Writing Assignment 3
Utilitarianism, Universal Ethics, The Golden Rule and Virtue Ethics.
Length: 1400 to 2000 words
You may use the same facts and issue from your Writing Assignments 1 and 2 papers.
1. Task
You work in the Ethics Department for ABC Company (ABC). Your department is dedicated
to advising its employees about their ethical obligations in the corporate setting. All
communications you receive in this capacity are confidential.
Luke, an employee of ABC, comes to you with the following scenario and asks for your advice.
He wants to fully consider the situation. Your task is to advise him on all perspectives on the
situation. Below are the facts that Luke provides to you.
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Luke has been asked to work on a project that involves developing land recently purchased by
ABC to build an adult entertainment retail store. According to the plan, the land is located on
the corner of the neighborhood where Owen, Luke’s brother, lives.
Luke knows that as soon as the plans for the store are made public, property values for the
surrounding neighborhood will decrease significantly. ABC plans to publicly announce the
project one month from today.
Luke is concerned about his obligations of confidentiality to his company. However, Luke is
also very close to Owen, who recently told Luke that he received an offer to sell his house at an
“okay” price given the current real estate market. Owen is considering selling but hasn’t made
any final decision yet. He wonders if he might get a better offer a few years from now when
the real estate market improves.
What is the ethical issue, why is this an issue, and what should Luke do about it?
*****
For assignment 3, prepare a memo to the Ethics Department file that considers the following
four theories that are discussed in the ethics videos provided in Canvas – Utilitarianism,
Universal Ethics (i.e., Kant’s categorical imperative), The Golden Rule and Virtue
Ethics.
You may consider any of the resources provided in Canvas. However, it is advised that you
DO NOT consult the internet. Your papers will be graded based on the required resources for
BUSI 4350. Additionally, most of the accidental plagiarism cases have arisen from students
using internet sources and failing to properly cite the work used.
Finally, remember that Assignments 1 and 2 are considered “drafts” for Assignment 3. So you
will combine your writings in Assignments 1 and 2 to create Assignment 3.
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