Case Study: Should We Go Beyond the Law?
CASE: SHOULD WE GO BEYOND THE LAW?
ETHICAL DILEMMA
- The right to make profit versus the duty to protect the environment.
OBJECTIVE
- To make the company realize the importance of protecting the environment.
- To help Chem-Tech become an ethically and socially responsible company.
CONCEPTS / ANALYSIS
- Sta Clara University published the five sources of ethical standards that can guide a person in making an ethical decision. Below are two of the five approaches they suggested:
The Utilitarian Approach
Some ethicists emphasize that the ethical action is the one that provides the most good or does the least harm, or, to put it another way, produces the greatest balance of good over harm. The ethical corporate action, then, is the one that produces the greatest good and does the least harm for all who are affected-customers, employees, shareholders, the community, and the environment. Ethical warfare balances the good achieved in ending terrorism with the harm done to all parties through death, injuries, and destruction. The utilitarian approach deals with consequences; it tries both to increase the good done and to reduce the harm done.
The Common Good Approach
The Greek philosophers have also contributed the notion that life in community is a good in itself and our actions should contribute to that life. This approach suggests that the interlocking relationships of society are the basis of ethical reasoning and that respect and compassion for all others-especially the vulnerable-are requirements of such reasoning. This approach also calls attention to the common conditions that are important to the welfare of everyone. This may be a system of laws, effective police and fire departments, health care, a public educational system, or even public recreational areas.
The above approaches are the most useful on this case. Chem-Tech has an obligation to their customers. Protecting the environment is the same as protecting their customers. The company's
ETHICAL DILEMMA
- The right to make profit versus the duty to protect the environment.
OBJECTIVE
- To make the company realize the importance of protecting the environment.
- To help Chem-Tech become an ethically and socially responsible company.
CONCEPTS / ANALYSIS
- Sta Clara University published the five sources of ethical standards that can guide a person in making an ethical decision. Below are two of the five approaches they suggested:
The Utilitarian Approach
Some ethicists emphasize that the ethical action is the one that provides the most good or does the least harm, or, to put it another way, produces the greatest balance of good over harm. The ethical corporate action, then, is the one that produces the greatest good and does the least harm for all who are affected-customers, employees, shareholders, the community, and the environment. Ethical warfare balances the good achieved in ending terrorism with the harm done to all parties through death, injuries, and destruction. The utilitarian approach deals with consequences; it tries both to increase the good done and to reduce the harm done.
The Common Good Approach
The Greek philosophers have also contributed the notion that life in community is a good in itself and our actions should contribute to that life. This approach suggests that the interlocking relationships of society are the basis of ethical reasoning and that respect and compassion for all others-especially the vulnerable-are requirements of such reasoning. This approach also calls attention to the common conditions that are important to the welfare of everyone. This may be a system of laws, effective police and fire departments, health care, a public educational system, or even public recreational areas.
The above approaches are the most useful on this case. Chem-Tech has an obligation to their customers. Protecting the environment is the same as protecting their customers. The company's