Overview
Competencies
3066.1.1 : Ethical Issues in Business
The graduate analyzes ethical and socially responsible courses of action in a given business situation.
3066.1.2 : Ethical Leadership
The graduate analyzes ethical considerations that shape business leadership.
3066.1.3 : Employment Issues in Business
The graduate applies ethical principles to employment.
3066.1.5 : International Business
The graduate applies ethical principles to international business.
In a complex, multicultural business environment, business professionals must adhere to ethical standards throughout their daily activities. In order to assess your understanding of the material and your ability to apply the required concepts, you will be asked to evaluate three different common ethical dilemmas and analyze the consequences of the dilemmas. You will also be tasked with examining the dilemma in the context of different ethical theories and describing a resolution based on those theoretical perspectives.
Your submission must represent your original work and understanding of the course material. Most performance assessment submissions are automatically scanned through the WGU similarity checker. Students are strongly encouraged to wait for the similarity report to generate after uploading their work and then review it to ensure Academic Authenticity guidelines are met before submitting the file for evaluation. See Understanding Similarity Reports for more information.
Grammarly Note:
Professional Communication will be automatically assessed through Grammarly for Education in most performance assessments before a student submits work for evaluation. Students are strongly encouraged to review the Grammarly for Education feedback prior to submitting work for evaluation, as the overall submission will not pass without this aspect passing. See Use Grammarly for Education Effectively for more information.
Microsoft Files Note:
Write your paper in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) unless another Microsoft product, or pdf, is specified in the task directions. Tasks may not be submitted as cloud links, such as links to Google Docs, Google Slides, OneDrive, etc. All supporting documentation, such as screenshots and proof of experience, should be collected in a pdf file and submitted separately from the main file. For more information, please see Computer System and Technology Requirements.
You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.
Ethical Dilemma: Conflict of Interest
A. A procurement manager must choose between several vendors, one of whom is a close friend. Accepting their bid might appear biased, even if it is legitimate. Evaluate this ethical dilemma by doing the following:
1. Without discussing how the manager is affected personally, explain one potential impact on the organization if the manager accepts the bid from the friend's company.
2. Without discussing how the manager is affected personally, explain one potential impact on the organization if the manager rejects the bid from the friend's company.
3. Analyze the ethical dilemma from a utilitarian perspective by doing the following:
a. Explain utilitarian ethics, including two key features or characteristics.
b. Describe how a person using utilitarian ethics would resolve the ethical dilemma from part A.
Ethical Dilemma: Whistleblowing
B. An accountant uncovers evidence of financial fraud by their supervisor and is concerned about possible retaliation if they report it. Evaluate this ethical dilemma by doing the following:
1. Without discussing how the accountant is affected personally, explain one potential impact on the organization of reporting the fraud.
2. Without discussing how the accountant is affected personally, explain one potential impact on the organization of not reporting the fraud.
3. Analyze the ethical dilemma from a virtue ethics perspective by doing the following:
a. Explain virtue ethics, including two key features or characteristics.
b. Describe how a person using virtue ethics would resolve the ethical dilemma from part B.
International Ethical Dilemma: Accepting Gifts or Favors
C. A U.S.-based company with a strict policy against accepting gifts or favors sends a salesperson on a visit to an important supplier in Spain, a country that presents gifts as a sign of respect and relationship building. The salesperson is offered tickets to a World Cup match by the supplier. Evaluate this ethical dilemma by doing the following:
1. Without discussing how the salesperson is affected personally, explain one potential impact on the organization of accepting the tickets.
2. Without discussing how the salesperson is affected personally, explain one potential impact on the organization of declining the tickets.
3. Analyze the ethical dilemma from a principle-based perspective by doing the following:
a. Explain principle-based ethics, including two key features or characteristics.
b. Describe how a person using principle-based ethics would resolve the ethical dilemma from part C.
D. Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
E. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.
