Imagine that you are an ethics officer in a large company. You have been asked by the general manager, Susannah Winslow, to help her resolve an issue. Specifically, she is faced with the problem of an employee who has been making disparaging remarks about the company on social media. Susannah has asked you to write a report outlining the business issue, and your recommendation for resolving it.
Related learning outcomes
This assignment supports the following learning outcomes:
- Analyse complex managerial issues using multiple ethical frameworks, and decide on a principled course of action.
- Apply multiple problem-solving strategies for analysing a complex business issue, and formulate an innovative solution.
Write a report for Susannah outlining the issue and your recommendations. Your report should:
- provide a summary of the business issue and the context in which it occurs
- outline at least two approaches for resolving the ethical issue (e.g. ignore the issue, discipline them, or even fire them)
- evaluate the ethical implications of each approach, with reference to the academic literature. For example, you could discuss the likely impacts on the company, its shareholders, other employees, and its customers
- make a recommendation as to the most appropriate solution. Provide a justification as to why this approach should be preferred.