Business Ethics Case Question:

You work for Gentro Inc., a company who specializes in renovating dilapidated, low-income housing for conversion into community living complexes in urban centers designed for upper-middle class urban professionals. The company is headquartered in Chicago, IL. Your target market is young, urban working professionals, the kind of people on the rise who are looking to be in the middle of economic centers. The company was founded in 2009 following the sub-prime mortgage crisis and has had year over year growth and success. The company regularly ends the fiscal year between a 80%-120% profit margin, which has been used to reinvest in and grow the company in scope and influence.

You've been with the company since 2013 and are now one of five lead site developers. Your job is to find potential development sites and work with local government to launch building projects. You have your eye on a couple of vacant properties in the West Central neighborhood of Spokane, WA.

While the neighborhood initially doesn't look to be in great shape there are a lot of things going for it. Nestled along the bank of the Spokane River, the West Central neighborhood is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Washington state. It's less than one mile from downtown, has easy access to public transportation, as well walking access to the thriving social scene in the adjacent Kendall Yards neighborhood. For decades, West Central has been seen as a problem by many people in the city. The properties are in disrepair and there is a higher-than-average crime rate compared to the rest of the city, specifically property crime such as theft and vandalism.

On paper everything looks good, just like the last several successful projects you've done. You visited the site a couple of times and no red flags catch your attention. You push forward with the expectation of another win for Gentro Inc.

After signing a contract with the city and accepting a loan from your investors you go back and visit the site before breaking ground. The project site is comprised of a few lots of now vacant homes or apartment complexes. When canvasing the property you are met by protesters; people who are picketing against your company and your plans to develop the area. Surprised by this, you walk up to one of them and ask what's going on. They tell you they don't want their neighborhood renovated. The influx of development will raise rent rates, home prices and property taxes along with them. The people who live there mostly work low paying jobs, often more than one. Most people in the neighborhood don't have cars and either walk or depend on the public transportation to get to and from their retail and service jobs in the city.

The houses are populated by multi-generational family units; parents, kids, and grandparents often living together. They do not have disposable income to participate in the growing economic developments in Kendall Yards and have been concerned for some time it would spill over into their neighborhood.

The protester tells you she knows their neighborhood isn't perfect, but they want community-based solutions to fixing their problems that won't disenfranchise the people living there. She fears they will all be driven out within a year or two of your project being completed. To top it off, she tells you the lots you're buying, and the water rights to the river that come along with them, will cut off a lot of the public access people in West Central have to the river as the shoreline becomes privatized.

You're alarmed to hear all of this. You thank her for her time and return to your work. Later in the day you raise these concerns with the local city officials who have greenlighted and supported your project. They dismiss the concerns of the protesters. They say these people just want the city to remain in the past. They highlight all the reasons initially attracting you to the project. The quality housing it will bring for middle-income families and working professionals, the economic development that will follow, employment, growth, etc. They assure this will be a good thing for the city and the region moving forward.

At the end of the day you return to your hotel conflicted about the two sides of this issue. You are no longer as convinced as you once were this project will be good for the citizens of Spokane. You are concerned the brunt of externalities will be borne by those already disenfranchised. You don't want this to become the legacy of the company you work for and love.

Using your personal ethics framework, decide what recommendation you are going to provide to your boss about what Gentro Inc. should do. Make sure your explanation clearly demonstrates the application of your values system. Include what you are likely to do if you are unable to convince your company to follow your recommendations.

ETHICAL FRAMEWORK:::

Personal Ethics Framework It is important that I understand the consequences of any decision that could be made in as many circumstances as possible. In anticipation of many decisions that will have ethical implications it is important that I have a system in place that I can reference in order to ensure that there is no lapse in ethical behavior. It is important that all ethical theories, and more importantly, my core values are taken into consideration before we get into what I will call steps of ethical consideration. I will start with a list of core values before moving on to ethical theories as these will be the backbone of any ethical decision I will make. Empathy is the most important value to me; it is important to seek first to understand and second to be understood. If this is the primary guiding principle for any decision, then the vast majority of decisions will be morally sound. The second core value that will only be superseded by empathy is equity. This is important given the historical moral lapses from many different cultures. Equity is profound and encapsulates lessons from Utilitarianism, Deontology, and Virtue ethics. The third core value that will be taken into consideration is the ultimate goal of utilitarianism. Happiness is an important value that is all-encompassing. I will strive to do what is right by creating the most happiness for the most people, as long as it does not conflict with empathy or equity. For instance, I will not fire a valuable employee for the sake of sharing his salary with ten other employees. Yes, ten other employees will be happier and only one will be less happy, but this would be a direct violation of empathy and equity and would not be in compliance with my Personal Ethics Framework. Utilitarianism is the belief that the purpose of morality is to make life better by increasing the number of pleasures and decreasing the amount of pain. Utilitarianism focuses more on the consequences of actions and ignores intentions. A utilitarian will act in a way that will produce the best for the most people. Deontology is duty-based and is focused on examining actions rather than consequences with the main focus on treating people with respect. Virtue ethics focuses more on consideration of what virtues in a person are best and making decisions in light of those favored virtues. These theories ultimately will make who lam in terms of values and principles. I believe that one should always begin with the end in mind. It is important that decisions made will provide the best for the most people, but we must keep in mind that actions are important as well as outcomes and not all outcomes can be predicted by a given action as some actions may have several different potential outcomes. Steps of Ethical Consideration (I) Clearly Identify and articulate the problem It is important to put the issue into words so I can analyze any uncertainties and biases. It is important to list who all may be affected by the problem. (II) Clearly articulate all of the ethical considerations This is an opportunity to add context and identify all of the possible actions that could be taken and over analyze all of the potential consequences of those actions by addressing my ethical principle listed above. (III) Make a decision Make a decision and justify said decision after considering all stakeholders and consequences. It is important that all potential decisions are physically listed so one can visually compare potential results (IV) Put solution into action and evaluate consequences This is where an action plan must be made. How does the action plan make me and other stakeholders feel? What is to be learned from the actions and outcomes of this process? Was there any moral distress put on any of the stakeholders and were they in the minority? If these steps are followed according to my personal ethics framework, | feel confident that I can do my duty to ensure that there are minimal moral consequences for any actions or consequences that I will be ultimately responsible for