Aaron Fuerstein Utilitarianism

1. Aaron Feuerstein became something of an overnight national hero by protecting his workers. Feuerstein said, “It was the right thing to do and there’s a moral imperative to do it, irrespective of the consequences.”
a. Was Feuerstein employing utilitarian or formalist reasoning? Explain.
Aaron Feuerstein engaged in formalist reasoning. I believe this is true because he based his decision on what he felt was morally right and the consequences did not matter to him. He kept to his moral upbringing and resorted back to what he was taught when he was young and brought it into the workplace. This is exactly to point Kant was trying to make when he said, “The moral person is a person of goodwill, and that person renders ethical decisions based
on what is right, regardless of the consequences of the decision. Moral worth springs from one’s decision to discharge one’s duty” (McAdams 67). I also believe the scripture he memorized “You are not permitted to oppress the working man because he is poor and needy” (McAdams 69) played a strong role in his decision. While 85% of his employees were able to go back to work in the warehouses he still had about 400 employees that couldn’t work but still got paid. Feuerstein understood it was not the employee’s fault they could not work but still had need they needed meet as well.

b. In your view, was he correct to say that the consequences, in this instance, did not matter? Explain.

I tend to over question a situation so in my view, I would say it is not correct to say that consequences do not matter.
One question I would have raised is how was the company financially when the tragic accident occurred? It takes a lot of money to rebuild and replace costly equipment. It also takes a lot of money to secure the warehouses the employees were temporally working out during the rebuild. Another question I would have asked is how is the demand for the product? If the demand is high enough you can still have enough finances coming in to cover expenses but if demand is not enough you would just be digging the company into a financial hole. As a soon to be business owner I can honestly say I do not think I would be able to do what Aaron Feuerstein did in this situation. I would absolutely make sure the current employee would be the first ones I called back once the business was up and running again
though.
Reference
McAdams, T.
(2012). Law, business and society. (10 ed., pp. 67-70). McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions.

15. You are the sole owner of a neighborhood drugstore that stocks various brands of toothpaste. Assume that scientific testing has established that one brand is clearly superior to all others in preventing tooth decay.
a. Would you remove from the shelves all brands except the one judged best in decay prevention? Explain.
I would not remove the other brands of toothpaste from the shelf. The reason behind that is because I am assuming that even though one product is superior to the others people like a variety. They like to feel that they are making decisions for themselves or maybe they have used a particular brand and do not want to change. I would not want to lose a customer over one brand not being available.

b. What alternative measures could you take?
A measure I would take is to place the superior brand in a place that is more eye-catching than the other brands. I would also advertise the scientific findings of the brand being superior.
c. Should the toothpaste manufacturers be required to reveal all available data regarding the effectiveness of their products?
Explain.
I do believe that toothpaste manufacturers should be required to reveal the effectiveness of their product. I like to know what I am spending my money on. I also like to get more for money. I would want to purchase a product that offers the most for my money.