Ethics Scenario

Each team should respond in paragraph form to the questions that follow the scenarios presented below. Any disagreements or complications that occur within the team regarding the correct response should be noted in the Learning Team Reflection Worksheet for the week.

Individual

After the teams have completed their responses, each member should consider his or her individual responses and reactions to the various ethical perspectives. Rate yourself on the scale at the end of this document for each perspective. For each ethical perspective (duty-based, goal-based, rights-based, and human-nature), write a reflective paragraph in which you express your personal ethical statement regarding that perspective. The paragraph should state the numerical rating you gave yourself on the scale, and then supply an explanation for why you rated yourself at that level.

SCENARIOS

Duty-based (Deontological):

1. Donna and Michael are new teammates on a Learning Team. As they begin to work on a research paper for COMM 215, Donna begins to believe that Michael doesn’t take the assignment seriously. Wanting the best possible grade, Donna begins to talk with Michael about the things he ought to be doing, about his duty to the team, and about how he should be behaving. She establishes a set of rules for the team, which Michael promptly breaks. From an ethical point of view, how can these teammates learn to work together, especially since Donna appears to be very duty based and Michael does not?

2. Stephanie believes very strongly that it is wrong to tell a lie about anything. On the final night of class, before the final presentation, one of Stephanie’s teammates tells her that one of the team will not be in class, but that the team is to tell the facilitator that the teammate’s mother is ill and she had to fly home. In reality, the teammate is off with her boyfriend because “they might get married.” Because she believes it is wrong to lie, how might Stephanie handle this situation? Why should she or why should she not go along with her teammates?

Goal-based (Teleological):

1. Corin is completing his University of Phoenix work and cannot wait to graduate. In his capstone class, Corin blows off his team because “it doesn’t matter anymore.” How is Corin’s attitude and lack of willingness to work impacting the good of the whole team?

2. Darcie is new to University of Phoenix and very much wants to help her team in her marketing class, although she understands very little about marketing and is confused about the issues. She really wants to drop the class, but decides to stay “for the good of the team.” Is she really acting on a goal-based ethic by giving