PHIL 4120: Professional Ethics

University of West Georgia

Spring 2009

Test 2

Date: Wednesday March 11

This test will be worth 20% of your total course grade. This is a timed test; you will have 50 minutes to complete the test.

You are required to provide your own blue book for the test. Blue books are mini notebooks designed especially for writing tests. They are available from the UWG Bookstore and at the cart in the atrium of the TLC. They come in two sizes: small and large. Small should be large enough, unless you have really large handwriting, in which case you may want to use a large bluebook.

Section I will consist of definitions [10-20% of total test grade]. I will give you a short list of terms and phrases to define. Typically, only a sentence or two is necessary for a satisfactory answer. The terms and phrases will come from the following list:

· business ethics

· ethos

· values (in general) [DesJardin’s definition]

· ethical values [DesJardin’s definition]

· ethical egoism

· psychological egoism

· altruism

· ethical relativism

· intrinsic value

· extrinsic value

· philanthropy

· market failure

· externality

· prima facie moral obligation

· absolute moral obligation

· counterfactual

· labor union

· employment-at-will

· due process (in general)

· “just cause” conditions

· due process procedures

Your definitions should as be as specific, clear and precise as possible. For example, the following is not an adequate definition of the term "a priori": "independent of experience." This would get you partial credit, but not full credit. A much better definition is this: "An a priori statement is one that can be known to be true or false independent of sense experience, for example, ‘All bachelors are unmarried’ and ‘Triangles have three sides.’"

Section II will consist of short answer questions [30-40% of total test grade]. Your answers to these questions should be as specific, clear and precise as possible. Typically, a paragraph of about five to seven sentences is sufficient for a satisfactory answer. The questions will be drawn from the following list:

· Explain the relationships among the concepts of duties, rights and interests.

· Explain Gerald MacCallum’s triadic analysis of the concept of a right.

· Explain the three types of employee rights described by DesJardins.

· Explain William Parent’s analysis of the concept of informational privacy.

· Explain George Brenkert’s triadic account of the violation of informational privacy rights.

· Explain the “model” of the employer/employee relationship adopted by DesJardins and how he applies that model to the question of employee privacy.

Section III will consist of one discussion question [50% of total test grade].

You will be given two questions and allowed to choose one to answer. Your answers should be as detailed, specific, clear and precise as time allows. In other words, tell me everything you know about the question asked. If you omit something that is relevant to the question, I will assume that you do not know the material you are omitting.

I expect your essay to integrate material from class discussions, the online lecture notes, and your reading. It is appropriate to include relevant facts and statistics, but the bulk of your essay should concern the ethical aspects of the issues raised. Your answer should also include your own view of the issue at hand and a reasoned defense of that view.

The purpose of this question is to test (1) your understanding and memory of the material covered in class and (2) your ability to engage in original thought about that material. The majority of the grade you get on your essay question will be based on requirement (1); but for full credit, I will require that you state and defend your own position(s) on the issue at hand, thus fulfilling requirement (2).

· Discuss executive compensation by explaining how ethical egoism, utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics would address that issue. Is there a limit to the compensation that a corporation can pay its executives without acting immorally? Defend your answer.

· Discuss (1) the classical model of corporate social responsibility (a.k.a. free market theory) and (2) EITHER the utilitarian defense of this model and the ways in which that defense might be criticized, OR the deontological defense of this model and the ways in which that defense might be criticized. Do you agree with this model? Why or why not?

· Discuss EITHER (1) the Neo-Classical Model of corporate social responsibility (the “moral minimum” OR (2) stakeholder theory, including  the ways in which it might be criticized. Is the theory you have discussed an adequate view of the issue of corporate social responsibility? Defend your answer.

· Discuss the claim that individuals have a moral right to be employed, including the arguments in support of that claim and the criticisms of those arguments. Do you believe there is such a moral right? Why or why not?

· Discuss the issue of due process in the workplace. What are the arguments for and against the doctrine of due process, and how have defenders of the doctrine responded to the arguments against it? Should employees have due process rights in the workplace? Defend your answer.

By requiring that you answer one of these essay questions, I am assessing your ability to engage in informed moral reasoning about the issue at hand. In studying for this portion of the test, I recommend that you practice composing essays that explain the arguments and other moral considerations relevant to each issue and that incorporate relevant facts (from the lecture notes and/or the textbook) where appropriate.

I expect that you will spend between 20 and 25 minutes on this essay during the 50 minutes you will have to take the test. I realize that, for some essay questions on this study guide, we may have covered more material than you could write in that length of time. So in preparing for the test, you should select which arguments, moral issues, and relevant facts you plan to discuss while writing your answers. It is unwise to study by simply reading through the lecture notes and textbook again and again and then attempt to compose an essay for the first time “on the fly,” while taking the test. In preparing to take the test, you should, at the very least, construct an outline of each of the essays you may be asked to write. I recommend that you go beyond simply constructing outlines and actually practice writing your essays as much as possible while preparing for the test.