IDENTIFY MAIN (ETHICAL) ISSUES

Ethical Issues

Ethical Issues

Case 3

In order to conduct this essay I have chosen case 3 which is about the Research Chemist Dr. Lisa William.

Identification of Ethical Issues and Key Stakeholders

The key stakeholder in this case study is mainly Dr. Lisa William who is the research chemist and managing the new product department of the firm's top selling product line (Angell, 2003).

Another stakeholder in this case is Mark Miller who is her manager in the company, who has asked her to stay quiet and not to discuss this issue with anyone.

Third key stakeholder in the case is the Chief Executive of the company who threatens her not to tell this to anyone and to just stop conducting this research.

Ethics in business revolve around the premise of doing what is both legal and right in the eyes of all those involved. However, this vague explanation leads to an overwhelming sense of grey while being governed by rules that separate actions into categories of black and white (Bentley, 2006). Therefore, ethics by nature alone become indistinguishable in understanding and push individuals to make so called “right” decisions based upon personal beliefs and morals.

The ethical issues found in this case study are first the dishonesty. The company was making and selling the products which were injurious for health. Another ethical issue was the use of illegal means of business. The company was selling the products in the market which was not good for them and the product was comprised of the components which were 60% of he total, carcinogenic (Freedman, 2003). This leads to the adoption of illegal means of selling the product and this is considered to be a major crime as the company is selling the product which could cause the cancer among the people.

Another ethical issue which can be identified in this case study is the use of threatening to its employees. When Dr. Williams got aware of the fact that the company's top selling product accounts for 60% of the component which is highly carcinogenic which means that it could cause cancer among the users, then she though it better to discuss it with the manager Mr. Miller, but Mr. Miller just asked her not to tell it to anybody. And then she got a threatening call from her chief executive that it will be better for her to stop this research or else it will not be good for her and she will be expelled from the office.

Ethical Theories

Casuist Theory

The casuist ethical theory is one that compares a current ethical dilemma with examples of similar ethical dilemmas and their outcomes. This allows one to determine the severity of the situation and to create the best possible solution according to others' experiences (Penslar, 2005). Usually one will find paradigms that represent the extremes of the situation so that a compromise can be reached that will hopefully include the wisdom gained from the previous examples. Casuistry takes a relentlessly practical approach to morality (Ridley, ...