How would you apply the first formulation of Kant’s categorical imperative to a Business environment?

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Unit 5 Individual Project
Deliverable Length: 3–4 pages
Details:
Read the following article by Jay Feldman and answer the questions that follow:

There was a time in the not so distant past when many, if not most, publicly held corporations, including the one for which I worked, embraced in their mission statements, codes of conduct and similar pronouncements a responsibility to serve multiple stakeholders: their stockholders, of course, but also their employees as well as customers, suppliers and the community in which they operated. Today, all too many companies, in deed and often in word, articulate a single-minded obligation to serve only their investors by focusing exclusively on profitability.

As a result, we have witnessed corporate downsizings and outsourcing of jobs; restructuring of pension plans or their complete termination; reductions in health care benefits; and wage stagnation in spite of increased productivity. Domestic suppliers have been squeezed or, more often, replaced by cheap foreign sources. Customers seeking service are confronted with automated answering machines and foreign call centers. Environmental concerns are viewed as obstacles to profitability.

At the same time, the senior managers of these enterprises have seen their compensation grow exponentially as a reward for their perceived contributions to the bottom line.

Sadly, what these corporations fail to appreciate is how their obsession with the bottom line is shrinking their markets, both domestic and foreign. The large number of people unemployed, underemployed, afraid of losing their jobs or without the means to pay all their bills perpetuates the present worldwide economic crisis.

Add to this the unwillingness of businesses to pay their fair share of taxes to support education, health care and the infrastructure that is critical to their success. In the end, these self-serving practices endanger the very profitability their practitioners seek to enhance.

We need to return to the earlier model of the corporation as a good citizen. Doing so can help ensure the long-term viability of our free enterprise system.

JAY N. FELDMAN

Port Washington, N.Y., Aug. 27, 2012

The writer is a retired corporate lawyer.

Considering the passage above, write a paper of 3–4 pages that addresses the following:

1. Discuss Alfred North Whitehead’s statement: “What is morality in any given time and place? It is what the majority then and there happen to like and immorality is what they dislike.” Consider the following questions as guide:

a. Businesses can have ethical standards, but Businesses are not moral agents. Do you agree or disagree?

b. Is it true that the “bottom line” of business is profit and profit alone?

c. In business, are there other less tangible goals that are intrinsic to and just as important as making money?

d. Why should we be moral as individuals?

e. Why should a corporation or organization be moral?

2. How would you apply the first formulation of Kant’s categorical imperative to a Business environment?

Consider deontological ethics, teleological ethics, moral objectivism, and ethical relativism in your argument. Provide at least 3 valid reasons to support your argument. Also, be sure to include the following in your paper:

Identify your argument—or thesis statement—within the introduction of your paper.

Include definitions of utilitarianism, Categorical Imperatives, Process Philosophy, moral relativism, moral absolutism, ethical relativism, moral objectivism, deontological ethics, and teleological ethics.

Consider morality and ethics from the perspective of Alfred North Whitehead’s process philosophy, and Immanuel Kant’s universal categorical imperative. Could you argue that Businesses can have ethical standards, despite the fact that Businesses are not moral agents? Why or why not? Please explain.

Distinguish between descriptive and normative definitions of morality

Use proper grammar, spelling and punctuation.
You may find that you change your mind on the issue as you are writing your paper. That is fine, but be sure to present your ultimate decision at the beginning of the paper, and stick to it consistently throughout. This may require that you go back and change the first few paragraphs that contain your thesis statement.
Your argument should be clear, concise, and supported with logically valid claims.
Please submit your assignment.

For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.

Reference

Feldman, J. (2012, August 27). Sunday Dialogue: How Corporations Behave. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/opinion/sunday/sunday-dialogue-how-corporations-behave.html?ref=ethics
Points Possible: 100
Date Due: Sunday, Dec 09, 2012
Objective:
Identify different fields of philosophical enquiry
Submitted Files: Submit Assignment
Score: N/A
Instructor Comments: No comments have been made

Summarize the portions of Singer’s article you seek to engage/critique.

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Assignment 1: LASA 2—Critiquing an Article

For this project, you will compose a researched response to Peter Singer’s article “America’s Shame.” This assignment allows you to assess and defend the reasonableness of personal beliefs through critical assessment of Singer’s arguments and the presentation of your own, original arguments on the subject.

Review the following:

  • Singer, P. (2009). America’s shame. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 55(27), B6–B10. (EBSCO AN 37137370)
    http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.edmc.edu/docview/214643086?
    accountid=34899

Develop a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation summarizing the main points of the article. Complete the following:

  • Summarize the portions of Singer’s article you seek to engage/critique.
  • Using the tools of evaluation you have learned throughout the course, create an original argument to Singer’s article that advances your own thesis in light of Singer’s argument. Remember the nature of the stance is not important; you can agree or disagree with any point Singer makes within this article. The important thing is you construct a stance that clearly engages a portion of Singer’s text.
  • Support your argument with the use of original research. Use at least three credible, academic resources to support your positions.

Develop an 8–10-slide presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint format. Be sure to include two additional slides—one for the title and the other for references. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

Describe a useful application of this information in your life, and specify what behavioral or attitude changes you might make as a result.

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Due Thursday, April 28 (Week 13)

College students and mental illness

http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2010/08/students-mental-illness.aspx

Read the assigned article, then write a short essay (2-3 paragraphs) that include the following elements.  Please paste your completed essay into the comments section rather than attaching a separate file.

1. A paragraph that summarizes the topic in your own words

2. One or two paragraphs that address one or more of the following objectives:

a. Describe a useful application of this information in your life, and specify what behavioral or attitude changes you might make as a result.

b. Discuss possible sources of bias that might have influenced the results (sample bias, experimenter bias, cultural bias, etc)

c. Discuss the generalizability of the research—do you think the result applies to all people, or just those who are similar in some way to the sample that was studied in the research?

d. Discuss the ethics of the research: was the research ethical? How might ethics influence the way that the research was conducted?

e. Briefly describe an experiment that you might do as a follow up study. Explain what additional information you would gain from the study that you propose.

f. Find a follow up study on the topic that has been done by another researcher, explain what the study adds to the original research, and provide an abstract and citation for the study.

· What has been the status of women in the United States throughout history?

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 Associate Program Material

 

Diversity Organizations Worksheet

 

Search the Internet for information related to the following:

 

·         Women’s rights organizations

·         Equality organizations

·         Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) rights organizations

 

Note. You may also refer to the Internet Resource Directory of Racial and Ethnic Groups.

 

 

Complete the following table with notes and thoughts related to your findings:

 

Site Thoughts/Notes
   
   
   

 

Use your notes to aid in your responses to the questions below. You may need additional resources from the University Library to complete this activity.

 

 

Write a 750 to 1,050- word paper answering the following questions:

 

·         What has been the status of women in the United States throughout history?

·         What is the status of women in the U.S. today?

·         What are some examples of concepts or constructions of masculinity and femininity that you see in society and in media?

·         Historically, what has been the social status of GLBT people?

·         What is the status of GLBT people in the U.S. today?

·         What are some social and political issues relevant to women and GLBT people in the U.S.?

 

Provide citations for all the sources you use.

 

Submit this Diversity Organizations worksheet and your paper as instructed by your facilitator.