Rutgers university Ethical Principles Paper
Essay Assignment Sheet
The purpose of this assignment is to stimulate your thinking about the effects of an individual’s actions upon others. While this is intended to be a reflective assignment, and your completed work will not be evaluated on its content (other than to make sure you have answered all of the questions), be advised that your paper cannot serve to justify your own actions or evaluate the actions of others. You should also be sure to utilize appropriate language grammar, and spelling.
Please answer the following questions; each answer should be of at least the specified length:
1) Where do our ethical principles come from? What factors contribute to an individual’s sense of morality? Provide quotes from at least two (2) scholarly sources (i.e., journal articles, books, etc.) to support your answers (include appropriate citations). (500 words)
2) A man has been sentenced to prison for 10 years. After one year, however, he escaped from prison, moved to a new area of the country, and took the name of Thompson. For eight years he worked hard, and gradually saved enough money to buy his own business. He was fair to his customers, gave his employees top wages, and gave most of his own profits to charity. Then one day, Mrs. Jones, an old neighbor, recognized him as the man who had escaped from prison eight years before, and whom the police had been looking for. Should Mrs. Jones report Mr. Thompson to the police and have him sent back to prison? Why or why not? (250 words)
3) Select a movie, play, or television show you have watched recently in which the characters were faced with a serious ethical dilemma. Choose one of the characters, and discuss the following
(500 words):
What ethical dilemma was the character facing?
What process did the character go through to reach his/her decision?
What were the consequences of the character’s decision?
Was the character’s decision ethical? Why or why not?
What would you have done differently?
4) Dr. Barnett is a pediatrician working for a health maintenance organization (HMO). Recently, the directors of the HMO became aware that Dr. Barnett had published several scholarly articles without citing previously published sources. Answer the following questions: (250 words) a. Should any action be taken by the HMO against Dr. Barnett? What kind? b. Why or why not?c. What concerns do you believe the HMO might have about Dr. Barnett’s actions?d. What concerns might the parents of Dr. Barnett’s patients have?
5) Reflect upon the situation that led to your being assigned this workshop. Why did you make the choices you did? Were your choices ethical? If faced with a similar situation in the future, would you do anything differently? If so, what? If not, why not? (250 words)
