A thoughtful argument for a claim about ethical business conduct.
The goal of this assignment is for you to provide a thoughtful argument for a claim about ethical
business conduct. While you should consider both sides of the debate, you need to ultimately
settle on a clear answer to the essay question. The focus of your essay should be primarily on
moral, rather than legal, issues.
The subject of your essay must be the following question:
Imagine a Canadian firm doing business in a northern Canadian community in which 10% of
working-age people are Indigenous (and almost all of the rest are white, with a very small number
of individuals of South Asian descent). Imagine the firm employs 5,000 people and only 94 of
them (about 2%) are Indigenous. Imagine that the firm is expanding, and looking to hire an
additional 200 employees over the coming year. When hiring, the company typically looks at work
experience, references, and other factors, using a points system with a maximum score of 10/10.
The higher your points, the more likely you are to be hired.
The firm is considering two plans:
Plan A) Announce that over the next year, all Indigenous job applicants will automatically have 3
extra points added to their score.
Plan B) During an interview process, all job applicants (Indigenous and non-indigenous) will be
asked about their lives and their work histories. Those that claim to have experienced significant
discrimination will have 1, 2, or 3 extra points added to their score.
Which process would be better, ethically, and why?
Sample Solution
People who are ethical are individuals who understand the difference between right and wrong and continually endeavor to set a positive example. In a corporate setting, ethical behavior refers to interactions with coworkers and customers that follow the ideals of honesty and fairness. Ethical people try to treat everyone they come into contact with in the same way they would want to be treated. The benefits of business ethics include helping your company create customer loyalty, prevent legal issues, and recruit and keep outstanding staff.