File Restrictions
File name may contain only letters, numbers, spaces, and these symbols: ! - _ . * ' ( ) File size limit: 200 MB File types allowed: doc, docx, rtf, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, odt, pdf, csv, txt, qt, mov, mpg, avi, mp3, wav, mp4, wma, flv, asf, mpeg, wmv, m4v, svg, tif, tiff, jpeg, jpg, gif, png, zip, rar, tar, 7z
A1:POTENTIAL IMPACT OF ACCEPTING
Not Evident An explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of accepting the bid is not provided. | Approaching Competence The explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of accepting the bid is not logical or discusses how the manager is affected personally. | Competent The explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of accepting the bid is logical and does not discuss how the manager is affected personally. |
A2:POTENTIAL IMPACT OF REJECTING
Not Evident An explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of rejecting the bid is not provided. | Approaching Competence The explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of rejecting the bid is not logical or discusses how the manager is affected personally. | Competent The explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of rejecting the bid is logical and does not discuss how the manager is affected personally. |
A3a:UTILITARIAN ETHICS EXPLANATION
Not Evident An explanation of utilitarian ethics is not provided. | Approaching Competence The explanation of utilitarian ethics is inaccurate or only includes 1 key feature or characteristic. | Competent The explanation of utilitarian ethics is accurate and includes 2 key features or characteristics. |
A3b:UTILITARIAN ETHICS RESOLUTION
Not Evident A description of how the ethical dilemma from part A can be resolved by applying utilitarian ethics is not provided. | Approaching Competence The description of how the ethical dilemma from part A can be resolved by applying utilitarian ethics is not logical or is inaccurate. | Competent The description of how the ethical dilemma from part A can be resolved by applying utilitarian ethics is accurately provided. |
B1:POTENTIAL IMPACT OF REPORTING
Not Evident An explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of reporting the fraud is not provided. | Approaching Competence The explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of reporting the fraud is not logical or discusses how the accountant is affected personally. | Competent The explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of reporting the fraud is logical and does not discuss how the accountant is affected personally. |
B2:POTENTIAL IMPACT OF NOT REPORTING
Not Evident An explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of not reporting the fraud is not provided. | Approaching Competence The explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of not reporting the fraud is illogical or discusses how the accountant is affected personally. | Competent The explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of not reporting the fraud is logical and does not discuss how the accountant is affected personally. |
B3a:VIRTUE ETHICS EXPLANATION
Not Evident An explanation of virtue ethics is not provided. | Approaching Competence The explanation of virtue ethics is inaccurate or only includes 1 key feature or characteristic. | Competent The explanation of virtue ethics is accurate and includes 2 key features or characteristics. |
B3b:VIRTUE ETHICS RESOLUTION
Not Evident A description of how the ethical dilemma from part B can be resolved by applying virtue ethics is not provided. | Approaching Competence The description of how the ethical dilemma from part B can be resolved by applying virtue ethics is not logical or is inaccurate. | Competent The description of how the ethical dilemma from part B can be resolved by applying virtue ethics is accurately provided. |
C1:POTENTIAL IMPACT OF ACCEPTING
Not Evident An explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of accepting the tickets is not provided. | Approaching Competence The explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of accepting the tickets is not logical or discusses how the salesperson is affected personally. | Competent The explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of accepting the tickets is logical and does not discuss how the salesperson is affected personally. |
C2:POTENTIAL IMPACT OF DECLINING
Not Evident An explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of declining the tickets is not provided. | Approaching Competence The explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of declining the tickets is not logical or discusses how the salesperson is affected personally. | Competent The explanation of 1 potential impact on the organization of declining the tickets is logical and does not discuss how the salesperson is affected personally. |
C3a:PRINCIPLE-BASED ETHICS EXPLANATION
Not Evident An explanation of principle-based ethics is not provided. | Approaching Competence The explanation of principle-based ethics is inaccurate or only includes 1 key feature or characteristic. | Competent The explanation of principle-based ethics is accurate and includes 2 key features or characteristics. |
C3b:PRINCIPLE-BASED ETHICS RESOLUTION
Not Evident A description of how the ethical dilemma from part C can be resolved by applying principle-based ethics is not provided. | Approaching Competence The description of how the ethical dilemma from part C can be resolved by applying principle-based ethics is illogical or inaccurate. | Competent The description of how the ethical dilemma from part C can be resolved by applying principle-based ethics is logical and accurate. |
D:SOURCES
Not Evident The submission does not include both in-text citations and a reference list for sources that are quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. | Approaching Competence The submission includes in-text citations for sources that are quoted, paraphrased, or summarized and a reference list; however, the citations or reference list is incomplete or inaccurate. | Competent The submission includes in-text citations for sources that are properly quoted, paraphrased, or summarized and a reference list that accurately identifies the author, date, title, and source location as available. |
E:PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION
Not Evident This submission includes pervasive errors in professional communication related to grammar, sentence fluency, contextual spelling, or punctuation, negatively impacting the professional quality and clarity of the writing. Specific errors have been identified by Grammarly for Education under the Correctness category. | Approaching Competence This submission includes substantial errors in professional communication related to grammar, sentence fluency, contextual spelling, and/or punctuation. Specific errors have been identified by Grammarly for Education under the Correctness category. | Competent This submission includes satisfactory use of grammar, sentence fluency, contextual spelling, and punctuation, which promote accurate interpretation and understanding. |