- Government Involvement Bioethics: Environmental Ethics Go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GviNafYdS4 to view a video covering information about environmental ethics and how it relates to morality. Reference Leopold Foundation. (2012, June, 3). Bioethics and environmental value- How we reason about things that morally matter [Video]. Retrieved from the YouTube Web site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GviNafYdS4 Social Contract Theory Go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHyn8MWssWc to view a video showing social contract theory from the conservative and liberal points of view. This video is approximately 7 minutes in length. Reference Storm Clouds Gathering. (2013, May, 30). The truth about the social contract [Video]. Retrieved from the YouTube Web site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHyn8MWssWc Rousseau and Social Contract Go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M40waSvXwBU to view a video that covers Rousseau's view on social contract theory. This video is approximately 12 minutes in length. Reference Alfred, J. (2010, October, 22). The classics: Rousseau -- Social contract [Video]. Retrieved from the YouTube Web site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M40waSvXwBU Laws and Ethics Law is a system of principles and rules of human conduct prescribed by society and enforced by public authority. This definition applies to both criminal law and civil law. Ethics is the study of standards of conduct and moral judgment. When referring to a profession, ethics is the group's principles or code. Some may view the link between law and ethics as one to one—what is lawful is ethical and what is unlawful is unethical. This is not necessarily true. The law is the minimum performance that is expected in society. Professions demand that members comply with the law but simultaneously hold members to a higher standard. Thus, a profession's code of ethics may require its group's members to act in ways that are different from members of society. In this presentation, we examine ethics in the health professions by focusing first on human development and the foundation of law, and second, on reasoning in the world of values. Human Value Development and the Foundation of Law Moral philosophies and derivative principles provide a framework to hone and use a personal ethic to analyze and solve ethical problems. Like philosophers, clinicians and administrators are unlikely to agree fully with only one moral philosophy. Most will be eclectic in developing or reconsidering a personal ethic. In general, however, the principles of respect for persons, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice are useful in defining relationships among patients, managers, and organizations. These principles may carry different weights and take precedence over one another, depending on the issue being evaluated. Justice requires, however, that they be consistently ordered and weighted when similar problems are considered ...

1. - Government Involvement
Bioethics: Environmental Ethics
Go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GviNafYdS4 to
view a video covering information about environmental ethics
and how it relates to morality.
Reference
Leopold Foundation. (2012, June, 3). Bioethics and
environmental value- How we reason about things that morally
matter [Video]. Retrieved from the YouTube Web site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GviNafYdS4
Social Contract Theory

2. Go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHyn8MWssWc to
view a video showing social contract theory from the
conservative and liberal points of view. This video is
approximately 7 minutes in length.
Reference
Storm Clouds Gathering. (2013, May, 30). The truth about the
social contract [Video]. Retrieved from the YouTube Web site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHyn8MWssWc
Rousseau and Social Contract
Go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M40waSvXwBU to
view a video that covers Rousseau's view on social contract
theory. This video is approximately 12 minutes in length.
Reference

3. Alfred, J. (2010, October, 22). The classics: Rousseau -- Social
contract [Video]. Retrieved from the YouTube Web site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M40waSvXwBU
Laws and Ethics
Law is a system of principles and rules of human conduct
prescribed by society and enforced by public authority. This
definition applies to both criminal law and civil law. Ethics is
the study of standards of conduct and moral judgment. When
referring to a profession, ethics is the group's principles or
code. Some may view the link between law and ethics as one to
one—what is lawful is ethical and what is unlawful is unethical.
This is not necessarily true. The law is the minimum
performance that is expected in society. Professions demand
that members comply with the law but simultaneously hold
members to a higher standard. Thus, a profession's code of
ethics may require its group's members to act in ways that are
different from members of society. In this presentation, we
examine ethics in the health professions by focusing first on
human development and the foundation of law, and second, on
reasoning in the world of values.
Human Value Development and the Foundation of Law

4. Moral philosophies and derivative principles provide a
framework to hone and use a personal ethic to analyze and solve
ethical problems. Like philosophers, clinicians and
administrators are unlikely to agree fully with only one moral
philosophy. Most will be eclectic in developing or reconsidering
a personal ethic. In general, however, the principles of respect
for persons, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice are useful
in defining relationships among patients, managers, and
organizations. These principles may carry different weights and
take precedence over one another, depending on the issue being
evaluated. Justice requires, however, that they be consistently
ordered and weighted when similar problems are considered.
Moral motivation, or motivation to do the right thing, may come
from many sources and take many forms. Our system of law, for
example, is a set of determinants which is in place to shape the
behaviors of people. Like ethics, law is guided by fundamental
principles. The first of these is a concern for justice and
fairness. The second is plasticity and change. Although the law
from the outside is seemingly solid, it is a shifting process that
reacts to its environment. The third principle is that acts are
judged on the universal standard of the reasonable person and
the fourth principle is that of individual rights and
responsibilities. In other words, law like ethics, shifts, reacts,
maintains fluidity and depends on a system of human reasoning
and moral values.
Reasoning in the World of Values

