Read the Case and the Answer the questions

iPhone dilemma

This is a discussion of a case. You will be graded on your outline and on your answers to the subjects and questions involving the case. I will question you on the outline, as well as the extra material that is here in this document.

1) What dilemmas did Tim Cook Face?

2) What were Cook’s primary responsibilities at Apple?

3) What influenced his decision to refuse the US government to build a backdoor to the iPhone.

4) Are there any contradictions here?

5) Give some alternatives to the way Cook resolved the problems.

6) What should Cook have done?

7) What is Apple’s culture?

8) What is Apple’s sense of social responsibility?

9) What values do Apple employees embody?

10) Is Cook aligned or in conflict with Apple’s culture?

11) Would Apple employees support Cook’s stance against the FBI request?

12) Can Apple jeopardize its relationship with the government?

13) Is Apple really committed to protecting its customers’ right to privacy or is this just marketing?

14) Is Apple prioritizing its own good over the common good?

Notes:

Executive Management Decision Making:

One thing we will look at when discussing this case are the various kinds of executive management decisions. Some are here for your analysis.

Right vs Right decision – both choices have value, merit – but a choice must be made.

When facing any RIGHT VS. RIGHT dilemma, choose the most appropriate way forward based on which ethical solution fits the situation.

Right vs wrong

Dirty hands: the right thing to do is also wrong: violate deepest personal values or ethical creeds.

The problem of dirty hands concerns whether political leaders or other like actors can ever be justified in committing even gravely immoral actions when "dirtying their hands" in this way is necessary for realizing some important moral or political end, such as the preservation of a community's continued existence or ...

Four Spheres of Commitments in Executive Responsibility

1) As a Person

2) As an Economic Agent

3) As a Company Leader

4) Beyond the Firm’s Boundaries

1. What harms are potentially produced by the FBI’s demand that Apple help it open an iPhone? What harms are potentially produced by Apple’s refusal to help the FBI?

2. Do you think Apple had a moral obligation to help the FBI open the iPhone in this case because it involved terrorism and a mass shooting? What if the case involved a different type of criminal activity instead, such as drug trafficking? Explain your reasoning.

3. Apple argued that helping to open one iPhone would produce code that could be used to make private information on all iPhones vulnerable, not only to the American government but also to other foreign governments and criminal elements. Do you agree with Apple’s “slippery slope” argument? Does avoiding these harms provide adequate justification for Apple’s refusal to open the phone, even if it could reveal crucial information on the terrorist shooting?

4. Politicians from across the political spectrum, including President Obama and Senator Ted Cruz, argued that technology preventing government access to information should not exist. Do you agree with this limit on personal privacy? Why or why not?

5. Ultimately, the FBI gained access to the iPhone in question without the help of Apple. Does this development change your assessment of the ethical dimensions of Apple’s refusal to help the FBI? Why or why not? Should the FBI share information on how it opened the iPhone with Apple so that it can patch the vulnerability? Explain your reasoning.