Work Place Ethics and Morals

You work for a bakery, where you bag and label bread, rolls and other bakery items. You have worked there for almost eight years and enjoy the work. Your fellow workers are fun to be around and your boss, Mira, pays you well and gives all employees generous benefits such as extended health care and a thirty hour work week with flexible hours. Your pay is generous, well above minimum wage and you have already planned to buy a condo nearby so that you can walk to work and enjoy the neighbourhood even more. When you come into work today, however, you notice that the labels have changed on the products. Now they have the word ‘100% Organic’ printed on the label in large letters. You ask Mira if the suppliers have changed, given that nothing else on the label has changed. The ingredients list is the same and none of the ingredients listed are described as organic in the ingredient list. Mira replies, “Consumers are willing to pay more if they think it’s organic, so this way we can charge more for the bread.” You point out that the bread actually isn’t organic, as you know that the suppliers use pesticides on their products and would never get certified as organic. “I’m not saying we’re making certified organic bread,” Mari replies, clearly getting upset. “All food is organic in the scientific sense. If customers mistakenly think we’re certified, then that’s their problem.” On your lunch break, you do some quick searching on the internet. According to the law, companies who use the word organic on their products must have at least 95% organic ingredients and be certified through one of the official regulatory groups. Mira stops by to touch base with you to let you know that she’s not upset with you. She says. “I understand if you are uncomfortable with the label. But in order to pay you as well as I do and give all the benefits, I need to make more revenue. This is how I can increase profits without increasing costs.” She pauses. “If you don’t like it, then you don’t have to work here. I’m happy to give you a glowing reference for any jobs you apply for. We really do like having you here, so I hope you chose to stay. We may be able to negotiate a higher salary.” You tell her you’ll think about it and let her know tomorrow. You return to the packing table and continue putting the products in the new bags. You are watching the news that night and they say they are looking for people to call in with concerns about bad business practices. You can’t stop thinking about the labels. • Define what factual, moral, pragmatic, conceptual and aesthetic statements are • identify what kind of statements are being made in arguments • identify when an argument is using moral reasoning, versus other kinds of reasoning • explain the principles of moral reasoning (is/ought gap, ought implies can, agreement seeking) • identify when an argument violates the principles of moral reasoning • identify and create arguments that use reasoning by moral principle • identify and create argument that use reasoning by moral analogy • explain ethical relativism • identify the problems with ethical relativism • explain share holder theory and identify criticisms with it • explain stakeholder theory and how it differs from the comprehensive view • be able to identify the relevant stakeholders in a moral issue/case study • define the following concepts:moral community, moral agent • identify the conditions generally required to be held morally responsible for one's actions • identify the conditions that mitigate or excuse a person's moral responsibility • explain the complications for identifying who has moral responsibility in the context of business Exam questions • Define what factual, moral, pragmatic, conceptual and aesthetic statements are • identify what kind of statements are being made in arguments • identify when an argument is using moral reasoning, versus other kinds of reasoning • explain the principles of moral reasoning (is/ought gap, ought implies can, agreement seeking) • identify when an argument violates the principles of moral reasoning • identify and create arguments that use reasoning by moral principle • identify and create argument that use reasoning by moral analogy • explain ethical relativism • identify the problems with ethical relativism • explain share holder theory and identify criticisms with it • explain stakeholder theory and how it differs from the comprehensive view • be able to identify the relevant stakeholders in a moral issue/case study • define the following concepts:moral community, moral agent • identify the conditions generally required to be held morally responsible for one's actions • identify the conditions that mitigate or excuse a person's moral responsibility • explain the complications for identifying who has moral responsibility in the context of business • explain and apply the principle of autonomy • identify the four kinds of autonomy as capacity and use them to asses the autonomy of agents. • explain and apply the harm principle • Identify actions and situations that can limit people's capacity for autonomy • Identify when we might have justification to override another person's autonomy. • define apply the following: paternalism and retributivism • identify the difference between psychological and ethical egoism • identify three arguments in support of egoism and why they are not good arguments • explain contractarianism as a moral theory that is based on egoism • explain why cooperation is more beneficial than egoism • explain the difference between being self interested and being selfish            

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