Case Study on Tesla Motors

Identify an actual media case which includes ethical considerations.

The case may involve national or local news media, advertisers, public relations practitioners, or media entertainment in magazines, movies, books, etc. The sweep is broad, though the case must in some way involve one of the media: newspapers, magazines, books, TV, radio, movies, records or the web. It may involve advertising, public relations, or journalism. Try to choose an issue you're already interested in, or something based on a personal experience. It will make this project more fun to do. The choice must NOT be something we already used for a class case study.

To find ideas, read, read, read, listen, listen, listen, or watch, watch, watch. Get ideas from your textbooks, or from class discussions. You can find oodles of ethically-sensitive cases out there, if you're looking. I won't give you possible choices here--as this is an theoretical-level class, it's time for you to take the initiative!

b. Identify the ethical issue posed by the case, and collect background information on this issue from library sources and interviews with experts. You'll need to explain:

· how the issue has been handled by philosophers and media people in the past;

· legal considerations;

· professional considerations;

· opinions of experts in the field. Basically, tell me everything the world knows about the ethical issue raised by your sample case.

c. Complete the ethics worksheet, decide how you would, or would have, handled the case. This part of the assignment is similar to previous class exercises.

Length: Using the ethics worksheet as an outline, description of the case should be at least one page. Research on the case should total at least five to seven pages, and a good eight sources, (minimum is 5 sources) books and articles included--not only web sites! You'll probably have to rely on the library's on-line databases, perhaps interlibrary loan.

Your paper should be set up using the ethics worksheet questions, with each question number indicated. Your answer will probably be both in narrative and bulleted form, as you think works best. This means your description of the case will fit into, perhaps, questions two and three. Your consideration of how ethical theories relate to your case will fit under question 11, etc. Your ethics worksheet analysis will be similar in size to those you've turned in for class projects (in other classes), but longer, about 10-12 double-spaced, typewritten pages. Objectives: To recognize an ethical issue based on an actual situation; to understand how ethics philosophers and writers have considered your chosen issue; to critically analyze a case, acknowledging ambiguities. At the end of your work, you'll be the expert on this issue, so I expect to read in your work a lot that I don't know already.

Ethics Worksheet for Case Studies - Tesla Motors 1. What is the ethical issue/problem, in one sentence? State this in the form of an ethical question a media practitioner would need to consider. 2. What facts have the most bearing on the ethical decision you must render in this case? Note: facts do not include ethical judgments at this point. 3. Are there any other external or internal factors to be considered? (Economic, political, etc.) 4. Who are the claimants and in what way are you obligated to each of them? (List all affected by your decision.) 5. What are the operant ideals? Note: ideals are values and behaviors based on them . • For you. • For the client/organization/profession. 6. Do any of these ideals conflict? In what order would you honor them? 7. What are your options, and which would be favored by each affected party? (List at least three.) 8. Which options could cause harm to any claimant? 9. Would honoring any of the ideals listed above invalidate any of your options? 10. Are there any rules, principles or codes (legal, professional, organizational, or other) that automatically invalidate any of your options? 11. Determine a course of action based on your analysis. 12. Defend your decision in writing to your most adamant detractor.