Ethical Dilemm Kant's Categorical Imperative
Assignment 4
Facts
Luke is an employee of ABC, and has appealed to me as an Ethics Department representative for advice in the following ethical dilemma. He has started to work on a project for developing an adult entertainment retail store situated in the neighborhood, where his brother, Owen, lives. All the information about the project is kept in strict confidentiality. However, Luke knows that in a month, when the information about the project will be made public, the prices for the property in this neighborhood will decrease significantly. Luke also knows that his brother plans to sell his house and has a good price, but does not know whether he should wait or sell it now.
Issue
An ethical issue in this situation for Luke is whether …show more content…
Kant’s categorical imperative approach implies that while making an ethical decision, facing an ethical dilemma, a person should act in such a way he/she supposes other persons will also act in the same situation. Therefore, moral rules must be universal and there should be no exceptions for particular situations.
If Luke tells his brother about the future significant decline in the property prices in the neighborhood, where Owen lives, then such moral act should be regarded as a universal law for other employees of ABC Company. It means that each employee can break the rule of keeping the confidentiality about the initial business information of ABC Company. Advice to Luke is the following: if there is an ethical rule of non-disclosure of the company’s information, then it should be applied equally to everyone. If each employee tells the company’s confidential information to his/her relatives and friends, even assuming that he/she does not cause any harm to the company, then there will be no need for such company’s investments, innovations, etc., because all its initial information will be disclosed. If Luke chooses to not tell his brother, Own, then his brother will miss a chance to get a better deal to sell his house. His brother will blame on Luke. But Luke does a right behavior …show more content…
They are Luke, his family, his brother, Owen, his brother’s family, the neighborhood, company’s employees, and the company itself. It is also important to define harms and benefits for the main stakeholders, and to assess whether the good consequences of an action prevail over the harms caused by this action for them.
If Luke tells his brother about the planned deal, it will be an obvious benefit for his brother and Luke himself, because his brother will sell the house at the maximum price and will be thankful to Luke for such an advice. Also if Owen tells the other homeowner in the neighborhood, Owen will benefiting over the neighborhood, If Luke does not tell Owen about the store opening, it may cause tension in their families’ relationships. However, Luke can explain that it is his obligations to follow the requirements of the company’s corporate
Facts
Luke is an employee of ABC, and has appealed to me as an Ethics Department representative for advice in the following ethical dilemma. He has started to work on a project for developing an adult entertainment retail store situated in the neighborhood, where his brother, Owen, lives. All the information about the project is kept in strict confidentiality. However, Luke knows that in a month, when the information about the project will be made public, the prices for the property in this neighborhood will decrease significantly. Luke also knows that his brother plans to sell his house and has a good price, but does not know whether he should wait or sell it now.
Issue
An ethical issue in this situation for Luke is whether …show more content…
Kant’s categorical imperative approach implies that while making an ethical decision, facing an ethical dilemma, a person should act in such a way he/she supposes other persons will also act in the same situation. Therefore, moral rules must be universal and there should be no exceptions for particular situations.
If Luke tells his brother about the future significant decline in the property prices in the neighborhood, where Owen lives, then such moral act should be regarded as a universal law for other employees of ABC Company. It means that each employee can break the rule of keeping the confidentiality about the initial business information of ABC Company. Advice to Luke is the following: if there is an ethical rule of non-disclosure of the company’s information, then it should be applied equally to everyone. If each employee tells the company’s confidential information to his/her relatives and friends, even assuming that he/she does not cause any harm to the company, then there will be no need for such company’s investments, innovations, etc., because all its initial information will be disclosed. If Luke chooses to not tell his brother, Own, then his brother will miss a chance to get a better deal to sell his house. His brother will blame on Luke. But Luke does a right behavior …show more content…
They are Luke, his family, his brother, Owen, his brother’s family, the neighborhood, company’s employees, and the company itself. It is also important to define harms and benefits for the main stakeholders, and to assess whether the good consequences of an action prevail over the harms caused by this action for them.
If Luke tells his brother about the planned deal, it will be an obvious benefit for his brother and Luke himself, because his brother will sell the house at the maximum price and will be thankful to Luke for such an advice. Also if Owen tells the other homeowner in the neighborhood, Owen will benefiting over the neighborhood, If Luke does not tell Owen about the store opening, it may cause tension in their families’ relationships. However, Luke can explain that it is his obligations to follow the requirements of the company’s corporate