Exam 1: Ethical Theory, Philosophical Foundations, Our Reasoning Flaws, and Types of Ethical Dilemmas

Pam purchased a quesadilla at Taco Bell for lunch. She also asked for a water cup, which is free and to be used to get water at the soda fountain. Pam used the water cup to get Pepsi. Which of the following is correct?

"Everyone else does it," is a signal of an ethical pitfall.

Ayn Rand was the philosophical thinker who developed the Divine Command Theory.

The Barbara Walters/Andrew Lloyd Webber/ Sunset Boulevard examples involves:

It is not plagiarism to use facts obtained from several sources that are footnoted or listed as sources.

Susan Wade is the president of the Illinois Hospice Organization (IHO). IHO is a state organization affiliated with a national non-profit organization, the National Hospice Organization. Both the state and national organizations have members from both for-profit and non-profits hospices. Susan Wade is the director of a non-profit hospice in Illinois. A Chicago newspaper has printed a story about hospices and what they do. Susan was interviewed extensively for the piece. In one quote in the article, Susan expressed her concerns about for-profit hospices. "It has become the sort of franchise of the decade. They're not all bad, but I think the original spirit of hospice is becoming very adulterated. There's one time in a person's life when he shouldn't be looked at as a number, as a piece of an actuarial problem. If your first and last priority is making money, it flies in the face of what hospice is all about. It's the end of the health-care chain. It's the place of last hope for patients. Dollars should not be the issue here." A chief operating officer of a for-profit hospice has written to Susan complaining that her remarks are libelous and misinform the public about for-profit hospices. a.Does Ms. Wade have a conflict of interest? b. Is Ms. Wade properly executing her role as the president of the state organization?

Although you are not part of your company's engineering group, you have discovered a major flaw in the company's new paper-thin solar calculator. The calculator adds when the subtract button is pressed if there are more than 3 figures to the right of the decimal point. It is not necessary for the company to take any action to correct the problem or refund money for those who already own the new calculator.

An application for graduate school admission at Arizona State University includes the following request for information: Please list all institutions attended since graduation from high school. Marie Davis, a returning student, is applying for admissions to the Masters in Architecture program. Marie attended the University of Arizona for one semester in 1976. Marie had a substance abuse problem and did not attend many of her classes. She left the University of Arizona before classes ended that semester. She did not take her final exams and earned 15 credit hours of "E" for that semester. After 8 years, the policy of the University of Arizona is to expunge the records of non-matriculating students. Marie's record was expunged in December 1994.

Beth Williams is an exercise physiologist who serves as an expert consultant for Women's Walkers, Inc., a shoe company specializing in manufacturing walking shoes for women. Dr. Williams is paid an annual consulting fee along with additional fees for drafting reports and making media and public appearances for the company. Executive Woman , a national magazine, has asked Dr. Williams to serve as one of three experts on a panel that will evaluate the full market range of women's walking shoes. Dr. Williams will be paid a consulting fee by Executive Woman as well.

Colton's mother said, "Colton, you lied to me this afternoon when you said you were at school." Colton responded, "Mom, you didn't ask me whether I was at school, you asked me if I was able to talk to my friends about the Universal Studios trip." I talked to them; I just didn't talk to them at school. You didn't ask the right question." Which of the following describes Colton's response?

Laura Nash does not see any purpose in examining how an ethical dilemma occurs.

An illegal act is an unethical act.

Following positive law is not the full extent of ethics.

It would not be unethical for you to accept two employment offers in case one fell through.

Althea Caldwell is the director of Arizona's Department of Health Services (DHS). DHS is charged the administration of the state's behavioral health system and is responsible for contracting with private providers for millions of dollars of mental health care each year for eligible patients. Ms. Caldwell accepted a $20,000 per year director position for a hospital group corporation. One of the hospitals in the group was one to which state contracts for mental health treatment had been awarded. One month after accepting the position, Ms. Caldwell asked the state's attorney general for an opinion as to whether she had a conflict of interest. Does Ms. Caldwell have a conflict of interest?

Edward Snowden released classified documents that were stored at his employers' archives. He works for a government agency. He released them because he felt U.S. citizens should know what kind of information their government was keeping about them. Which of the following is a correct statement?

What category of ethical dilemma applies to the use of car-pool lanes by just one person in a car?

Which philosopher is associated with the Rights Theory?

In a discussion about his company's decision on whether to sell aircraft to Iran, a known sponsor of terrorist groups, the CEO said, "I just can't see that the newspapers will paint this as a good thing." What ethical test is the CEO applying in making the decision?

Although you are not part of your company's engineering group, you have discovered a major flaw in the company's new paper-thin solar calculator. The calculator adds when the subtract button is pressed if there are more than 3 figures to the right of the decimal point. Since it is not your area, you have no ethical duty to report the issue.