Deliberation Overview
This deliberation was begun on Thursday, September 1, 2005
This history was compiled on Sunday, November 22, 2009
Describe the Situation
I was recently recruited to the fraternity Kappa Chi Sigma during the Spring Rush. One of the traditions I looked forward too when I first attended DU was the See-Saw-a-Thon. This is a charity event put on mostly by the Greek System during which every fraternity and sorority on campus builds a seesaw that represents their house. Two members of the house must be see-sawing at all times to win the competition. However, our fraternity is planning to play a prank on a competing house. While this is not officially in our house’s record, it has been a tradition to play some prank on at least one house. This year, we are planning to sneak into the yard of the opposing house and set fire to their completed see-saw. While I do want to maintain brotherhood with my fraternity, I can’t help but feel that this endangers many people in our community as we will be setting the fire and leaving. Could this fire become uncontrollable? If this is a tradition though, doesn’t that mean that the community accepts it? Where does tradition end and community safety begin?
Consequences Framework
Chosen standard for evaluating consequences:
maximizing overall happiness
This standard is most appropriate because:
This standard is most ethically appropriate because it maximizes the amount of happiness of everyone and decreases the amount unhappiness for everyone. Since everyone aims towards happiness and moves away from pain, the option that develops the most happiness will be the best choice.
Chosen course of action:
If you can't host an event - have your staff participate in a special community event and write a press release about that.
This action fulfills my chosen standard because:
Although I fully understand the importance of press and getting your company/cause out in front of people I also understand that it is the job of public relations professionals to write about/report on items that are going to serve the public interest. I have chosen that participating in a local event in order to show the public that you are supporting the community is the best way to go about getting news coverage and raising awareness without having to compromise your goal of ultimately serving the public interest.
This action is consistent with the expectations of any ethics codes that apply to your situation.
I will be able to do this action.
Other alternatives explored using the Consequences Framework:
If you can't host an event - have your staff participate in a special community event and write a press release about that.
Consequences: This could cause grief amongst your co-workers because they do not want to participate in an event outside of work hours that they are not getting paid to do. If you don't end up getting any press the people you work with might feel that they 'wasted' their time.
Explanation: Although I fully understand the importance of press and getting your company/cause out in front of people I also understand that it is the job of public relations professionals to write about/report on items that are going to serve the public interest. I have chosen that participating in a local event in order to show the public that you are supporting the community is the best way to go about getting news coverage and raising awareness without having to compromise your goal of ultimately serving the public interest.
Notes: This benefits the and the consequences are far fetched
Agree with Honor Code: yes
Suggest hosting an event to create news. Holding a special event can be a great way to get some free press and attention.
Consequences: This could cost the organization a little bit of money which your director may not approve of.
Notes: Holding an event allows interested parties from the public the opportunity to learn more at their will
Write a success story about an adoption that has taken place. A great way to get press is to pull on heart strings, so if you can uncover a great emotional success story the press might latch onto it.
Consequences: The press may not pick up on the story because it is something they have heard of before.
Notes: Although interesting this particular story may not bring a lot of value to its readers.
Call in a favor from news professionals. Sometimes they are looking for good community stories just as much as you are looking for good press opportunities.
Consequences: There may be another situation where your director asks you to call in a favor and you have already used it. Sometimes you have to advertise in exchange for a 'favor' which your director might not approve of.
Notes: Calling in a favor for something that is truly newsworthy is good but just to increase adoptions may not be enhancing the public good
Duties Framework
I have judged that the most dutiful conduct in my situation is:
The most dutiful action would be to not take part in the prank and to report the prank to the University. This fulfills my duty of Fidelity to the University, the Law, and Justice as well as Beneficence and Nonmaleficence to the community. It fulfills my duty of Self Improvement by making me a more moral person. While this won’t allow me to become a better person through the Fraternity, fulfilling actions that don’t treat people with respect, will not help me to improve myself. The other actions do not treat people with respect, so they are not dutiful.
