Paper

Purpose

To assess your ability to analyze an ethical dilemma through application of the ethical decision making model.

Overview

Over the past five weeks you have applied the ethical decision making process to practical ethical dilemmas confronting employees, managers, organizations, and stakeholders. Your final paper will describe an ethical dilemma you have observed or experienced on the job or in a business, organization, association, community group, etc. This dilemma is not be the one you have used in any earlier assignment for this cause. Instead, it should be a new dilemma that allows full application of the knowledge you gained throughout this course.

Action Items

1. Review the assigned readings from the text (including the case scenario) and the article by Asgary and Mitschow (2002).

2. Prepare a 6- to 8-page paper titled, Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma.

3. Compose your paper in Microsoft Word. Include your name, the assignment name and number, the course and section number, and the date on your title page. Follow APA guidelines for formatting and citations.

Note: Your paper must meet the minimum requirements as outlined in the section of Final Written Assignment and Abstract of the Assignment Guidelines and the grading criteria of this assignment.

4. Review and incorporate the Ethical Decision Making Steps summarized from Trevino and Nelson's eight step model to ethical decision making (p. 51-58) when addressing each of the following questions and statements in your paper:

• Summarize the most significant points you have learned in this course (this should be 1-2 pages).

• Apply the 8-step decision making model to describe an ethical dilemma you have observed or experienced on the job or in a business, organization, association, community group, etc.

• Describe which ethical approach (consequentialist, deontological, or virtue) you think was taken by the individuals involved and why.

• Review your analysis of the ethical dilemma and the information you have learned in this course. Did the organization respond appropriately? Why or why not?

• Support your reasoning with a minimum of 8 references from the readings and other relevant sources.

• Note: Use the University's library databases to select scholarly references.

Ethical Decision Making Steps

As you analyze and evaluate the cases and real-life ethical situations each week during this course, integrate in your papers the following eight ethical decision-making steps. The reader of your work should be able to recognize that you identified the key elements from these steps as they are applicable to the specific case or real-life dilemma. In some instances you may not find every step critical to your work. However, most of the steps will be applicable to your work. The eight steps are summarized here in the form of "what" questions from the steps outlined in your text. These questions will be important to use for both the effective analysis and critique of your dilemmas.

1. What are the key facts?

2. What is/are the key ethical issue(s)?

3. What relevant individuals and groups (stakeholders) are affected by the dilemma?

4. What are the possible consequences of specific and alternative actions (responses)?

5. What are the relevant obligations from your analysis of the dilemma?

6. What community standards of integrity provide you with guidance?

7. What are possible creative alternate actions?

8. What does your "gut" tell you is the right thing to do?