This discussion assignment requires you to submit at least four posts : an initial post, two reply posts to fellow students in threads other than your own, and a revised post. Prepare: In your first post in this discussion, you will identify and apply one ethical theory of your choosing to a current problem in business, also of your choosing. Start by reviewing your notes on the Week One course material and your completed work for Week One. Then, choose one of the three ethical theories—i.e., utilitarianism, deontology, or virtue ethics—on the basis of your thoughtfully considered preference in general and independent of the business problem that you will select here. Keep in mind that you will employ this ethical theory for supporting your position not only for this discussion, but also for this week’s assignment and the Final Project. To prepare for your selection of the current problem in business, look at the list of required articles and multimedia which are divided in the six case-categories as follows: Banking (Lehman Brothers) Environment (BP) GMOs (Monsanto) Pharmaceuticals (Merck) Gender Discrimination (Goodyear) Factory Farms (Perdue) Choose the case-category that you find the most interesting and note that each category also corresponds to one particular case. Please choose carefully because your choice for this discussion will establish the case that will be central to your argumentative essay this week as well as your Final Project in Week Five. It is recommended that you leaf through all the required resources indicated for the possible case-categories that you identify as possible contenders before making your final choice. Reflect: Once you have selected your ethical theory and your case category, articulate the characteristics of the economic system (or combination of both systems) that serves as the setting for the case presented in the case category sources. Given this context, examine how the nation’s laws affect the operations of the business. Next, identify the characteristics of your chosen ethical theory and its notion of the moral good. For the latter, you will need to review again the PowerPoint that was introduced in Week One, which is also listed in this week’s Required Resources and it is titled The Moral Good in Three Traditional Ethical Theories. Then, think how you would apply the ethical theory to the specific problem presented in the case category sources. Write: Start your post by (a) identifying the issue or problem that you want to address in the case that you have selected and providing an impartial presentation of the controversy, (b) articulating briefly the characteristics of the economic system that serves as the setting, and (c) examining the laws that affect the operations of the business. The following illustration should help. Consider, for example, the case of Uber that we examined in Week Two. If the California decision establishes a precedent for similar claims, then Uber would have to .

1. This discussion assignment requires you to submit
at least four posts
: an initial post, two reply posts to fellow students in threads
other than your own, and a revised post.
Prepare:
In your first post in this discussion, you will identify and apply
one ethical theory of your choosing to a current problem in
business, also of your choosing. Start by reviewing your notes
on the Week One course material and your completed work for
Week One. Then, choose one of the three ethical theories—i.e.,
utilitarianism, deontology, or virtue ethics—on the basis of your
thoughtfully considered preference in general and independent
of the business problem that you will select here. Keep in mind
that you will employ this ethical theory for supporting your
position not only for this discussion, but also for this week’s
assignment and the Final Project.
To prepare for your selection of the current problem in
business, look at the list of required articles and multimedia
which are divided in the six case-categories as follows:
Banking (Lehman Brothers)
Environment (BP)
GMOs (Monsanto)
Pharmaceuticals (Merck)
Gender Discrimination (Goodyear)
Factory Farms (Perdue)
Choose the case-category that you find the most interesting and
note that each category also corresponds to one particular case.
Please choose carefully because your choice for this discussion
will establish the case that will be central to your argumentative
essay this week as well as your Final Project in Week Five. It is
recommended that you leaf through all the required resources
indicated for the possible case-categories that you identify as
possible contenders before making your final choice.

2. Reflect:
Once you have selected your ethical theory and your case
category, articulate the characteristics of the economic system
(or combination of both systems) that serves as the setting for
the case presented in the case category sources. Given this
context, examine how the nation’s laws affect the operations of
the business.
Next, identify the characteristics of your chosen ethical theory
and its notion of the moral good. For the latter, you will need to
review again the PowerPoint that was introduced in Week One,
which is also listed in this week’s Required Resources and it is
titled The Moral Good in Three Traditional Ethical Theories.
Then, think how you would apply the ethical theory to the
specific problem presented in the case category sources.
Write:
Start your post by (a) identifying the issue or problem that you
want to address in the case that you have selected and providing
an impartial presentation of the controversy, (b) articulating
briefly the characteristics of the economic system that serves as
the setting, and (c) examining the laws that affect the operations
of the business.
The following illustration should help. Consider, for example,
the case of Uber that we examined in Week Two. If the
California decision establishes a precedent for similar claims,
then Uber would have to do business as an employer and not
merely as a service that pairs consumers with ride sharing
services by means of a unique phone app. Accordingly, the law
would require Uber to reimburse its drivers for certain costs and
perhaps offer benefits. Take in consideration, then, the legal
setting for the case that you have chosen. Does the case take
place in the United States or another country? What are the laws
that are relevant to the problem under examination? Keep in
mind that all laws are constraints on our actions, whether those
by individuals or corporations. The relevant laws, then, will be
(a) any laws that present not only a constraint on the company’s

