Instructions

Read each case below and determine the extent to which the companys action in each case was ethical. In your response, you will determine the extent to which you believe each case represents an ethical dilemma (high or low moral intensity), and the extent to which the main people or company in each incident acted ethically. Consider the moral intensity of each each as well as the application of the FOUR ethics principles in your submission.

You are required to provide a response for all four cases below.

Case 1

A global provider of customer assistance, telemarketing, and technical support services for well-known corporations and government organizations has shifted most employees from offices to remote work in their own homes. To ensure that employees maintain a professional work setting and do not steal confidential customer information (such as credit card details), the firm has developed a monitoring system with webcams and sophisticated artificial intelligence software that randomly scans the employee and work area. The company has strict rules for home-based work, similar to rules in the office, such as no eating during work times and no objects nearby that create a security risk (e.g., mobile phones and paper). Employees must have a home work area that separates them from family members; the monitoring system includes facial recognition that alerts the company if someone other than the employee is in the work area. The call center company explains that home monitoring merely replicates the system that has existed for some time in its offices. It also suggests that the webcams will also be valuable for training and team building activities, and for watching employee well-being due to isolation and lack of social support found in an office environment. The monitoring systems are installed only where they are accepted or requested by clients and do not violate existing laws. The company publicly states that workers in most countries can opt in to the monitoring system, but internal memos indicate that it is mandatory as a condition of employment.

Case 2

A 16-year-old hired as an office administrator at a small import services company started posting her thoughts about the job on her Facebook site. After her first day, she wrote: first day at work. omg!! So dull!! Two days later, she complained all i do is shred holepunch n scan paper!!! omg! Two weeks later she added im so totally bord!!! These comments were intermixed with the other usual banter about her life. Her Facebook site did not mention the name of the company where she worked. Three weeks after being hired, the employee was called into the owners office, where he fired her for the comments on Facebook and then had her escorted from the building. The owner argues that these comments put the company in a bad light, and her display of disrespect and dissatisfaction undermined the relationship and made it untenable.

Case 3

A large multinational grocery chain that emphasizes healthy lifestyles is recognized as one of the nations greenest companies and is perennially rated as one of the best places to work. Full-time and longer-service part-time staff receive health insurance coverage. Most employees receive a 20 percent discount on company products. Employees who participate in the companys voluntary Healthy Discount Incentive Program receive up to another 10 percent discount on their purchases (i.e., up to a total 30 percent discount). These additional discounts are calculated from employees blood pressure, total cholesterol (or LDL) levels, body mass index (BMI), and nicotine-free lifestyle. For example, the full additional 10 percent discount is awarded to those who do not use nicotine products, have 110/70 or lower blood pressure, have cholesterol levels under 150, and have a BMI of less than 24. Employees do not receive the additional discount if they use nicotine products, or have any one of the following: blood pressure above 140/90, cholesterol of 195 or higher, or BMI of 30 or higher. In his letter to employees when announcing the plan, the CEO explained that these incentives encourage our Team Members to be healthier and to lower our health care costs.

Case 4

Computer printer manufacturers usually sell printers at a low margin over cost and generate much more income from subsequent sales of the high-margin ink cartridges required for each printer. One global printer manufacturer now designs its printers so that they work only with ink cartridges made in the same region. Ink cartridges purchased in the United States will not work with the same printer model sold in Europe, for example. This region coding of ink cartridges does not improve performance. Rather, it prevents consumers and gray marketers from buying the product at a lower price in another region. The company says this policy allows it to maintain stable prices within a region rather than continually changing prices due to currency fluctuations.