Discussion Project – Identifying ethical issues

Each group will be assigned one of the cases from the handout “Cases for Discussion.”

Discuss your case and come up with a list of things you think a person would need to consider (think about) in order to decide what the right thing to do is. Remember that your job is not to raise every possible question about your case.  It is to identify the questions or issues that are important for considering your case from an ethical point of view.  We are trying to think about what is right and wrong (ethically speaking) not what is expedient or profitable or popular or legal (except to the extent that these other things may influence what is ethically right or wrong).

Make the items on your list as specific as you can.  Don’t just put down a word or a phrase.  Try to formulate a complete question.  For example, if your case involves laying off employees (in a non-emergency situation), don’t just write, “Firing people.”  Write something like, “Is it fair to fire people who have given good service to our company, are doing their jobs well, and will have a hard time finding a new job at comparable pay, just because we can increase our profits slightly by doing so?”

Each group should turn in a ‘report’ with everyone’s name on it and today’s date.