Answer the following questions about Case 1 "Grouse Electronics"

GROUSE ELECTRONICS

You work for Grouse Electronics, a publicly-traded manufacturer of cool computers, tablets, and phones. You are five years out of college and two years out of grad school. You have a boatload of school loans. You and your significant other both have good jobs, but you have been living at the edge of your means. You recently bought a small house in a nice neighborhood. Due to a real estate downturn, your mortgage is now under water, and you cannot afford to sell. You also recently took out a large loan on a new car. Your spouses company is having difficulties due to the pandemic, and youre concerned whether that job is secure. Put simply, youre very concerned about money and would like very much to improve your financial situation.

You work as an assistant product manager in Marketing. Your group is responsible for the launch of the Universe 2.0, a new breakthrough telephone which is critical to the companys success. You signed a contract with a small design company to come up with a sales brochure. This companys owner and sole professional is a single mother, and you know she is struggling to get business. You have worked with the design company over the last few months and you like the design and the work but havent given your final approval because it needed just a few more tweaks.

Because of some costly litigation due to a faulty Universe 1.0 charger design and the companys inability to borrow money against its line of credit due to a huge write-off of obsolete inventory, your boss tells you the Company is cutting expenses dramatically. Therefore, he wants you to cancel the contract.

The contract you signed with the design firm provides, very clearly in bold type, that your company owes the design company nothing unless you have approved a final design and that the design is delivered to the company with camera-ready art. Your law department confirms that you have good legal cause not to pay under the contract.

By the way, your group has already done a great job of managing expenses and is close to hitting its target bonus based upon keeping expenses low. If you can save the Company the $30,000 that otherwise would have been paid as part of the design contract, you will get your year-end bonus of $10,000. You could really use the cash!

1. What are the moral issues you face in this case?
2. What actions would you consider taking to resolve the situation, and what are the arguments for each action? (You must consider at least two different actions.)
3. Which proposed action is best? Why?
4. How would a utilitarian act in this situation? Why?
5. How would a practitioner of virtue ethics, prima facie obligations, or Kantian ethics act in this situation? Why? (Choose only one theory.)
6. Do the answers to #4 and #5 change what you would do? If so, why?