An exercise in ethics across the curriculum

ANTONIO: Okay. I’m not trying to make you into a war monger. But you have got to support your family. Let me get you an interview. You can talk things over with them. Find out exactly what they want. It may be possible that you can square your conscience with the job they are offering. What do you say? For the sake of your wife and children.JORGE: Okay. I’ll do the interview. But I’m not going against my conscience. If they ask me about my views on war, I’m not holding anything back. I’m a Pacifist—not a war-monger! ANTONIO: Right. I wouldn’t think of asking you to go against your basic beliefs. They probably won’t bring the subject up in the interview. I’ll set up an interview and get back to you. Talk to you later.

JORGE becomes thoughtful. He needs a job but at what personal cost? He thinks aloud… JORGE: What if they ask me about my views on war? I would have to tell them the truth. But it could get ugly. What did I let Antonio talk me into this?

His wife arrives. She walks through the living room to the kitchen. There she meets Jorge. CARMEN: Hello Jorge, I’m home. (Replace old version with this)JORGE: Hello Carmen. Guess what? I just finished talking with Antonio. He told me about a job opening at Mega Weapons. CARMEN: That’s great! (Remove awesome.)JORGE: He thinks he can get me an interview but I’m not sure. It is defense related. I would be working on the guidance systems for their “smart bombs.” Can’t engineers do something besides make weapons? CARMEN: Look Jorge. You know I support your Pacifism. But I can’t continue indefinitely as a waitress. I’ve had to drop out of college, and when I finish my shift I just want to collapse. I can’t keep doing this. I need to spend more time with our children. I’d like to go back to school and get my degree.CARMEN: Look Jorge. I know how important Pacifism is to you. But I cannot continue to support our family with my current job. I’ve had to drop out of college. I want to spend more time with our children. I need to go back to school and continue to work on my degree. Just go to the interview. Hear what they have to say. Then we can make a decision together.

Exercise one

Directions

• Listen to the animated case, Mega Weapons. You can find it on the link displayed above.
• Next read the script presented above. This contains all the dialogue used in the animation.
• Write a short essay responding to the issues presented just below. You may write this out by hand or type it. And your response can be in English or Spanish.

• You are Jorge. You share his pacifism, his expertise, and his need to find work
• How do your frame your problem? Is it legal, financial, managerial, technical (engineering), personal, or ethical? (It might fall under more than one frame.)
• Make a decision. Explain and justify your decision. Should you tell your friend, Antonio, that you would like an interview with Mega Weapons?
• If so, how do you think you should deal with the issue of your pacifism. If not, what would you say to Carmen, your wife, to explain your decision.
• You will turn your essay in during the next class. Be prepared to share your thoughts with your classmates.

Link to animation in case link above doesn't work

Exercise two

Write an essay that responds to the following:

1. You are Jorge. During the interview with the Mega Weapons personnel officer, he asks the "bleeding heart pacifist" question.
2. How should you respond to the question? In particular, should you identify yourself as a pacifist or withhold this information?
3. Construct a solution evaluation matrix where you compare your answer with a different, contrary solution. The above table is an example of a solution evaluation matrix. Write out your solution. Then in the row of the solution, write in the cell under the test how that solution stands in relation to the test. You can pass-fail, assign a number, or assign a letter grade. But be sure to indicate what fact was most important in your evaluation under the test in question. For example, alternative one failed the reversibility test because it failed to treat a key stakeholder with respect.
4. Below your solution evaluation matrix, provide an account in paragraph form of how your solution stands with the three ethics tests: reversibility, harm, and publicity.
5. Discuss constraints (resource, interest, technical) that may make it difficult to realize or implement your solution.

Study materials: presentation and jeopardy

Jeopardy for ethics tests

Presentation on ethics tests