Business Writer
An Issue of Ethics
Resources
An Issue of Ethics Scoring Guide.
WSJ.com.
APA Style and Format.
Writing Feedback Tool.
The Wall Street Journal.
An Issue of Ethics Example.
Activity Context
This assignment helps you develop the skills to master the following course competencies:
Apply critical thinking to business-related activities.
Analyze factors, issues, and ethical considerations associated with business activity.
Communicate in a manner that is professional and consistent with expectations for members of the business professions.
Activity Instructions
Pretend your company is considering selling customer data gained through their Facebook page to a 3rd party as a way to increase revenue. However, the company has a written commitment to privacy on its Facebook page that reads:
"We will not sell your personal information to anyone, for any purpose. Period."
Consider Hooker's ethical tests (or another reputable ethical framework that you uncover in your research) as you create a well-organized paper that addresses the situation above. In your paper, answer the following questions:
What other information or reference points would help you to make an appropriate appraisal of the ethical nature of the situation?
Would the company be in ethical violation of the policy if the data was aggregated, stripped of personal data, and then legally sold?
What if the company did not actually sell the data but instead shared (allowed use of) it in exchange for a service such as mining of that data?
What if one of the company's other social media sites omitted a mention of data sharing in its privacy policy and there is a single login for all company sites and the data among them was shared with corporate headquarters? Could that information ethically be sold?
If leadership decided to change their policy, what data would it be ethically responsible in sharing?
Ensure that you write a well-organized, well-supported, flowing paper that addresses the issue. Do not simply list these questions and answer them. You need to have an introduction, conclusion, and various subheadings in between.
Example assignment: You may use the An Issue of Ethics Example, linked in the Resources, to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like.
Submission Requirements
Resources: Reference at least three professional resources. Conduct at least part of your research using your free Wall Street Journal (WSJ) subscription and try to use a WSJ article to answer part of the questions.
Formatting: Format resources and citations according to APA style and formatting.
Length of paper: Write 3–5 typed, double-spaced pages. (Remember, this page length always excludes front and back matter such as cover page and references.)
Font and font size: Use Times New Roman, 12-point font.
