Ians Decision

When evaluating Ian’s dilemma regarding the illegal cover up of overbilling, fraudulent contracts and

illegal awarding of funds, it is apparent he is confronted with a multitude of ethical issues. However, his

position requires he take the proper steps in ensuring his agency and its employee partake in the ethical

behaviors that are for the good of the country and its citizens. It is evident the government agency is

involved in the practice of fraud, corruption, misappropriation of government funds and war

profiteering. It is Mr. Stalwart’s duty to reveal this cover up, although the agency has attempted to

appeal to his emotions and implement a straw man fallacy it is nothing more than an attempt to further

conceal the already apparent illegal acts. Since the effort has been made to silence Mr. Stalwart there

are several options of action he can take to resolve the central issue. Appealing to someone within the

government who his outside of the agency and whose ethical principles and position differ from those

involved would be a logical choice, he also could anonymously provide a tip to a higher authority within

the agency thus following the chain of command, however, if an attempt is made to silence his

discoveries the wisest and ultimate option would be to contact the media with his findings. Remaining

silent and refusing to reveal the truth would further jeopardize the institution of government, future

politicians, the military, The United States and its citizens, other countries, those involved in the illegal

activity and Mr. Stalwart himself.

The United States and its government over the past several years have lost any credibility amongst other

nations do to these sorts of misconducts and strong arm mentalities. Many people have lost faith in

their government, and the world has been confronted with a multitude of violence towards their fellow

man and in the process politicians believe there is no consequence to their actions or decisions. Perhaps

this is due in part to similar unethical situations that Mr. Stalwart is now confronted with. These acts are

a direct representation of war profiteering, those involved line their pockets with government funds,

while thousands of young women and men are losing their lives. These greedy and unethical practices

and the politicians who partake in them jeopardize their said constituents, the economy, the integrity of

our nation and the future safety of our world. It’s apparent this agency has forgotten the purpose of

government, which is “for the people by the people” , these scenarios and stakeholders are what Mr.

Stalwart needs to consider when deciding his plan of action.

In identifying and applying the ethical principle to this issue, Mr. Stalwart could theorize and apply

several, For example: “Act Utilitarianism” maintains that the right thing to do in any situation would be

to take action which produces the greatest possible good for the greatest number. He could also apply

“Rule Utilitarianism” in his decision process; this theory maintains the right thing to do is follow the

moral rule that would produce the greatest possible good. Thirdly, the theory of “Natural Rights” is

justified and relevant to the issue because it emphasizes exclusive protection of and reliance upon basic

human rights, its principle duty is to avoid violating the rights of others.

According to Immanuel Kant, he believed “we don’t have to rely on authorities to tell us what is right or

wrong we can figure it out for ourselves” This theory could be interpreted from two different

perspectives