Ethics Assignment

The purpose of this exercise is to explore ethics and decision making within organizations.

Case Overview

George Stein, a college student working for Eastern Dairy, is suddenly faced with an ethical

dilemma. George has very little time to think about his choices – less than a minute. On the one

hand, he can do what Paul tells him to do, and his shift can go home on time. However, he finds

it tough to shake the gross mental image of all those innocent kids drinking milkshakes

contaminated with pulverized maggots. If he chooses instead to go against Paul, what would the

guys say? He can almost hear their derisive comments already….

Assignment Guidelines

1) Provide an overview of the case (1 paragraph). Name this section ‘Identification of Dilemma’and address the following:

a. What do we know about George? Paul?

b. What is the overall ethical dilemma?

c. Who can be impacted by the dilemma (people and/or groups)?

2) Provide a brief overview of 2 Frameworks (Approaches) to Managerial Ethics (2 paragraphs

). Name this section ‘Ethical Frameworks’. Name each sub-section after the ethical

frameworks you choose.

a. Choose from: Utilitarian, Self-Interest (Ego), Rights, Justice,

Religious/Deontological, or Social/Cultural.

b. The textbook, and presentations provide brief explanations for the approaches above. Expand

on these with external sources.

c. This section of your paper should not reference the milkshake case. Instead

focus on what you’ve learned regarding each ethical approach.

3) Provide outcomes to this ethical dilemma (1 paragraph). Name this section ‘Evaluation of

Ethical Dilemma’. Address the following in this section

a. Based on what you’ve learned about George from the case, which framework

(from the two you’ve explained in the previous section) do you believe will guide

George in this situation? Why do you believe he will go this direction?

b. There’s no right/wrong answer choice, so I won’t grade this on your ability to

choose a particular ethical framework. Instead, I’m more concerned with your

ability to describe why you chose the approach. The explanation will help me assess whether or not you understand the concepts.