Reference no: EM132210284

Fact Scenario B: Fiona is invited to a training session at corporate headquarters. As she has no office, Karl allows her to work in an empty cubicle in which he sorts his files. She notices that Karl has left personnel files on the desk including one folder labeled "salaries and promotions." Rumor has it that male employees have been paid more than female employees. Fiona believes that it is "wrong" to open a supervisor's private files. On the other hand, Fiona would like to open the folder to see whether salaries are different between female and male employees because employees are not allowed to share salary and pay information with each other and, thus, it is difficult to uncover evidence of an unequal pay claim. Additionally, any delay in uncovering the pay differential will result in a longer period of pay inequity. This could disadvantage employees, since you can only get two years' worth of back pay from the issuance of the paycheck in which unequal pay was discovered. Looking at the files could help other employees more than it would harm them and thus benefit the common good.

Refer to Fact Scenario B:

1. Under Formalism/Deontology, Fiona would decide to leave the cubicle without opening the folder because it is wrong to look at ones supervisors' private files.

True

False

2. If Fiona used an outcome-based, utilitarian ethical framework, then it it likely that Fiona would protect the interests of the many employees who may have been subjected to discriminatory pay practices at the expense of the privacy interests of her supervisor.

True

False

3. Under Formalism, Fiona should

a. do nothing; it is really not her business.

b. secretly look in the folder, since her friends might have received unequal pay.

c. secretly look in the folder, since uncovering pay inequity will benefit society.

d. respect the privacy of her supervisor's files, but continue to work toward uncovering pay inequity.

4. Under Consequentialism or Utilitarianism, Fiona should

a. do nothing.

b. look in the folder to see if any of her friends in the company have been treated unfairly.

c. look in the folder for all evidence of pay inequity.

d. not look in the folder because it is wrong to violate her supervisor's privacy.

5. Identify the primary stakeholders who should be considered when Fiona makes her decision about whether to look in the folder.

a. Fiona and her supervisor.

b. Fiona, her supervisor, and the company.

c. Fiona and the employees who have received unequal pay at the company.

d. Fiona, her supervisor, the company, the employees who have received unequal pay at the company, and employees who might continue to be treated unequally if nothing is done to combat pay inequity.

6. When engaging in a duty-based ethical analysis, which of the following would Fiona have to consider in her analysis?

a. Fiona would have to consider only her duty to respect her supervisor's privacy.

b. Fiona would have to consider only her duty to help eliminate illegal and unethical employment discrimination and pay inequity at her place of employment.

c. Neither a nor b.

d. Both a and b.