5. Analyze the following ethical dilemmas using relevant questions and criteria from in the chapter. What advice do you have for Jayden and Susan? Discuss possible solutions and test them using the criteria beginning on page 423 under “Choose a Responsible Course of Action.”

a. Jayden is a chemist at a pharmaceutical plant. Part of quality control is to check samples of each drug for purity and potency. Jayden notices that the person in charge of pulling the samples, Becca, does not test every drug, turning her attention to other tasks instead. When Jayden asks Becca about it, she replies, “What’s your problem? I’ve got too much to do to keep up with all of them. We’ve never found a bad sample anyway.” To complicate the matter, Jayden used to date Becca, having recently broken up with her. “Maybe Becca’s right,” he thinks. “We’re all pretty careful.” What should Jayden do?

b. It is December 10, and Susan Petrov has a big decision to make. She is the chief executive officer of Chesterson Refrigeration, a small company with U.S. and overseas locations that makes refrigerators and freezers. Because sales have dropped, the plant, which employs 786 workers, must lay off 240 employees if it is to remain open. Some employees are near retirement, a large number have worked for the company for ten years or more, some are college students, and some are legal immigrants. Susan is hoping that sales will pick up next summer. Limited funds are available to use as severance pay, and a few scholarships are available for retraining. How should Susan handle the situation? What is the most ethical way to decide who gets laid off? When should the layoffs begin? Is there anything Susan can do to make the situation better? When and how should she announce the layoffs?