Learning Objective
The purpose of the Ethics Case Brief is to demonstrate your ability to develop and justify an action plan to manage an ethical challenge.
Overview
The Ethics Case Brief is a formal paper (<2,500 words) that frames, evaluates, and develops an action plan for managing an ethical challenge that you have identified. This is your opportunity to demonstrate everything you know about applying human values to the challenges of business leadership.
In writing your EthicsCase Brief, you should select an ethical problem either from current business news or from your own observation or experience. Remember that you are conducting an ethical analysis to develop an action plan, so your brief will be evaluated for your framing of the problem, the arguments you make, and the evidence and expertise you apply to support your arguments. Your choice of a problem, its complexity, and its relevance for contemporary business will be considered in your grade for this assignment. It is in your interest to choose a unique, complex, and relevant problem that has not been widely discussed or evaluated to demonstrate your values, intelligence, and skill.
You will conduct your own ethical analysis of a scenario and develop an action plan using the tools, methods, and frameworks from the course as well as your own independent inquiry and thought. You may consult any and all learning materials from the seminar and elsewhere; you may also consult and discuss the case with others. The written brief, however, must be entirely your own work. If you do consult other sources, you must credit and cite them properly in APA format.
Execution Steps
You should begin thinking about the Ethics Case Brief early on so that you are ready to concentrate on it as soon as your Moral Compass Essay is completed. Be sure to follow each step of the outline below and address each relevant question.
Title of the Case: (How will you identify this case?)
Source: (What is the source of your information about this case?)
Title & Source How will you identify this case? What key nouns and actions words will grab attention?
What is the source of information about this case? Publication title, author, and date; personal observation or communication.
Case Overview “Big picture” interpretation of the case in one or two sentences. How would you characterize the moral challenge of this case? Why is this case morally important?
Key Facts Your factual discovery of key events, actors, and evidence: What relevant events, people, and evidence are key to understanding the situation or problem? What contextual/ technical knowledge needs to be considered? What are your sources for the facts of the case and how reliable are they?
Ethical Analysis Your interpretation of the values conflict or moral challenge.
• What is the main moral issue in this case? What is at stake? What is the moral urgency? (Uncertainty, risk, danger)
• Who is the key moral actor in this case? Whose actions and decisions determine the moral resolution of this case?
• What is your intuitive moral judgment of the issue? What foundational moral values are involved? (CARE, LIBERTY, FAIRNESS, LOYALTY, AUTHORITY, SANCTITY)
• How do values and moral judgments conflict? Is it a right/right or right/wrong conflict? What type of right/right?
• Is the moral issue with an action, the means of action, or the intent of an action?
• What normative moral claims and standpoints of VIRTUE (character, common good), DUTY (principle, moral claims), and CONSEQUENCES (outcomes, harm, cost, benefit) should you consider in evaluating the moral challenge?
• How would you apply the values and code of your wisdom tradition to understand and explain the moral issue?
• How does the moral challenge align/conflict with the core values of your Wisdom Tradition and that of stakeholders?
Stakeholder Analysis Your interpretation of stakeholder interests in light of precedents, context, and evidence:
• Who are the stakeholders (individuals, groups, or entities) whose values, moral claims, and duties constitute the moral challenge of the case? What values, Wisdom Traditions, and moral arguments support their claims? How valid and sound are those claims?
• What competing or contested values, claims, or duties complicate this case? Which stakeholders have more urgent and compelling claims? Why?
• What similar cases or situations are useful as analogues for evaluating this case?
Option Analysis Your interpretation of options. What are the feasible options for the key moral actor to consider in resolving the moral problem? On what grounds are they morally justified?
Decision Your action recommendation. Which option is the most ethical, and on what grounds? How does the action express/reflect your core values?
Summary Argument Your argument in brief: Explain the best decision option or action plan persuasively in fewer than 25 words.
References APA format: Be sure to include every idea, concept, and point of information that is not solely your original creation or observation.