5. Five theories of moral philosophy are used rather extensively in
Western culture: teleology, deontology, natural law, virtue
ethics, and casuistry. These moral philosophies provide a basis
to study ethics and help determine or reason the moral rightness
or wrongness of a decision. Teleology judges actions by their
consequences, thus their utility or disutility. Utility theory is, in
fact, the most prominent modern theory of morality. Deontology
holds that the end result is unimportant because human beings
have duties to one another as moral agents, and these duties
take precedence over consequences. Deontology promotes
practicing the Golden Rule—do unto others as you would have
them do unto you. Natural law states that ethics must be
grounded in a concern for human good and be guided by
rational thought to do what is right, which may be reflected in
statutes. Casuistry uses case-based reasoning and a body of
experience to lead toward a consensus and greater certainty in
identifying morally right decisions. Finally, virtue ethics
implies a character trait in which one can be trusted to act in a
moral way.
Ethical Issues in Society
Introduction

6. Small Town Big State University is considering a proposal to
eliminate the SAT as an application requirement for admission.
The main reason for this change is that the university wants to
curb the dramatic decrease in minority enrollment. Currently,
the number of all non-Caucasian students is approximately one
fourth of the university population.
Many studies conducted by a consortium of universities have
identified the SAT as the primary reason for low minority
acceptance rates in the university system. Studies have shown
that the SAT exam is skewed in favor of higher income families
because such students are able to enroll in expensive SAT
preparation courses. Therefore, in lieu of the SAT admission
criteria, the university proposals depend heavily on academic
achievement such as grades and other forms of achievement.
Critics believe that the SAT is the most objective method of
determining the similarities and differences in students because
the schools are not consistent throughout the country. In
addition, many of these critics believe that elimination of the
test in the admission process makes the process more subjective
and is an unethical form of affirmative action (Cases for the
Seventh, n.d.).
Do you think that Small Town Big State University should
eliminate the SAT in the admission process? Is this proposal
affirmative action?

7. Discrimination
On July 4, 1776, the founding fathers of the United States of
America signed the Declaration of Independence. Although this
document clearly provided that "all men" are created equal, the
history of the United States has demonstrated that theory is not
always sufficient to overcome prejudice. Discrimination is an
extreme form of prejudice, which happens when one prejudges
another person (usually negatively). When one discriminates, he
or she makes a distinction based upon race, religion, sexual
orientation, disability, ethnicity, and age. Due to the
interactions between the majority groups with the Native
Americans, the internment of the Japanese, and the civil rights
movement for African-Americans, it is clear that discrimination
has a very prominent place in U.S. history.
Affirmative Action
On March 6, 1961, President John F. Kennedy formally created
the affirmative action program by creating the Committee on
Equal Employment Opportunity. Affirmative action was
designed to be a corrective measure for past governmental and
social injustices. These real and/or perceived injustices include
systematic discrimination and prejudice against demographic
groups based upon race, gender, or ethnicity. Under the doctrine
of affirmative action, one method of correcting any past wrongs
is to allow a means for members of the underrepresented and
formally unprotected classes to have access to education and

8. employment. Currently, there are many who are fighting against
the affirmative action programs established in the private and
public sector, arguing that these programs are really a form of
reverse discrimination.
Typically, when people think about affirmative action, issues of
race immediately come to mind; however, in reality, studies
have shown that the biggest beneficiaries of equal opportunity
programs are women.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment law was originally drafted to ensure that all
employees were free to work in an environment that was not
hostile. When this legislation was introduced initially, the
thought was that it was intended to allow women to work in an
environment free from unwanted advances, lewd behavior, and
uncomfortable situations caused by male superiors. However,
history and court cases have shown that this legislation is
applicable to both genders because there have been many men
who have used the legislation in litigation. Clearly the use of
this legislation by men usurps the original premise that women
needed this legislation because they were more vulnerable than
men.
Reference

9. Cases for the seventh intercollegiate ethics bowl. (n.d.).
Retrieved from the Indiana University Web site:
http://www.indiana.edu/~rbm/ebcases2001&2.htm
Unit 4 - Discussion Board
Type: Discussion Board
Unit: Government Involvement
Deliverable Length: 300–500 words
Assignment Objectives
Define the following ethical concepts and theories: virtue
ethics, Kant’s Categorical Imperative, ethical relativism,
utilitarianism, corporate social responsibility, and social
contract theory.
Identify and defend moral and ethical theories to ethical case
studies and current events.

10. Solve ethical dilemmas from case studies and current events
using moral and ethical theories.
Identify ethical quandaries regarding government involvement
and laws impacting organizations’ day-to-day operations and
business decisions.
Primary Discussion Response: Within the Discussion Board
area, write 300–500 words that respond to the following
questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be
the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be
substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.
Review the following links:
Link 1 - http://www.nbcnews.com/video/rock-
center/52280748#52280748

11. Link 2 - https://nfb.org/fair-wages
Address the following questions in your response:
* Define and apply social contract theory.
* Is it appropriate for organizations like the one in the
video to use a U.S. law (Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938) to
offer low wages for its disabled workers? Why or why not?
* How does the current treatment of disabled workers from
the video contradict with social contract theory?
A minimum of 1 reference should be used to reinforce your
thoughts. Be sure to include it both as an in-text citation and on
your reference list at the end of your discussion post.
References
National Federation of the Blind. (n.d.). Fair wages for workers
with disabilities. Retrieved from https://nfb.org/fair-wages

12. Rock Center. (2013, June 21). Activists say Goodwill exploits
workers with penny wages [Video file]. Retrieved from the NBC
News Web site: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/rock-
center/52280748# 52280748