BSB111 Business Law and Ethics

Task:

This assessment item assesses the following unit objectives and learning outcomes: 

Professional Communication (PC)

Use information literacy skills, and communicate effectively and professionally in written forms and using media appropriate for diverse purposes and contexts.

Social, Ethical and Global Understanding (SE)

Demonstrate and apply knowledge of ethical and legal principles and practices in analysing and responding to business issues 

The purpose of this assignment is to encourage you to explore some of the fundamental concepts and theories in business ethics, consider how these can be applied to real world business issues and communicate this knowledge effectively. The word limit reflects writing in a business context – be direct and to the point. 

Your task is to:

Analyse a business-related ethical dilemma based on a real-world situation or event. You are to prepare a paper on this ethical dilemma (your chosen scenario/problem):

1. Identify and describe the ethical dilemma (you can include facts in an appendx). Please select either one of the scenarios provided; or a real-life ethical dilemma that has received media attention during the past couple of years. Make sure you clearly explain why it is about (i) ethics; (ii) why it is a dilemma and (iii) how being in a business context influences the decision-maker’s perspective and ethical choices (for instance, how organizational forces might influence the decision – see slides 28 & 30 from week 1).

2. Analyse the dilemma using three (3) ethical frameworks from the course – namely Utilitarianism, Kantian ethics and Aristotle’s virtue ethics. To do this well, you will need to ensure your analysis clearly communicates your understanding of the tool/framework. Make sure you read the CRA as it will point to what you need to do to meet your grade aspirations. 

3. Propose a recommendation or “course of action” that addresses the ethical dilemma. Based on your analysis, you then need to provide a clear conclusion on what is the ethical thing to do. This should include a solution or recommendations for the decision maker (i.e. the manager/actor) to consider. The conclusion (and recommendation(s)) needs to be justified and linked to your dilemma and its analysis.