business&society
Assume you are the president of a division of a large organization. Your division has not been as profitable as required by the home office. You know the home office
is going to close the division unless your division shows a profit margin of 25% this year, well above the industry average. It will be difficult if not impossible to
reach this goal in the current year. You are really angry because closing the division will cost people their homes and jobs in a community that really needs
employment opportunities. Besides, the home office is just being greedy. You are good friends with the Controller of your division and she wonders if certain expenses
could be accounted for as fixed assets. This would increase the divisions income enough to reach the desired goal of a 25% profit margin. Even though this is against
internal company policy and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, she assures you no one will notice and it will allow you to meet the 25% profit margin goal for
the year. Taking this action will save the division, the jobs of all the employees and best for all the community members.
Question 1: You decide to follow the advice of your Controller and cook the books, justify your actions based on teleological principles. A paragraph should be
sufficient to answer this question.
Question 2: You decide not to follow the advice of your Controller and allow the division to be closed, justify your actions based on deontological principles. A
paragraph should be sufficient to answer this question.Use the information in the next paragraph to answer this question 3 and Question 4:Assume you are the President and owner of an auto repair shop in an economically vibrant area. Your company employs 6 full time employees and 3 part time employees.
You have never supported charitable or community causes and made those views known. You have been asked numerous times to join the United Way fund drive, support youth
sports leagues, and a whole host of other community initiatives. You have always declined. Your repair shop has been fined a number of times in the past few years for
minor infractions relating to disposal of used oil and tires. You provide no medical benefits to employees. Your company has grown and prospered and you now need to
add additional space which will result in hiring more employees. In order to do so, you must obtain a zoning variance from the city. At the zoning hearing, you are
accused by one of the committee members of not being socially responsible to the community based on the above information. You stand to lose a significant amount of
money if you cannot add this addition to your business because you are denied a zoning variance. A local reporter is on hand.Question3: What is your response? No comment is an unacceptable answer even though it might be the best thing to do. Write at least a two paragraphs to defend your
company with some philosophical justification. While you may not agree with the philosophy of this company owner, I still want you to defend it as if you were him.
Question 4: Write a paragraph to criticize the owner. Provide philosophical justification of why his business has a social responsibility to the society he lives in.
While you may not think the owner has a social responsibility to the community, I still want you to take the other position.Question 5:
In the past few years, a few small towns have enacted legislation that require every homeowner to own a gun. Crime has dropped significantly in those towns. Studies
by experts have proven that higher crime rates drive businesses out of a community and interfere with interstate commence. A new President of the United States and a
majority of both houses of Congress think that for the greater good of all the citizens in the country, it will be best if all adult citizens are armed. Crimes
interfere with interstate commerce and therefore the U.S. Congress has the power to regulate it. The U.S. Congress passes a law that requires all adults living in the
United States to do the following:
Own at least one firearm
Take a federal gun training and safety course
Obtain and carry liability insurance
Failure to abide with this law will result in a significant tax penalty
Are these provisions more socialistic or more capitalistic in nature? Refer to the Capitalism vs Socialism Summary Document and the principles I covered in the
lecture to justify your answer. Please make sure your rationale is sound. You should submit at least one paragraph to support your answer.Question 6:
The Bill of Rights contains 10 amendments to the US Constitution. Many of our Fundamental Rights are contained in these amendments.
Find a recent issue pertaining to one of the fundamental rights contained in the Bill of Rights. I am looking for an introductory paragraph describing the issue,
followed by at least one paragraph stating your viewpoint and supporting arguments. I will grade your answer based on your ability to form a logical argument
substantiated with sound legal and/or philosophical reasoning.