3. operations, (b) any laws that are being violated by the
corporation, or (c) any laws that unfairly limit the goods and
services that can be offered to and are demanded by consumers.
In a second paragraph, formulate a sentence that presents the
moral position that you want to defend in regard to the issue or
problem introduced in the previous paragraph.
In the same paragraph, present the ethical theory that you
choose to employ. Your choices are utilitarianism, deontology,
and virtue ethics, and the necessary material is included in the
required readings and media. Make sure to identify the
characteristics of the ethical theory, and include in-text
citations and full references in APA form at the end of the post.
Once you have done this, apply the ethical theory to your
selected case by explaining how it lends itself to the moral
position that you are defending.
Revise
: Read the feedback provided by your professor to your initial
post, either directly to you or to your fellow students. Use this
as an opportunity to learn from your professor, especially with
regard to the best ways to apply the course material and your
research to your analysis. On the basis of what you have learned
in this process, post a revision of your initial post that applies
the additional knowledge that you have gained.
Remember that your grade depends on the quality of your initial
and revised responses, not just on the submission of an attempt
at improvement. It is thus to your advantage to post the best
initial post you can and then to also improve that best effort as
much as you can through revision. Taking this process seriously
will help you develop the skills you need to do well on the final
project.
Requirements for Your Initial Post:
Your initial post should be at least

4. 400 words
in length and have citations and references in APA notation. It
should address the prompt in its entirety. This means that you
should not split your response to the prompt in multiple posts.
Your examination should be both thorough and succinct. This is
a combination that demands time and thought, so give yourself
sufficient time to draft and revise.
Please be advised that until you post, you will not see what your
fellow students are posting. Once you submit your post, you
will be able to view the posts from your other classmates. You
can then proceed to reply to at least two different threads based
on the required material for this discussion.
Your list of references for your initial post should include the
videos and the other required reading material pertaining to
your chosen subject heading, as well as the ethics, economic,
and law components of Weeks One and Two, the Instructor
Guidance, and any other announcements presented to you by
your professor. In addition, your references should include any
other sources that you consult to inform yourself about your
chosen case category (but not Wikipedia or similar sources).
Your initial post for this discussion should be submitted
no later than the end of Thursday (11:59 pm, U.S. Mountain
time)
.
Requirements for Replies to Other Threads
:
At least two of the four posts required should be in the form of
replies to fellow classmates in threads other than your own.
Each of your replies should be at least
200 words and informed by the required course material
. As such, the replies must have citations and references in APA
notation. Your list of references for each reply should include
all of the course material that has informed your reply, in
addition to any research that you have obtained on your own.

5. Your replies should focus on the specific examination presented
by your fellow student and these should include an examination
of whether or not the characteristics of the ethical theory and/or
economic system were identified well, and whether or not their
application and analysis were also carried out successfully.
Providing such an examination is not an attack on your fellow
student but an attempt to work together with your fellow student
toward the better understanding of the ethical theories
employed, as well as their application.
Requirements for
Revising
your Initial Post:
Submit a revision of your initial post by either replying to your
own post, or to the feedback provided to you by your professor.
There is no minimum word requirement for your revised initial
post. But you should always explain the reasons for revising
your post so that it is clear what you are doing. If you are
revising only a few words, or an ethical theory, you should
avoidsubmitting a post with vague language such as: “another
ethical theory works better here” or “I now understand how to
do the analysis.” It is important to recognize that no one can
read your mind so you need to provide the setting for your
revision (Why? What prompted it? What course material
informed you?).
Your revised initial post is your chance to correct any
oversights or errors in your initial post, or show your improved
understanding of the material and its applications to the case at
hand. You may, for example, come to the realization that
another ethical theory is better than the one that you initially
chose. Accordingly, your revision should indicate that you
chose another ethical theory and an explanation why you find
the replacement more suitable. You may also find the need to
revise any relevant portions of your analysis. Or, you might
have realized that your conclusion did not take into account

6. important factors necessary for your evaluation of the situation.
You should maximize the improvement of your initial post by
employing your professor’s feedback as a guide
. Keep in mind that you may not always receive direct feedback
from your professor. But your professor will have submitted
feedback in the discussion to other posts. So read your
professor’s feedback whether it is addressed to you directly or
to other fellow students. This will give you much to think about
and apply to your own post.
If your professor or a fellow classmate responds to your revised
initial post, and on this basis, you find good reason to submit
yet another revision, then by all means do so. The more you
improve your initial post, the more you will benefit both in
terms of your learning and most likely your grade.