Busines Ethics Essay

Graded Project

Business Ethics

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CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2

INSTRUCTIONS 2

GRADING CRITERIA 4

SUBMITTING YOUR PROJECT 6

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BUSINESS ETHICS

INTRODUCTION Your assignment is to write a 5,000-8,000 word, thorough analysis of a business ethics decision situation, assessing the situation and the possible resolutions through as many of the ‘lenses’ discussed in this course as are relevant. The purpose of this project is to give you practice and show your current ability to identify, assess, and weigh relevant business ethics issues when confronted with a new decision situation. The goal of this project is to demonstrate your ability to use the knowledge that you’ve obtained in your Business Ethics course. Your textbook should be your primary reference.

INSTRUCTIONS

Example Selection The student should select a business ethics issue that he or she finds interesting and write an analysis of the issue and potential decisions/solutions, using the concepts introduced in his or her course book. Students may choose:

n A situation currently in the news

n A situation described by one of the business leaders in the Fast Company article: https://www.fastcompany.com/3046630/7-business-leaders-share-how-they-solved- the-biggest-moral-dilemmas-of-their

n A high quality hypothetical business ethics issue (from literature, movies, or one he or she creates)

Be sure to choose an example for analysis that seems interesting, difficult, or complicated.

PROJECT PROCESS Step 1: Select an example for your analysis as outlined above.

Step 2: Perform your analysis. Apply the recommended high quality, ethical decision-making process described in your course book. You will want to consider the facts of the situation, the ethical lenses, legal, regulatory, and any other more specific lenses that might be applicable. Describe how the key concepts apply, explain why the decision is difficult/ complicated. Recommend the course of action you believe is ‘best’ taking all the relevant considerations into account.

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Your textbook should be your primary reference. Your paper may also include independent and reliable sources (many of which you might access from your textbook’s chapter notes). You should feel free to consult sources on the Internet. However, always make sure your work is original and well-documented. Notes from a website should include the source of the site. This is done to establish that the site is authoritative and not merely idle opinion.

Use APA style for citations and the Works Cited page. For information on APA style format see the Penn Foster Library.

Step 3: Write a first draft of your essay. Your paper should be written using a word-processing program, such as Microsoft Word or a Word-compatible program. Your analysis should be five to eight written pages. The essay should include a brief introduction, several paragraphs examining the key issues, your recommended course of action, and a conclusion that acknowledges arguments for and against your recommended decision. (Recommendation: Finish your first draft several days before you plan to finalize your paper. It’s best to set it aside for a couple of days before moving on to the completion.)

Step 4: Complete your final draft. Carefully review your written essay, correct any errors, and submit your final draft to your instructor. (Recommendation: Read your essay out loud to yourself. Doing this will help make you aware of gaps, redundancies, and areas where the writing should be improved.) Use the following Writing Guidelines to complete and submit your essay. Include a title page and a bibliography of sources. The last page after the main body of the essay should provide a list of your reference sources.

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GRADING CRITERIA The following rubric will be used to grade your project.

Skill/ Grading Criteria

Exemplary (100-90)

Proficient (89-80)

Fair (79-70)

Poor (69-60)

Not Evident (59-0)

Selection of example situation for analysis

Example situation selected in- volves several different kinds of issues and provides plenty of com- plexity for the analysis

(Remember, the way a situation is described enables the reader to see the complex- ity!) 10-9 points

Example situ- ation select- ed involves several different kinds of issues

8-7 points

Example situ- ation selected involves a few different kinds of issues

6-5 points

Example situ- ation selected doesn’t seem to require much, if any, weighing of issues

4 points

Example situ- ation selected is presented as a simple decision

3-0 points

Identification of relevant issues

Describes the example situation

Explains the facts

Identifies all relevant ‘lenses’ (for example, ethical, legal, regulatory)

Shows completeness in thought process applied to identifying rel- evant lenses

15-14 points

Describes the example situation with adequate description of facts

Explains the fact

Identifies most relevant ‘lenses’ (for example, ethical, legal, regulatory)

Shows thought pro- cess applied to identifying relevant lenses

13-12 points

Statement of the example situation with few details or facts

Identifies some relevant ‘lenses’ (for example, ethical, legal, regulatory)

