Ethical Issue and Decision Making - Business Ethics

Running head: BUSINESS ETHICS
Business Ethics
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BUSINESS ETHICS1
Topic: Ethical issue and decision making
Ethics is necessary in every business. Most companies follow certain ethical standard
in order to foster positive practice. Conforming to certain ethical standards also ensure the
company retain their image and increase consumer trust (Herschel, Richard, and Virginia M.
Miori, pp.31-36). In most cases, ethical decision making is making the choice between two
alternatives that are equally unpleasant. One such issue came to my knowledge from the
recent newspaper and media channel news. The news circulates that the well-known actress
Felicity Huffman and 50 other parents were charged by the US court for paying bribe to
education counselors for creating false or influenced results for their children ("College
Admissions Scandal". Nytimes.Com). When the news came into focus the reason became
quite clear. In most prestigious universities, the authority prefers the candidates who have
family history with that college. This makes it difficult for emerging rich to get their children
admitted to a reputable university. Still, their dream and desire to get their children into a
reputable institution so that they are able to achieve better in future is indomitable within all
parents. The education counselors take the advantage of these situation and falsify tests, help
the students cheat and in many ways ensure that their paper is leniently checked so that the
student’s admission gets confirmed.
The problem here has many layers. The very first ethical issue that appears is the
bribery (Crossan, Mazutis and Seijts, pp. 567-581). Paying money in order to falsify exam
results and outcome is extremely unethical. These parents that have been accused of the deed
have money as most of them are rich. There is no hope for the middle class or the poorer
section of the society to get their children into these colleges even if they want to. On the
other hand are the counselor that take the money are also committing an unethical act. They
are serving their own money making purpose and in the process, corrupting the education
system. Due to this practice, many deserving candidates do not get the chance to read in those

BUSINESS ETHICS2
institutions. The colleges that are in question are also to be blamed. The admission process
should be based on purely merit, though, in this case, the institutions are showing favoritism
towards their former students. This cycle is a vicious cycle and is unlikely to and. When the
case went to court, most accused were fined a large sum of money and only a symbolic time
in jail. In case of Felicity Huffman, it seemed as if she would receive a harsher sentence. Due
to her notoriety, the decision was becoming biased. In this regard, the judiciary was also
performing their responsibility unethically. They are supposed to be just and fair, devoid of
any discrimination, which in this case did not happen. The lawyer of the actress had to plead
her case severely before she was given the same punishment as others.
In this whole issue, there are several ethical theories that can explain the situation.
These theories and other counter theories can also be used to reach to possible solutions. The
most important is utilitarianism. Utilitarianism concerns itself with the concept suggested by
its name, utility. In this theory, the believers do things based on the outcome only (Mill,
pp.337-383). It does not matter for them about the long term impact of their decision. It is a
relatively new concept that has emerged due to postmodern culture and the recent popularity
of self-serving mentality of the millennial. Another concept that is related to this situation is
egoism. Egoism is the bass of this self-serving mentality. It speaks of taking decisions that
benefit the self (Burgess-Jackson, pp.529-542). In this case, both the parents and the
education consultants followed a mix of utilitarian as well as egoistic ethics. The parents
wanted to fulfill their one desire to see their children in renowned universities. They had the
means to afford and thus, they paid large sums of money to achieve their end. The
educationists too, saw huge monetary gain and fueled the whole fiasco. This ordeal is
considered as extremely unethical and destroys the idea of educational integrity. The
universities involved in this scam have refused to take blame though they are not completely