Tui Eth301 Module 1 Case Assignment
Trident University
Module 1 Case Assignment
ETH301: Business Ethics
After reading over the case study, I look back to my childhood when my family was affected by a tornado in our local area. Homes were destroyed and many people were forced to seek housing elsewhere. The hotels/motels in the area jacked prices up considerably, which were too expensive for some of the affected families. Looking at this situation from different perspectives will change which ethical theory, whether Deontological or Utilitarianism, I would use.
Viewing things from Brian Johnson’s perspective seems to me that during his thought process he used the Utilitarianism theory while being an “ethical egoist”. Because he considered the fact that he could profit from the people attempting to evacuate their homes, he was only considering the pros and cons to his own benefit. It seems that Brian weighed the idea that he was to be considered to be taking advantage of these people against the profit he could make by raising the cost of the rooms. From a business sense, I would have to agree with him in wanting to raise the costs; however, I would not have done so at such an obvious rate. The idea of supply and demand comes into play; but there should be a limit to the price gouging.
Lily, on the other hand, was considering the greater good of the people affected. She used a combination of the two theories in order to come up with her decision to stand up against Brian for super-inflating the prices of the rooms. Lily, using the Deontological theory, took into consideration that all of these individuals have the right to seek refuge in the motel, that she and her employer had a duty to provide these rooms, and at a reasonable rate. She then used the Utilitarianism theory to decide that she would rather quit her job than to take part in a more than 350% rate increase for the rooms. She felt that Brian was not taking into consideration that these people needed assistance instead of
Module 1 Case Assignment
ETH301: Business Ethics
After reading over the case study, I look back to my childhood when my family was affected by a tornado in our local area. Homes were destroyed and many people were forced to seek housing elsewhere. The hotels/motels in the area jacked prices up considerably, which were too expensive for some of the affected families. Looking at this situation from different perspectives will change which ethical theory, whether Deontological or Utilitarianism, I would use.
Viewing things from Brian Johnson’s perspective seems to me that during his thought process he used the Utilitarianism theory while being an “ethical egoist”. Because he considered the fact that he could profit from the people attempting to evacuate their homes, he was only considering the pros and cons to his own benefit. It seems that Brian weighed the idea that he was to be considered to be taking advantage of these people against the profit he could make by raising the cost of the rooms. From a business sense, I would have to agree with him in wanting to raise the costs; however, I would not have done so at such an obvious rate. The idea of supply and demand comes into play; but there should be a limit to the price gouging.
Lily, on the other hand, was considering the greater good of the people affected. She used a combination of the two theories in order to come up with her decision to stand up against Brian for super-inflating the prices of the rooms. Lily, using the Deontological theory, took into consideration that all of these individuals have the right to seek refuge in the motel, that she and her employer had a duty to provide these rooms, and at a reasonable rate. She then used the Utilitarianism theory to decide that she would rather quit her job than to take part in a more than 350% rate increase for the rooms. She felt that Brian was not taking into consideration that these people needed assistance instead of