Shows limited thought pro- cess applied to identifying relevant lenses

11-10 points

Simple statement of the example situation and facts

Identifies 2-3 relevant ‘lenses’ (for example, ethical, legal, regulatory)

Thought pro- cess used in analysis not well commu- nicated in essay

9 points

Appropriate connection to Business Ethics course concepts are not in evi- dence in the introduction to the chosen example situation and identification of relevant issues

8-0 points

Continued

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Skill/ Grading Criteria

Exemplary (100-90)

Proficient (89-80)

Fair (79-70)

Poor (69-60)

Not Evident (59-0)

Assessment of relevant issues

Explains how the lenses apply – (what would a utilitarian as- sessment say, what would a Kantian eval- uation say?)

Explains legal and regulato- ry views (per- haps corpo- rate culture) of the issues at stake

Takes stake- holders into account

Indicates which values, legal obliga- tions, ethical perspectives seem most compelling and why

30-29 points

Explains how the lenses apply – (what would a utili- tarian assess- ment say, what would a Kantian eval- uation say?)

Explains some legal and regulato- ry views (per- haps corpo- rate culture) of the issues at stake

Takes some stakeholders into account

Indicates which per- spectives seem most compelling

28-27 points

Explains how the lenses apply – (what would a utili- tarian assess- ment say, what would a Kantian eval- uation say?)

Explains few legal and reg- ulatory views (perhaps corporate culture) of the issues at stake

Takes few stakeholders into account

Simple state- ment of which perspectives seem most compelling, without dis- cussion

26-25 points

Explains how the lenses apply – (what would a utili- tarian assess- ment say, what would a Kantian eval- uation say?)

Explains 1 legal or regu- latory view

Takes few stakeholders into account

Simple statement of what’s right, without dis- cussion

24 points

Explains how few or some lenses apply to the situation

Missing sig- nificant legal and regulato- ry issues

No discussion of impact on stakeholders

23-0 points

Recommended decision and supporting arguments

Recommends a resolution to the situation (for example, Sally should do x, y and z)

Explains reasons for this decision, in spite of the reasons against this decision (ac- knowledges both sides)

30-29 points

Recommends a resolution to the situation (for example, Sally should do x, y and z)

Explains reasons for this decision but struggles with discuss- ing ambigu- ity / reasons against

28-27 points

Recommends a decision

Doesn’t explain this decision in terms of busi- ness ethics concepts

26-25 points

Recommends a decision

Doesn’t provide argu- ments for and against

24 points

Doesn’t recommend a decision

23-0 points

Continued

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Skill/ Grading Criteria

Exemplary (100-90)

Proficient (89-80)

Fair (79-70)

Poor (69-60)

Not Evident (59-0)

Written communication

Is clearly written and articulate

Use of lan- guage reflects nuances in the complex situation

10-9 points

Is clearly written and articulate

Use of lan- guage reflects nuances in the complex situation

8-7 points

Is written in plain and clear lan- guage, but complexity may not be included

Shows limited grasp of subtleties involved in making hard business eth- ics decisions

6 points

Is written in simple language that conveys basic points

Doesn’t show grasp of subtleties involved in making hard business eth- ics decisions

5 points

Mentions important concepts but doesn’t con- nect the dots to explain the way they apply to the example sit- uation being analyzed

4-0 points

Format Follows all formatting instructions completely

5 points

Follows most formatting instructions

4 points

Follows some formatting instructions

3 points

Follows few formatting instructions

2 points

No effort put in to format- ting

1-0 points

SUBMITTING YOUR PROJECT Each project is individually graded by your instructor, and therefore takes up to a few weeks to grade.

Be sure that each of your three files contains the following information:

n Your name

n Your student ID number

n The lesson number (50034500)

n Your e-mail address

To submit your graded project, follow these steps:

1. Go to http://www.pennfoster.edu.

2. Log in to your student portal.

3. Click on Take Exam next to the lesson you’re working on.

4. Follow the instructions provided to complete your exam.

Be sure to keep a backup copy of any files you submit to the school!