(Answers) – PHL-FPX 2000 – Assessment 2 : Unit 3 – Online Nursing Assignment Help

Normative ethics has to do with practical decisions and moral beliefs. It concerns questions like whether or not it’s morally wrong to eat animals, or when (if ever) it’s permissible to lie to someone. Normative ethical theories dig into the underlying foundations of morality and what’s ultimately important in life. The theories differ from one another mainly around how they understand this foundation. Having established a foundation for morality, each theory then tries to derive criteria for right and wrong. That is, they look for general moral standards that could help us answer practical moral decisions.

For this assessment, we will first explore normative ethical theories by looking at utilitarianism, virtue ethics, and deontology. Then you will apply these theories to analyze ethical conflicts in a business scenario.

Utilitarianism holds that the foundation of morality is happiness and that moral decisions should be made on the basis of maximizing happiness. For instance, if lying to someone in a particular case would create more overall happiness (for everyone involved) than telling the truth, then the lie is not only permissible but morally required. Virtue ethics focuses on positive character traits such as honesty, bravery, humility, fairness, open-mindedness, and the like. While virtue ethics do not have specific rules for making decisions, proponents of this type of ethics believe that if people have virtuous character, they will make correct ethical decisions when faced with dilemmas. Deontology seems simpler than other ethical theories because, to be an ethical person, deontologists believe one simply has to do his or her duty and follow the rules. Deontology is governed by rules that people consider universal moral laws—do not lie, do not cheat, do not steal, et cetera.

After examining these normative theories, you will apply one of them to an ethical conflict in a business scenario. The decisions of an individual corporation may affect millions of people, including vast numbers of people who neither work for it nor buy its products. As you consider the role of corporate responsibility in ethical matters, you will compare the perspectives of two theories—Milton Friedman’s Shareholder Theory and R. Edward Freeman’s Stakeholder Theory—to look beyond whatever laws happen to be in place to regulate corporations and think about ethical values that should form the basis of those laws.

Overview

Large corporations have the power to make decisions that can affect millions of people, including vast numbers of people who neither work for them nor buy their products. Should companies that sell products and services be responsible for ethical conduct beyond that which legally provides the largest dividends for their shareholders and the highest profits?

For this assessment, you will look beyond whatever laws may already be in place to regulate corporations and consider the ethical values that should form the basis of those laws. You’ll also practice applying ethical thought to guide company policies and decisions.

In this assessment, you will demonstrate ethical reasoning by making sound decisions, taking appropriate actions with an awareness of the rights and well-being of others, and identifying the impact of personal and professional behavior.

Preparation

Please complete the Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility Scenarios media activity. After reviewing the three scenarios presented in the media activity, select one to use as the focus for this assessment.

Instructions

In a 3–4 page scholarly paper appropriate for a professional audience, complete the following:

1. Analyze the relationships between different components of the ethical issue(s) in the scenario.
2. Analyze the relationships between the primary interest(s) of at least three stakeholders in the scenario.
3. Evaluate the company’s social responsibility in this scenario by applying either Milton Friedman’s shareholder theory or R. Edward Freeman’s stakeholder theory.
   • Explain the relevant gaps or deficiencies of the theory you chose not to apply.
4. Apply a traditional theory of normative ethics to justify the company’s social responsibility in this scenario.
   • Explain the relevant gaps or deficiencies of another normative theory you chose not to apply.

Your submission should meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Write clearly, accurately, and professionally, incorporating sources appropriately.
• Format: Format your paper according to APA style, with a title and reference page.
• Citations: A minimum of three scholarly sources obtained from the Capella Library are required for this assessment. See General Education Information Research Skills Library Guide for help with research. Review Evidence and APA for information on how to cite sources.
• Length: Minimum 3–4 double-spaced pages, not counting the title page or references.

Please review the scoring guide for full details on how your assessment will be graded.