Business Ethics

1. It is often claimed that Act Utilitarianism cannot account for moral concepts such as promises or justice.  Rule Utilitarianism is an attempt by Utilitarians to account for these deficiencies. Does Rule Utilitarianism succeed as an attempt to improve upon Act Utilitarianism?

2. Nozick seems to think much of what Rawls’s theory would require is actually unjust re-distribution.  What is Nozick’s argument to this conclusion?  Is he right?

3. Freeman defends the Doctrine of Fair Contracts as his version of a normative core for stake-holder theory.  How does Freeman’s argument work, that is, what theoretical device or structure does he employ to defend stake-holder theory.  How bold is Freeman’s proposal to re-invent management theory?

4. What is the stake-holder paradox? How is it resolved?

5. Locke seems to think ownership and property rights are a result of one’s labor.  What role does labor play in Locke’s conception of the justification of property rights? What is the worst problem associated with Locke’s use of  labor in his theory of property rights?

6. Virtue theoretic approaches to business ethics are increasingly popular. Why is a theory of right conduct prior to an ethics of virtue?  Are there any other problems with applying virtue theory to ethics in business? Are these arguments also good reasons to abandon virtue theory in business ethics?

7. Some people think morality has an essential or necessary connection to culture or cultural principles.  Other people disagree and argue for universal moral principles. What would (morally) justify a business in defying or acting against local cultural norms? Feel free to use cases we have studied to answer this question.

8. What is the morally correct course of action for Dr. Roy Vagelos of Merck? Why? Be sure to show how you arrived at this conclusion and what sort of moral reasoning you think is most relevant to his predicament.

9. What should RUN Inc.’s Martin Field do? Why? Be sure to show how you arrived at this conclusion and what sort of moral reasoning you think is most relevant to his predicament.

10. Does Plasma, Intl. have a moral claim (or property right) to the money they made by selling the blood they purchased from the West African Tribes to the victims of natural disasters in Nicaragua? Why?