analyze HP's use of bribery to obtain foreign contracts based on a utilitarian/consequentialist approach. Use the Utility Test and discuss which stakeholders benefit and which ones are harmed from HP's use of bribery. Was more harm done than good, or vice versa?

4. Finally, analyze HP's use of bribery to obtain foreign contracts based on a deontological/duty-based approach. Are there any categorical imperatives violated by HP's use of bribery? Is your ethical assessment different for you when you use a deontological/duty-based approach rather than a utility approach?

Assignment Expectations

• Follow the guidelines in The Student Guide to Writing a High Quality Academic Paper.
• Don't forget to properly cite your sources-both in-text and as end references!
• You are expected to demonstrate evidence of critical thinking-asdefined in the background materials and the grading rubric. Don't just summarize information. Instead demonstrate your ability to come to a conclusion and support your conclusion using logical arguments.

For your final SLP, think about a major ethical dilemma you faced in the past. Think carefully about how the notions of utilitarian/consequentialist ethics and duty/deontological ethics from the Module 3 and 4 background readings apply to this dilemma.

Then write a 2- to 3-page paper addressing the following issues:

1. Briefly describe the ethical dilemma you faced.

2. How does the Utility Test apply to this ethical dilemma that you faced?

3. What were the duty/deontological implications of this ethical dilemma?

4. Based on the material from this class, might you have made a different decision regarding this ethical dilemma if you could do it all over again?

SLP Assignment Expectations

• Follow the guidelines in The Student Guide to Writing a High Quality Academic Paper.
• Don't forget to properly cite your sources-both in-text and as end references!
• You are expected to demonstrate evidence of critical thinking-as defined in the background materials and the grading rubric. Don't just summarize information. Instead demonstrate your ability to come to a conclusion and support your conclusion using logical arguments.

Module 4 - Background: Duty Ethics

Unlike utility ethics, "duty" ethics hold that the duty to act (or not to act) is rooted in the goodness or evil of the act itself-and not in the outcome of the act. Said differently, certain acts are good or bad in and of themselves. Immanuel Kant was a duty-based philosopher, who argued that people must act out of duty. This concept is also referred to as deontological ethics.

Start off with these short videos that will introduce you to the basics of duty/deontological ethics and the main theories of Immanuel Kant:

Youtube Video- UT McCombs School of Business. (2017). Ethics defined: Deontology. Ethics Unwrapped Video Series.

Youtube Video- Leonard, O. (2016). Beginner's guide to Kant's moral philosophy. Philosophy Tube.

Now read up in more detail on duty ethics with the following book chapters:

Brusseau, J. (2012). Chapter 3: Theories of duties and rights: Traditional tools for making decisions in business when the means justify the ends. Business Ethics.Lardbucket Books.

Duty-based ethics. (2014). BBC.

If any of the links above are down or you want more material on duty ethics, check out the optional materials below.

Optional Reading

The following book chapter contains a section on deontology on pages 74-80:

Youtube Video- Philosophers 101. (2013). Kant's ethics (deontological) and the categorical imperative.