This action is most dutiful because:
This action treats everyone with respect because it protects the rival Fraternity house from damage and it does not put any of the homes around the houses at risk for fire. While it does not look like fidelity to my Fraternity, I guess I shouldn’t be loyal to them when they require me to treat others without respect. This action treats my Fraternity with respect because it shows what their duties are to the DU and surrounding communities and gives them an incentive to follow those duties (fear of getting in trouble with the University). No duty that obligates me to treat others without respect is a duty, so this action does not represent a duty to my fraternity.
Anyone would be obligated to perform this action because:
WD Ross’ perspective on duties is what helped me to justify my decision. All the negative duties would have been broken had I followed by positive duties to my Fraternity. Since the negative duties must never be broken, those positive duties were not real duties because they obligated me to break my negative duties.
This alternative is consistent with the expectations of any ethics codes that apply to your situation.
I will be able to do this action.
Ranking of specific duties explored using this framework:
Beneficence
Definition: Duty to do good acts and promote people's happiness.
Action: The duty of Beneficence applies to this situation because I would have the duty to create news in order to get the puppies placed in homes and keep everyone happy.
Impact: Beneficence would end up helping the puppies get placed in homes and keep my boss happy. Although it might require the media to consider reporting on something that isn't newsworthy.
conflicts with Justice
Fidelity
Definition: Duty to keep your promises and prior commitments.
Action: The duty of Fidelity applies to this situation because it is my job to act as the communications person and create 'buzz'
Impact: Fidelity would also end up helping the puppies find good homes.
conflicts with Justice
Nonmaleficence
Definition: Duty to do no harm and to prevent harm.
Action: The duty of Nonmaleficence applies to this situation because in order to prevent harm to the puppies we need to get them placed into homes.
Impact: The duty of Nonmaleficence might make me compromise and write a story that I wouldn't consider newsworthy but would still help the puppies get good homes.
Justice
Definition: Duty to give each person equal consideration.
Action: The duty of justice applies because I need to give both our organization and the media equal consideration and write up something that is reportable.
Impact: Justice would end up helping me create a story that is newsworthy.
conflicts with Beneficence
Self-improvement
Definition: Duty to improve our knowledge and virtue.
Action: The duty of self-improvement applies to this situation because it is my responsibility to spread the knowledge of what we do at the puppy rescue.
Impact: Self-improvement would end up helping the puppies get adopted by sharing the information about our rescue with the public.
Virtue Framework
An action that will exhibit the most virtuous traits is:
This is the action that an ideally virtuous person would do because:
The Virtuous Person would do this because, according to Aristotle’s virtues, I am cultivating some of the most important virtues, such as Compassion and Bravery. This will help me live well, but stopping the prank will also help many others live well because it will cause them to, hopefully, reflect on their character.
This alternative is consistent with the expectations of any ethics codes that apply to your situation.
I will be able to do this action.
Ranking of character traits explored using this framework:
Myself
Integrity: Integrity is a virtue because it allows us to focus on doing what is best for everyone one concerned
Honesty: Honesty is a virtue because it makes us concentrate on representing the truth
Professionalism: Professionalism can be both a vice and a virtue. A vice because sometimes you do things that are required by your job description even though they are not honest. A virtue because sometimes we focus on upholding our professional standards.
Guilt*: Guilt is a vice because it keeps me from doing what is honest.
Others
Obligation: Obligation is a virtue if you are obligated to uphold the appropriate virtues.
Hope: Hope can be a vice because your hope that something will happen a certain way can interfere with your better judgment.
Desperation: Desperation is also a vice because it can interfere with your better judgement on how to handle certain situations.
Fear: Fear is a vice because it gets in the way of honesty and integrity - sometimes you act out of fear instead of out of oblligation.
Ideally Virtuous Traits
Self Respect: Self respect is something that all virtuous people would have because that is what allows you to follow and stand up for your virtues in the first place.
Open Mindedness: Ideally a virtuous person would have the open mindedness to consider all angles of the situation.