Ethical Decions Affecting Tat's Auto
1. How would ethical fading play a role in Tat’s decision to produce and market such a car? How would ethical fading play a role in the consumer’s decision to purchase such a car?
Ethical Fading – process by which the moral colors of an ethical decision fade into bleached hues that are void of moral implications
Potential reasons include: 1. Processes that re-label the behavior in terms that are devoid of ethical consideration 2. Incremental steps which hide ethical implications of our decisions 3. Biases in perceived causation that erroneously reduce moral responsibility 4. Constraints that are induced by our mental representations of our self
Tat’s viewpoint * Advertising “Welcome to civilization” and “Your American relatives are not the only ones who can enjoy the good life” * The focus is on the billions of individuals and feeding their desires to be “with the times” rather than considering the consequences these vehicles will have on our environmental systems * Tat’s decision to produce is looking at their ability to aid the growing middle classes of India and discounting (consciously or unconsciously) or omitting the emissions consequences
Consumer’s viewpoint * Safer than transporting their family on a Moped * All the other developing countries are abundant in automobiles
2. Using corporate doublespeak as your strategy, make a general case (role-playing Tata executives) that the development and marketing of this car is ethical. Then, make a doublespeak case by considering stakeholders and using utilitarianism or justice as your double speak approach.
Doublespeak – the language that makes the bad seem good, something negative appear positive, something unpleasant appear attractive or at least tolerable. It is language that avoids responsibility, language that appears to communicate but doesn’t, or language that conceals or prevents thought.
Tat’s executives:
Pro – We are providing these citizens
Ethical Fading – process by which the moral colors of an ethical decision fade into bleached hues that are void of moral implications
Potential reasons include: 1. Processes that re-label the behavior in terms that are devoid of ethical consideration 2. Incremental steps which hide ethical implications of our decisions 3. Biases in perceived causation that erroneously reduce moral responsibility 4. Constraints that are induced by our mental representations of our self
Tat’s viewpoint * Advertising “Welcome to civilization” and “Your American relatives are not the only ones who can enjoy the good life” * The focus is on the billions of individuals and feeding their desires to be “with the times” rather than considering the consequences these vehicles will have on our environmental systems * Tat’s decision to produce is looking at their ability to aid the growing middle classes of India and discounting (consciously or unconsciously) or omitting the emissions consequences
Consumer’s viewpoint * Safer than transporting their family on a Moped * All the other developing countries are abundant in automobiles
2. Using corporate doublespeak as your strategy, make a general case (role-playing Tata executives) that the development and marketing of this car is ethical. Then, make a doublespeak case by considering stakeholders and using utilitarianism or justice as your double speak approach.
Doublespeak – the language that makes the bad seem good, something negative appear positive, something unpleasant appear attractive or at least tolerable. It is language that avoids responsibility, language that appears to communicate but doesn’t, or language that conceals or prevents thought.
Tat’s executives:
Pro – We are providing these citizens