I. Goal of the Papers

The goal of these papers is to for you to take everything you’ve learned in this course and apply it to a real-life business scenario. All papers will cover the same business scenario. The first two will address different topics addressed in the textbook. The content of the final paper will cover all of the content in the first two plus the two bonus topics. This give you a chance to perfect the first two papers and add your own personal touch.

Here are the general instructions:

• For Papers 1 and 2, aim for 1000-1500 words. 1500 words is the maximum.
• For the Final Paper, aim for 2500-3000 words. 3000 words is the maximum.
  • Revise in light of any comments you received on the first two papers and highlight those changes.
• Submit your paper on Canvas under Assignments.
• Please anonymize your project by removing your name from the file and the file name! (When possible, I try to grade anonymously to try to mitigate any implicit biases I may have.)

II. Picking the Business Scenario

You are free to pick almost any business scenario that interests you. It can be based on personal experiences, be a fictional scenario (perhaps borrowed from a book or movie), or pertain to a current event. Just make sure that you provide enough basic detail so that someone not familiar with the situation understands what’s going on.

Keep in mind when you pick your case, that you need to pick a case with enough complexity to fill out the required content. So, check out all of the content points for all three papers before picking your topic.

Lastly, there are some exceptions to the topics that you can pick. Here are the exceptions:

• You may not pick one of the case studies in the book (or any previous edition of the book).
• You may not pick one of the case studies from discussion.

III. Scoring

Points are allotted for each content letter. They are scored as follow:

• Full points: Followed instructions and demonstrated understanding of the scenario and relevant ethical considerations
• Partial points: Did not follow instructions or did not demonstrate understanding
• 0 points: Did not address a, b, etc.

IV. Pro tip!

Writing can be hard! If you encounter any difficulty, don’t hesitate to send me an email and we’ll work on your paper together.

Final Paper Content

Include all of the following content in your paper. Points and length suggestions are included. 20 total points are possible.

• Paper 1 Content (8 pts)
• Paper 2 Content (4 pts)
• Argument (5 pts)
• Objection (3 pts)
• Bonus Topic 1 (5 pts)
• Bonus Topic 2 (5 pts)
• Other (up to 1 pt subtracted for each)

• a-g

• m-o

• You can draw from the arguments you used in the first two paper.
  • Your argument might be slightly different since it covers all of the points in the first two papers.
• Remember the keys to a good argument:
  • Aim for a short, clear argument—it should be no more than three premises. (You can number them if you’d like.
  • Offer brief support for each premise.
  • Remember, this is an exercise in moral reasoning where you arrive at a particular moral judgment (i.e., the answer to your question). Presumably, that means that some of your premises should involve general moral principles and some should involve factual claims.
  • Also remember that the best arguments are valid, sound, and cogent! So try to make sure that your premises guarantee your conclusion, that your premises are true, and that they are likely to be accepted as true.
• Suggested length: 1-2 paragraphs
• What is the strongest objection to your argument?
  • Hopefully, you’ve given a valid argument, so the objection presumably will attempt to show that one of the premises is false.
• Why is the objection ultimately unsuccessful?
• Suggested length: 1-2 paragraphs
• Now that you know the answer to your question, how are you going to go about implementing it?
  • Adopt the point of view of the actor the question concerns. (E.g., if you wrote about a situation you’ve faced, talk about how you are going to go about trying to get the answer implemented; if you wrote about what a particular company should do, you can pretend to be the CEO of that company; etc.)
• Address potential obstacles
• Suggested length: 1-2 paragraphs
• What does your work life mean in the context of your entire life?
• What do your actions in your work life mean in the context of your ethical life?
• Suggested length: 2 paragraphs

• Organization
  • Make sure that your paper is organized.
  • You can use sections headings such as “Question” or “Background” if you’d like.
• Revisions
  • Highlight all the parts you revised from the first two papers (otherwise I will assume you did not change anything).
• Clarity
  • Write so that all of your points are clear to the reader. If it helps, imagine that your reader is one of your classmates.
• Conciseness
  • Don’t go over 3000 words
• Citations
  • If you use any outside resources, cite them. You don’t have to worry about citation format, just include a footnote that says where you got the idea or information.
  • If you use outside resources, include a bibliography at the end.

  2500 word