PLEASE ANSWER ONE OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: ANSWER BOTH PARTS (a) and (b)
1.
Mary, 30, is an up-and-coming executive in a large public relations and advertising firm and she is very close to a big promotion. She is given the assignment by her boss of creating an advertising campaign for the popular economy car that a big car manufacturer is about to launch. Her assignment is to try to make up for some of the bad press the company has been getting because of the six engine explosions that have occurred. Because she is a well-informed person, she knows about the explosions. She tells her boss that she doesn’t think their firm ought to take the account, and in any case, she can’t in good conscience handle the account unless the car company makes the car safe. Her boss argues that this is the single account their firm has ever had, and what the auto manufacturer does or doesn’t do is not their firm’s responsibility; their job is strictly to advertise and promote products and services. He also tells her that if she refuses the account, the promotion she is up for will go to someone else, and he further implies that she may lose her job.
(a) Would Mary be justified if she used internal whistle-blowing to resolve this problem, or this would be an act of disloyalty? Justify your answer. You should use a Utilitarian (Act- or Rule-) or an Aristotelian ethical theory in order to support your views.
(b) What, do you think, Mary should do, if she followed the Kantian ethical theory? Would you agree with this approach? Do you believe that her boss’s description of his firm’s responsibilities is right or wrong? Provide strong argumentation in support of your position.
2.
Z Corp is a computer-chip manufacturer residing in the city of Gilbane. The production process for Z Corp’s components results in the creation of certain toxins (lead and arsenic) which are discharged into the city’s sewer system and then extracted at a waste treatment facility. The city regulates the amount of toxins that may be discharged, since the treated sewer waste is sold by the city to local farmers for fertilizer. The sales are lucrative. To ensure that the fertilizer is free of contamination, the regulations are ten times more restrictive than comparable federal standards. Recent tests by a Z Corp environmental engineer indicate that Z Corp might be in violation of the city regulations. The engineer believes that the situation can be remedied by investing in a better pollution control system. Management disagrees and argues that since the city has not notified Z Corp of any violation, there is no cause for action on its part. The situation is further complicated when Z Corp announces a joint venture with another firm, which will increase production 500% – which means a fivefold increase in toxins. The environmental engineering department thinks that this production increase means that Z Corp now must make the investment in the pollution control system. But management again disagrees, arguing that the city regulations state a permissible standard of one ounce of toxins per million gallons of water. The solution to the problem of increased concentrations of lead and arsenic is simply more filtration: Release enough water so that the city standard of one ounce per million gallons is satisfied. But the problem of this resolution is that it is doubtful whether the city’s treatment facility can handle these concentrations. Management’s attitude toward this issue is that it is the city’s problem. After all, the company is in compliance with the flawed city regulations.
(a) Examine whether the corporate conduct of Z Corp would be defined as a Corporate Socially Responsible one in contemporary corporate morality. What would Friedman’s position on business social responsibility be in relation to the above case and why? Critically evaluate both positions.
(b) Use any of the ethical theories (Utilitarianism, Kantianism, Aristotelianism) in order to take a position about what Z Corp should do in relation to the above problem and the company’s social responsibility.
