Moral Minefield Level 2

Moral Minefield
Assignment Guidelines
For the following questions, be sure to connect to the reading material in your book. This is a writing
assignment, so answers should be written in complete and coherent sentences and paragraphs. Answers
in the A range will refer to the text and fully explain how the concepts learned in the text apply to the
question.
You may type your answers directly into this document after the prompts, save it, and then upload it into
the submission box.
Play through the Moral Minefield level for this week and answer the following questions:
1. Copy and paste (or screenshot) your Level overview and scores. You can find this information
again in your Overview & Profile.
2. Reflect on the scenarios presented in the game. Was there anything you found particularly
difficult? Anything that surprised you?
In reflecting on the scenarios presented in level 2, the scenarios are very relatable to situations occurring
today. As an example, there have been many large manufacturers that have been scrutinized over
polluting nearby water ways including farmers who irresponsibly dispose of the farms runoff. It seems
like organizations are more concerned about profit than doing the right thing for their communities or
the environment. I can honestly say that I see more businesses on the news for doing what is considered
to be ethically wrong than those doing what is ethically appropriate. There was nothing particularly
difficult or surprising about what we reviewed in this level.
3. Explain one of the decision-making scenarios you were given in this level and analyze it in terms
of one of this week’s theories.
(Note: for full credit, be sure you name the theory you are using, explain the theory fully, and then
explain how the scenario illustrates that theory)
The theory I am using for this week’s discussion is within the Human Resources Management Theory
called psychological contract (Fryer, 2015 Chpt 2; pg 133). Psychological contract is based on terms that
are not explicit but shape employees and employers understanding of what is fair in matters such as
allocations, promotion, development opportunities, job security, and employee loyalty on part of
employers. Psychological contract may even be verbal which makes it tacit versus explicit (Fryer, 2015
Chpt 2; pg 133).
The decision-making scenario I chose this week is called “Whispers”. In this scenario the lab suffers a
significant setback which may have affected the product quality. The Production Director told all staff
that everything is under control and this is a confidential management issue. The Director further advised
employees that if asked they should state that, “all lab activities are functioning perfectly and on track for
launch”. The ethical question at hand is do the employees have a duty of care to follow the Directors
instructions or do employees have discretion to speak out about the incident. The appropriate answer
was that the employees have the discretion to speak about the incident because it is unethical to ask
employees to lie or misrepresent the situation on behalf of the company.
The connection between the theory I chose and the scenario in level 2 called “Whispers” is how the
employers told employees that things were under control and if anyone asked them about the status, they
were to state all lab activities are functioning and on track for launch. In other words, they were
encouraged to lie on behalf of the company. The employees would struggle with duty of care to follow the
Directors instructions. I am sure the employer was expecting loyalty on part of the employee for the
company but at the expense of asking the employee to lie about the setback they experienced. It is under
no circumstance ethical to ask an employee to essentially lie.
4. How could you use the concepts discussed in this simulation in your job today? Relate these
concepts to the other course materials and to your own experiences.
(Note: for full credit, be sure discuss a specific scenario, a specific example from your own experiences,
and a specific connection to something you learned from the text)
I can use all the concepts discussed in this week’s material in my career. We experience ethical
challenges daily and we have a culture of striving toward doing the right thing in every situation.
Once of the scenario’s in level 2 was called “The Pitch” whereas the Marketing Director was planning
on interviewing several advertising firms to collect insight and data. The Director had no intention of
actually contracting with any of these firms. The reviews would have been done with the pretense of
information gathering, although the firms believed one of them would get the advertising contract.
I tie this type of behavior with culture-focused approach. The Marketing Director considers this
approach to be the norm, considers it priority, and considers it to be proper and acceptable for the
company (Fryer, 2015 Chpt 2; pg 148). The Marketing Directors approach is a prime example of when
poor ethical decisions are made when the culture makes it acceptable.
References:
Fryer, M. (2015). Ethics Theory & Business Practice. Sage.

Moral Minefield Level 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Moral Minefield Level 2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Moral Minefield Level 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Moral Minefield

Fryer, M. (2015). Ethics Theory & Business Practice. Sage.

You might also like